The LCBI Bisons hosted their 40th annual boys’ basketball tournament last weekend, dubbed the ‘Rick Johnson Classic’, and hosted six other teams from across the province who converged onto the Bisons’ court to compete for the championship; Caronport Cougars, Moose Jaw Cyclones, Fillmore Falcons, Southey Screaming Eagles, Delisle Rebels, and the Rossignol Huskies from Ile-a-la-Crosse.
The yearly event is named in honor of Johnson, a well-known and beloved alumnus of the LCBI family who had served as pastor, Dean of Men, Director of Physical Education, Dean of Campus Life, and a coach for the basketball team, including leading LCBI to its first provincial gold medal in 1979. Today, the Bisons are coached by Johnson’s grandson, Damon Berggren.
LCBI actually had two rosters playing in the tournament, with the ‘B’ team playing three games over the weekend and gaining some valuable experience that will help them moving forward. Meanwhile, the ‘A’ team faced off with Rossignol on Friday night, where the Huskies showed early on that they were certainly no pushovers to the hosting team and that they’d come to win. However, the Bisons found themselves forging ahead on the scoreboard and managed to further the gap heading into the fourth. By the time the final buzzer had sounded, LCBI had won at a score of 70-44.
On Saturday afternoon, LCBI were up against Southey and the team showed great defense, despite a very strong showing by the Screaming Eagles. The game was capable of swinging either way as far as momentum goes, but the Bisons took another win at a razor-close score of 59-54 to head to the championship final against Caronport. Despite a solid effort, the Cougars were able to maintain control on the court and by the time the buzzer sounded, they were the winners of the Rick Johnson Classic by beating LCBI at a score of 76-43. Third place and Consolation rankings went to Southey and Delisle, respectively.
