As NCAA college basketball’s March Madness has demonstrated in recent years, every once in a while you can get an incredible upset as one of the tournament’s lowest seeds finds a way to knock off one of the best in the country in the regular season.
The Central Cyclones and Peacock Toilers were having none of that in their Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association 4A boys regional basketball openers on Friday afternoon.
The top-seeded Cyclones rolled to a comfortable 123-42 win over 16-seed Notre Dame in their first game of their regional playdown, while the second-seed Toilers used a huge first-quarter surge to set the tone and eventually pull away for a 98-44 win over La Ronge.
Central will now face Martensville in their regional final at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday after the eight-seed Royals took a 78-74 win over nine-seed North Battleford John Paul II, while Peacock will face Saskatoon Bedford Road for a berth in Hoopla next weekend after 10-seed Saskatoon defeated seven-seed Meadow Lake 79-68 in their semifinal. That game is also at 1:30 p.m.
In girls action later Friday, 4A girls third-seed Central took a 73-47 win over 14-seed Martensville and will take on 11-seed Yorkton Sacred Heart after they defeated Melfort 61-54. That regional final is set for 3:15 p.m. Saturday.
Girls 4A fourth-seed Peacock also got the job done with a 77-41 win over 13-seed Tisdale, with the winner advancing to take on the victor between five-seed Humboldt and 12-seed Lumsden at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.
The Vanier Spirits hold the number one seed in 4A girls and had a bye through to their regional final. They take on nine-seed Regina Luther after Luther downed eight-seed Melville 66-46. They play at 12 p.m. on Saturday for a berth in Hoopla in Moose Jaw next weekend.
Be sure to check back later for updated scores in addition to keeping an eye on www.shsaa.ca.
