Carlton boys celebrate their victory at Regionals in Warman. (Image Credit: Submitted photo)

By Nigel Maxwell

Basketball

Prince Albert high schools secure spots at HOOPLA

Mar 23, 2026 | 2:00 PM

For the second time in two years, the Senior Boys basketball team at Carlton Comprehensive High School has been crowned Regionals champion.

The 5A tournament was held last weekend in Warman and Carlton defeated St Mary in the final. Acknowledging the team went in with even higher expectations for themselves, Crusaders coach Scott Manson was very proud of the end result.

“To see the hard work of the boys really pay off, to see them be resilient and to take care of business when they really needed to was awesome to see. The amount that we’ve seen them grow and what they’re capable of, we’re really proud of how they’ve played this season,” he said.

After winning their opening game 95-76 over Estevan, the Crusaders went on to face Swift Current in the semi-final 89-70. The final score against St Mary was 112-92.

The Carlton team consists of half-and-half split with six seniors and most, if not all have been on the team for three years.

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“The team effort was absolutely absurd. We had grade 10s stepping in and playing insanely valuable minutes,” Manson adding seniors like Zane Litzenberger, Emerson McQuaig and Clarence Ermine all played very well.

Also heading to HOOPLA is Carlton’s senior girls’ team who finished second at their tournament, losing out to Swift Current in the final 54-42. Coach Kelsey Pearson said their goal for the season was just to get to HOOPLA.

 “The girls far surpassed that goal this year. They worked really hard and we came a long way from the beginning of the year till now. We’re a pretty young team, so we were pretty happy with how they played this weekend for sure.”

Prior to that game, the girls’ posted wins over Yorkton (67-44) and North Battleford Comprehensive (63-49). Pearson described the weekend as gritty and noted in the second game, they lost one of their starters to an ankle injury.

“We had a lot of girls step up when when she went down and, took it, you know personal,” Pearson said. “I think that gave them some confidence moving forward for the week ahead.”

While finishing runner-up to the Crusaders, the St. Mary senior boys’ team have also punched their ticket to the provincial championship. Acknowledging it’s tough losing out to your biggest rival, Marauders coach Dave Seto said the game itself should be celebrated.

“It’s a good sign for Prince Albert basketball that both of us made to HOOPLA, so that’s certainly an accomplishment for our city,” he said.

The Marauders defeated Yorkton 98-75 and North Battleford Comprehensive 91-71.

On Monday, the players were treated to a rest day but Seto said they once they know who their first opponent is, they will get to work on a game plan.

“I think nowadays where all the games are streamed and accessed online, we’ll have an idea of, you know, who we’re playing and their strength,” he said.

This year’s HOOPLA tournament will be held in Moose Jaw and the tournament brackets can be viewed at this link.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell