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Kodiaks host season-starting Border Bash, end with silver

The first boys’ basketball tournament of the year is in the books, and while an area school didn’t claim the top spot on the podium, the Creighton senior Kodiaks came pretty close.
don't reach youngblood
Bryson Dumas and Ahrjay Sabas of Hapnot’s senior Kings basketball team battle it out with Creighton Kodiak Marcus Kennedy during last weekend’s Creighton Border Bash. The Kings beat the junior Kodiaks team Dec. 6, but the senior Kodiaks got the last laugh, placing higher than any other area school in the tourney. - PHOTO BY ERIC WESTHAVER

The first boys’ basketball tournament of the year is in the books, and while an area school didn’t claim the top spot on the podium, the Creighton senior Kodiaks came pretty close.

The host Kodiaks took home second place in their season-opening Border Bash tournament, going 2-0 through the first round of the tournament and snagging wins against Sandy Bay and a one-point squeaker against Frontier Collegiate.

Instead of a round robin, the tournament used a single-game-elimination format for the top side of the bracket, with losing teams sent to the B-side bracket. Hapnot won their first game against the Kodiaks’ B-team Dec. 6, but lost to the L.P. Miller Bears from Nipawin in the second round, falling to the bronze medal game.

The Kodiaks’ strong run led them to the tournament final against the Bears. There, the home team’s luck ran out, with the Bears winning top spot after a 71-58 Kodiaks loss.

Hapnot won the third-place game against Frontier Collegiate 53-48, guaranteeing a spot on the podium for two local schools.

Following their opening round loss to Hapnot, Creighton’s B-team faced Senator Myles Venne School (SMVS) from Air Ronge, losing to them en route to a SMVS B-side bracket win. The younger Kodiaks squad didn’t end the weekend skunked, however, earning a win against Hector Thiboutot from Sandy Bay in the seventh-place game.

Norway House’s Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Huskies ended the tourney in sixth place, losing the B-side final to SMVS.

The basketball season, now underway for both Manitoba and Saskatchewan schools, will continue on after the holiday break and go until mid-March, ending with provincials in Manitoba and conferences and the provincial Hoopla tournament on the Saskatchewan side.

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