Trojans win fifth straight Tier 1 crown
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/12/2022 (640 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
After not being able to make the trip to the Wheat City during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vincent Massey Trojans picked up right where they left off at the Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational.
The Trojans captured their fifth straight Tier 1 tournament title on Saturday night at Neelin as they defeated the Dakota Lancers by a score of 81-69 in an all-Winnipeg final.
“It’s always important to start the season with some positive momentum and we’ve been able to do that here in Brandon,” Trojans head coach Marc Collier said.
“The guys were all really excited to come here this weekend. This was our first real travel opportunity in a couple of years and we feel like we have something to prove after a bit of a down season last year.”
The Trojans run to the title came with some challenges, however, as they were down to seven players on their bench for the playoffs as a result of injuries.
That didn’t faze the squad as they defeated the Maple Marauders by a score of 82-52 in the semifinal to set up their meeting with the Lancers.
“It was a next man up mentality,” Collier said. “We got a really young group here and they are buying in every day to whatever role they are asked to do.
“To come in here and finish out the weekend with two wins over a couple of the top teams in the province, I’m really excited about that.”
Chris Piotrowski – who was named to the tournament all-star team – led the way for the Trojans in both of their playoff wins with 22 and 21 point-outings.
Blake Penner had 22 points in the final for the Lancers, who last won the Tier 1 title in 2009.
Dakota reached the championship game by defeating the host Neelin Spartans in a 75-64 semifinal affair that was highlighted by a 37-point performance from Kismayo de Michael.
“To go 4-1 here is something we’re happy about, though I think the thing that pleased us the most was that we made it here safely through the storm,” Lancers coach Dean Favoni said.
Royals capture Tier 2 title
Liam Shedden’s 31 points propelled the Selkirk Royals to an 86-54 win over the Linden Christian Wings and their first BSSI Tier 2 championship since 2010.
According to Royals coach Dean Goodbrandson, this weekend’s trip to Brandon was one that the squad had been gearing up for over the last couple of weeks.
“This can be a tournament of attrition and all 13 guys on our team had a fingerprint on this win,” Goodbranson said. “We survived five games in a 48-hour span and we still had some gas in the tank at the end of it.”
Selkirk reached the final with a win over the Swan Valley Tigers. Scoring details from that contest were not available.
The Wings, who were making their first trip to the tournament, qualified for the title game with a 74-59 triumph over the Yorkton Raiders.
“We couldn’t be more proud of the effort from our guys,” Wings coach Colten Gryba said. “They were up to the challenge against a lot of very good teams.”
Sam Gingerich had 32 points in Linden Christian’s win over Yorkton, while Will Wang had 15 points in the loss to Selkirk.
» lpunkari@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @lpunkari