It would be tough to find a better defensive performance than what the Peacock Toilers put together against the Notre Dame Hounds in Moose Jaw high school boys basketball league action on Thursday night.
The Toilers held Notre Dame scoreless until the final seconds of the first quarter and to only seven points in the first half on their way to an 87-25 victory at Peacock.
Now, the win comes with a huge caveat: Notre Dame played the game with only six players, as a good portion of their crew were a few blocks away playing for Notre Dame’s AAA hockey team against the Warriors.
But the Toilers still had to do their job, and they looked impressive while doing it.
Bryce Baumann led all scorers with 20 points as Peacock took a 26-3 lead out of the first quarter and led 49 -7 at the half.
Notre Dame’s Ryan Zabchuk hit a three-pointer in the final minute of the first quarter for the Hounds’ first points of the game, and Marshall Curri got things going offensively after the break for an 11-point showing.
Kaden Gusa scored 15 points for Peacock, while Nathan McDougall scored 13 and Josh Johnson added 12.
Peacock improved to 5-1 with the win, Notre Dame fell to 1-5.
The other boys league contest Thursday saw the Vanier Vikings take a 66-44 victory over the Lumsden Devils.
Like Notre Dame, the Devils also took the court with only six players but got off to an impressive start, taking a 10-8 lead out of the first quarter. Vanier’s depth started to assert itself from there, though, and they’d lead 27-23 at the half before pulling away while outscoring Lumsden 23-9 in the third quarter.
Brayden McLean scored 15 points to lead Vanier while Natan Shiferaw had a 13-point outing and Gavin Seida added 10. Lumsden’s Max Pollack led all scorers with 23 points, Conner Campbell scored 10.
Vanier improved to 1-2 with the victory, Lumsden fell to 0-4.
The lone girls game on the night featured Lumsden taking a 64-38 win over Notre Dame in Wilcox.
Things were close in the early going, as the Angels took a 9-6 lead out of the opening 10 minutes, but Notre Dame pulled away for a 26-15 lead at the break.
Heidi Bews led Lumsden with 18 points, while Kaitlin Kydd put down 14 and Jordyn Exner 13. Myra Kubrakovich was Notre Dame’s leading scorer with 17 points, Ryann Perrett picked up 10.
Lumsden is now 4-1 on the campaign and tied for first with Central, while Notre Dame fell to 0-4.
League action continues Tuesday, Feb. 15 with Lumsden at Central in girls (6:20 p.m.) and boys (8 p.m.) action. The other girls game sees Vanier at Notre Dame at 6:20 p.m.
