The ECS Elecs hosted their annual senior boys' basketball tournament on the weekend and both Estevan teams saw their run come to an end in the semifinals.
The senior Elecs won their opener on Friday night, 66-58 over Notre Dame. They followed that up with a 75-51 loss to Yorkton Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon, a game that saw the visitors dominate the opening quarter.
"The senior team played excellent against Notre Dame, we led the whole game and we got to cycle everyone in," said head coach Nathan Wilhelm.
"On Saturday they didn't really show up for the game. We got down 24-2 in the first quarter, clawed back within eight and then we ran out of gas."
It was the Elecs' fourth game against Sacred Heart this year and Wilhelm said the contest presented more of a mental issue for ECS.
"They've always had the lead from the start, so with our guys it's more of a mental game, just forgetting about who they're playing and play our game," he said.
Wilhelm said the expectation for the senior team was to reach the final.
Sacred Heart would go on to win that game, 86-56 over Weyburn.
The junior Elecs opened with a 55-45 win over Gladmar on Friday afternoon, and then lost 72-27 in a tough matchup against Weyburn in their semi.
"The junior team played excellent all weekend," said Wilhelm. "We expected a win against Gladmar, but it was good to see that we pulled it off. I didn't think we'd both end up on the A side.
"Weyburn presses the entire game. They don't stop pressing (but) it wasn't an issue for our guys; they didn't force any turnovers off the press, so that was a positive."
The bronze medal game between the two ECS teams was not played so that the Weyburn and Yorkton teams could get on the road earlier.
In the consolation final, Balgonie defeated Notre Dame 85-55.
Other scores from the weekend were Weyburn 72, Balgonie 54 (round-robin), Sacred Heart 77, Stoughton 71 (round-robin), Balgonie 77, Gladmar 39 (consolation), and Notre Dame 59, Stoughton 57 (consolation).
Meanwhile, the ECS teams are heading into the 77th annual McLeod Series against Weyburn this week and Wilhelm said the senior boys would have one more practice before the series opens in Estevan tonight.
"We're going to work on the mental aspect of preparing for the game," he said.
The girls will tip off at 5:15 p.m. while the boys start at 7.
