ESTEVAN - The Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs senior basketball teams have captured the McLeod Series with the Weyburn Comprehensive School Eagles for the second straight year.
The second half of the long-standing basketball rivalry was contested Feb. 26 at the ECS gymnasium. The senior girls opened play with a 71-38 victory over the Eagles – their second straight convincing over their Weyburn foes. The Eagles then defeated Estevan 73-60 in the senior boys' game that wrapped up the competition.
The first two games in the annual best-of-four basketball showdown were played Feb. 12 in Weyburn. The Eagles defeated the Elecs 80-75 in the senior boys' game that night, while Elecs won the senior girls' game 72-44.
Since each team won twice this year, point differential was used as the tie-breaker. Estevan won on that front 278-235, thanks to the lopsided senior girls' victories.
In the Feb. 26 games, Weyburn stayed close early on in the senior girls' game, but then Estevan took over. The Elecs led 35-20 at halftime and grew the lead to 50-30 after three quarters. The Elecs outscored Weyburn 21-6 in the final frame to give ECS a large cushion on point differential entering the senior boys' game.
(Additional details on the senior girls' game were not immediately available).
The senior boys' game was also close in the early stages, but Weyburn went on a run late in the second quarter to lead 42-27 at halftime. Weyburn built the lead to 20 points at one point in the third, but a 9-1 run by Estevan closed the gap. Weyburn led 54-46 after three quarters.
Broden Henry had 14 points and eight assists for Estevan, while Blake Andrist scored 12 points, and Ryden Summers 12 points and seven rebounds.
"I thought the boys played very well last night; for some reason, our shots just weren’t falling in our own gym," said Elecs' coach Trevor Dutka. "We were in the game till the end."
As is tradition with the McLeod Series, a large crowd packed the ECS gymnasium for the games.
The Elecs have now won five of the past nine editions of the McLeod Series. Weyburn holds a 47-41 edge in the history of the event.
More to come.
