As their home tournament illustrated, the youthful Lloydminster Comprehensive Barons are immersed in a development season at the senior varsity boys’ level of Saskatchewan 5A high school basketball.
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The Barons finished the 35th annual Hugh Morrell Border Classic with a 1-2 record that included an 89-55 victory over Regina Thom Collegiate in the seventh-place game.
“That’s probably the best game I’ve seen them play here in the new year,
so I was happy with that,” coach Scott Lumbard said of his Barons after that Jan. 31 win at LCHS.
“We’re young and fairly inexperienced, but that win in the final game of our tournament will go a long way in helping us out, down the stretch, for the rest of the season.
“This year, we’ve had a big (roster) turnover from last year. We’ve got three Grade 10s and a core group of Grade 11s that are playing their first year of varsity basketball.”
Before heading to the St. Mary high school tournament in Prince Albert, Sask., last weekend, Lloydminster Comprehensive sported a 5-7 overall record. The Barons went on to lose three more games — to Balgonie, Moose Jaw Peacock and Saskatoon Bedford Road — in that P.A. event.
“The team is young and lacks big-game experience, with just a couple of seniors who received some starting minutes last season,” Lumbard said.
“We’re hoping to get Grade 12 veteran Ben Opalla back in the next couple of weeks to add some more punch to our lineup. He has missed the last six games due to a knee injury.”
Opalla got hurt in early January and had hoped to make a comeback in time for the Morrell tournament at the end of the month, but he tweaked his injured knee in practice just four days before the event began.
“Unfortunate for him, since it’s his last year, and we could certainly use him in the lineup,” Lumbard said. “So, having him back in the lineup — if not next weekend, then further down the road here — that’ll be a big help for us.”
In the final of the eight-team LCHS boys’ tournament, Lillian Osborne of Edmonton rallied late to defeat St. Mary of P.A.
The host Barons began their tourney during school hours on Friday, Jan. 30.
“We had a good opening game against Warman, one of our rivals in 5A Saskatchewan (play), and wound up losing by three (58-55),” Lumbard said. “But it was a good game. We had a 10-point lead at one time, and then just eventually let it slip away.
“Our second game out, we had a little bit tougher time (in losing 64-49) against Eastglen (of Edmonton). I think the boys were a little bit down from dropping the first game of the tournament.
“Then today, we had a nice little chat, and the boys came out and played some inspired basketball. We picked up a good win in our final game against Regina Thom Collegiate.”
A couple of senior Barons stood out on their home court, reported Lumbard, coach and teacher at LCHS.
“At the Hugh, we were led by our captains, Fynley Lazerte and Maddox Woods, who both put in solid efforts and were named game MVPs. Also, Darrien Croy was selected as a game MVP and was very noticeable on both ends of the court.”
Lumbard also commended Travis Niekamp, “who does a great job every year as the boys’ tournament co-ordinator.”
After a college stint at Vermont earlier this school year, Scottie Lumbard is helping his father coach Lloyd Comp, his alma mater. He was the team’s MVP last year.
Scottie played three years of senior varsity high school basketball in Lloydminster — his Grade 10 year at Holy Rosary and his grades 11 and 12 years at LCHS.
As an assistant coach, “he has been very valuable and insightful as an experienced player, in providing feedback to me and to our players, as he still sees the game through a point guard’s eyes,” said his father, Scott.
Along with the St. Mary Marauders tournament last weekend in
Prince Albert, the Barons have also travelled to Kindersley, North Battleford John Paul II and Sherwood Park in this season’s schedule.
“We will also be taking in the A.E. Peacock tournament in Moose Jaw and the North Battleford Comprehensive High School tournament, before SHSAA 5A regional playoffs in Swift Current,” Lumbard said.
Last weekend in Prince Albert, the Barons were short-staffed but still managed to be competitive in the St. Mary tournament.
“We had a tough weekend in P.A.,” Lumbard reported Monday. “We dropped all three of our games, even though we were competitive.
“We had a short bench, with four players out of the lineup due to injury and illness. Ben (Opalla) was not able to play, along with three others, including Fynley Lazerte in our final game, a 54-52 loss to Saskatoon Bedford Road.”
The next tournament for the Lloydminster Comprehensive boys is the
A.E. Peacock event in Moose Jaw at the end of this month.
Read more: Barons’ effort makes coach ‘incredibly proud’
