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The Sturgeon senior boys' basketball team came out as division four champions at the Metro Athletics city finals over the weekend.
Their championship game against Maurice-Lavallée was at Sturgeon Composite High School on Saturday (Mar. 4) afternoon.
Head coach J.P LeBlanc says it was nice to host their final match.
“We played here in front of our home fans,” LeBlanc said. “It was unbelievable with an absolutely packed house and super awesome energy.”
Sturgeon and Maurice-Lavallée had a bit of a rivalry going this season, with Maurice-Lavallée beating them by four points earlier in the season at their home tournament.
During the regular season, Sturgeon took home a win by six points.
The championship looked to settle the score between the two teams.
“The game went back and forth, neck and neck the whole time.”
Unfortunately, Sturgeon's top scorer and rebounder, Brody Casavant, was injured in the third quarter.
“After a nice lead, we were tied in the middle of the third quarter,” LeBlanc said. “We were able to get up by six, but they would bring us back to two.”
They ended up calling in Travis Geleta, a bench player who was not expected to play.
“He went in and ended up giving us about 11 minutes straight that were unbelievable. He kind of gave the guys a bit of a spark. We ended up getting ahead.”
The game ended with Sturgeon taking home a win of 82-71. Their top scorers were Chris Ioanidis with 28 points and Addison Michaluk with 18.
After becoming city champions, they were knocked out of provincials.
“We played S.P.A, and they’re going to be the number one team in the province.”
Despite their season being over, LeBlanc said he’s super proud of his boys.
“They’re one of the coolest groups I’ve ever coached. It was a really cool culmination of things to come together.”