PREECEVILLE - The Preeceville Panther senior boys basketball team members came together as a team to win its 2A Rregional basketball championships and won the privilege to attend provincials that will be held in St. Brieux on March 25 and 26.The team faced many challenges through its season but quickly came together as a team and gained value experience on and off the floor with each game they played during the season, stated Jeremy Mattison, head coach.
Going in the conference playoffs held in Porcupine they were ranked number four in the league. The first game they took on Kelvington and easily defeated them with a 95-35 score. The win set up Preeceville to face off against Porcupine on the following day. “The game was fast and well played on both ends and took a lot out of the team to come up with a win of 67-63 final score,” said Mattison.
After the win the team got a well earned rest for a few hours before the final matchup that was against a strong Norquay/Sturgis combination team.
“The boys were still exhausted from giving it their all in the previous game but played hard and left it all on the floor. Norquay/Sturgis got off to an early start in the first period but after three quick three-point shots we were back in the game and it pumped up the boys. We were tied at halftime and the third period saw us up by 11 points. In the fourth period we just ran out of gas late in the period and they skirted past us for a 75-70 win,” said Mattison.
The Panthers scheduled to host Regionals on March 18 and 19 with the opportunity to move on to provincials. The results were not available at press time.
