They were only a few seconds away from a disappointing defeat in the league final, but the Canora Composite School Cougars senior boys basketball team came up big when it mattered most with a clutch three-pointer to tie the game, and then went on to win the league championship in overtime.
CANORA - On Feb. 25, the Northern League, consisting of teams from Canora, Kamsack, Preeceville and the Norquay/Sturgis combined team, held league playoffs in Sturgis.
“The tournament was a round robin style,” said Canora Coach Hudson Bailey. “We played against Preeceville in our first game and won, then we faced Norquay/Sturgis in the final.”
Bailey said the Cougars played well in the opening game against the Panthers.
“They have been our rivals all year and we have played them the most out of all the teams so we know each other well. Our team started off strong and we took an early lead, we were able to dictate the game and play at our speed. Our three-point shots were falling and that allowed us to win the first game.”
The final against the host Norquay/Sturgis Knights was a battle from started to finish, which was made even more challenging after a slow start for the Cougars.
“The Knights are a very skilled and well coached team,” said Bailey. “Since it was our second game of the night the boys were sluggish to start. Norquay/Sturgis was leading us for the first half. But after halftime we started working harder and began to chip away at their lead. We began to push the ball in transition and hit a few three-point shots. It came down to the final seconds in the fourth quarter and the Knights were up by three. The ball came to Matthew Makowsky and he made a buzzer beater three to tie the game for us and send it into overtime. In overtime we got a few baskets right off the bat. Then we played tough defence and were able to hold off the Knights.”
In the end, Bailey said the difference in winning the league championship came down to, “We were able to stick to our game plan, run our offence more and play as a team.”
With the victory, the Cougars advanced to regionals on March 14-15 in Oxbow, where the winner qualifies for HOOPLA, the provincial championship, in Saskatoon.
“Our season has been up and down” said Bailey. “We’ve won a few tournaments and lost our share of games as well. We’ve had to deal with some injuries and guys coming in and out of the lineup. Overall it has been a good year and we hope to finish strong.”
At regionals, the Cougars were defeated 79-47 in the semifinal round by the host Oxbow team, and then bounced back with a 90-72 win over Biggar in the consolation game. In the championship game, Oxbow beat Creighton to advance to HOOPLA.
Don't count on social media to deliver your local news to you. Keep your news a touch away by bookmarking Canora Courier's homepage at this link.
Bookmark SASKTODAY.ca, Saskatchewan's home page, at this link.
