Richard Froese
South Peace News
The host Prairie River Raiders, of High Prairie, won the boys’ side in the annual junior high school Prairie River Rim Rocker Basketball Tournament Jan. 20-21.
Prairie River defeated the Roland Michener Rams, of Slave Lake, 33-27 in an intense final in the seven-team tournament.
Liam Lamason led the Raiders with 10 points while Tyson Ladouceur added seven.
Josh Sanje, of the Rams, was the top scorer with 14 points. Lucas Diaz added eight for the Rams, who led most of the game.
The Raiders took their first lead of the game with 6:30 left in the third quarter and outscored the Rams 17-5 in the final quarter.
Prairie River head coach Cheyenne Simms says the High Prairie players persevered right to the end of the final.
“The Raiders pulled off an amazing win after playing five games of basketball,” she says.
“They left blood, sweat and tears on the court.”
Both teams reached the final undefeated.
Prairie River defeated the Valleyview Hillside Cougars 54-38 in the semifinal.
Meanwhile, Michener beat the High Prairie St. Andrew’s Saints 40-24 in the other semifinal.
Both finalists finished first in their respective pool. Prairie River won Pool A, with St. Andrew’s second, followed by third-place Donnelly G.P. Vanier Vipers and Valleyview St. Stephen’s Rams in fourth.
Michener topped Pool A, followed by Hillside in second and Whitefish in third.