Playing at home and with their U18 AAA hockey teams having a night off, the Notre Dame Hounds were able to fill full rosters for their Moose Jaw high school basketball league home games on Thursday night.
That made for a close battle for the boys against the Vanier Vikings before the visitors went on to a 68-59 victory in Wilcox, while the Hounds girls had a bit of a tougher time against the Peacock Toilers, dropping a 51-34 decision.
The Vikings got off to a solid start in their contest, taking a 21-11 lead out of the first quarter and building a 42-23 lead at half. Notre Dame chipped away at the 19-point lead after the break before eventually settling for their nine-point loss.
Vanier’s Eric Meili kept on keeping on with his offence, putting up 23 points to lead all scorers, while Caleb Newkirk had a 14-point outing and Gavin Seida 11 points.
Joey Rocha, the starting goaltender for the SMAAAHL first-place Hounds, led Notre Dame with 23 points, while John Lopez scored 11. Ben Aucoin, who is currently fifth in SMAAAHL scoring with 23 goals and 51 points in 40 games, had an eight-point night.
Things were also close in the early going of the girls game, as Peacock held a 10-point 28-18 lead through two quarters. The Toilers kept up the pressure after the break, though, and would go on to win by 17.
Demara Kilgour led Peacock’s balanced attack with 14 points, while Hannah Miller scored eight.
Ryann Perrett -- who continues to lead the SFAAAHL Hounds in scoring and is fifth in the league with 14 goals and 36 points in 23 games -- had another solid outing on the court, scoring 23 of her team’s 34 points.
The Vikings improved to 3-3 with the win, while Notre Dame fell to 1-6. Vanier also improved to 3-3 in the girls' standings, the Hounds remain winless at 0-6.
League action continues Friday night with a pair of girls league games, with Central at Notre Dame and Peacock at Vanier. Game times are 6:20 p.m.
