R.D. Parker Collegiate's junior boys team won the right to represent the Norman region at the Zone 11 junior varsity basketball championships Feb. 26, but the most important shot of the tournament didn't even come in the final.
The Trojans were 3.6 seconds away from seeing their tournament and season end in a semifinal loss to the Hapnot Collegiate Institute Kopper Kings from Flin Flon, but scored a buzzer-beater to win 61-60 and book a spot in the final, where they defeated the Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute Spartans from The Pas 66-62 to extend their season once again, this time with a trip to the rural junior varsity provincials in Steinbach March 11-12.
The boys led the Kopper Kings 48-45 heading into the fourth quarter of the semifinal, but quickly lost their lead and found themselves down 54-50 partway through the quarter before clawing their way back to make it a one-shot game. In the final, it was the Spartans who led 48-45 after three quarters but the Trojans pulled ahead and were leading 64-62 with time winding down when an intercepted MBCI pass and a pair of made free throws gave RDPC an insurmountable four-point lead.
For the girls' team, the semifinal against the Frontier Collegiate Institute Raiders from Cranberry Portage saw them lead from start to finish, up 17-10 at halftime in a game that finished 47-18. The Trojans led most of the final against MBCI and were up 36-31 heading into the final quarter. The Spartans stormed back to tie the game 37-37 with just over five minutes left, and went up by two with 3:40 to play. RDPC tied the game 39-39 with a pair of free throws 1:17 before the end of regulation time, but a basket and a free throw by the Spartans 12 seconds later gave them a 42-39 lead and the game finished 43-40 for MBCI.
