Garrett Karcha deserves full marks for this one.
He and whoever else had a hand in organizing the schedule for the weekend high school basketball tournament.
The Sacred Heart Saints coach was a little bashful about admitting that yes he indeed planned it that way.
There were four schools taking part in an exhibition tournament, hosted by Karcha's Sacred Heart Saints.
The man behind the SHHS senior team bench seemed like he had a lot more fun.
"We expected a close game. It's a really exciting game to coach. It's definitely a good learning experience."
Karcha's planning came down to what would be a Yorkton vs. Yorkton showdown to conclude the evening.
The home team jumped out to a huge lead but the visiting Regional cut into that lead to the point that regulation time would not be enough time to determine the City's best in the exhibition series.It was a really good idea to plan it that way. There were more Sacred Heart students in the gym that night then in the lounge area at lunchtime on any day of the week.
It was no coincidence that it was the two locals clubs looking to out-do each other in the final match of the "exhibition tournament" dubbed by Karcha.
Both coaches said it was a lot of fun.
It ended as a tight game; the closest game of the entire weekend and the only one that needed overtime to decide the winner.
The YRHS/SHHS senior boys matchup was an awesome display of everything basketball.The basketball players really came out to play this one.
Dakota German had an awesome game for the home side. Teammate Logan Coutts was all over the floor. Preston Liebrecht worked his tail off and Mark Kuemper was responsible for sending this showcase into overtime.
He hit a shot off the backboard with almost no time left on the clock; had he missed that shot the Regional would have completed their monster comeback in regulation time.
It started at 7:30 p.m., Saturday evening and wasn't in the books until close to 9:30 p.m.It was Yorkton's best going head to head.
Early on it looked as though Karcha's Saints were the ones blessed with all the talent but Jason Payne's Yorkton Raiders were not quite done yet.
They even brought a bunch of cheerleaders to watch the action. Sacred Heart looked to make quick work of their Regional friends in the early going, jumping out to a 19-point lead early in the game. YRHS came back later in the game and chipped away at the lead until it was neck and neck and it was like that for the last 10 minutes or so.
Sacred Heart had the lead right up until there were about 10 minutes left in the third quarter then YRHS chewed up the deficit to tie it at 50-50.
Sacred Heart regained a slim lead when Liebrecht went to the free throw line three times within the last few minutes of regulation time.
Payne said after the buzzer had gone to signify his YRHS club's 73-71 victory that the win was a sign of "composure" shown by his guys to be able to come back.
SHHS's Kuempfer said it was a "lot of fun" to be able to play in a game like that.
He sunk a two-point shot from the paint with less than three seconds remaining in regulation to send this baby to overtime, much to the delight of friends and classmates that came out to see this one.
"It was very much fun," he responded when asked if it was fun to play this one. "I love the loud crowds. It's always a close game (with YRHS)," he told the paper, almost sounding as though SHHS had come out on top.
He added that it was his intention to draw a foul against YRHS on the play in which he tied the game. He did not get the foul but he did get the basket which could not have come at a better time."We tried our best," he said with a smile. "We got our game down to a 't'.
It's always a great game."
The senior/junior basketball tournament included Sacred Heart, the Yorkton Regional, Melville St. Henry's, Melville Comprehensive and Estevan. Each had a senior and junior team playing.
