The NBCHS Vikings junior boys basketball team, pictured here with their Battle West District gold medals. (Submitted photo/Jeff Gibson)

By Martin Martinson

Vikings on top

NBCHS junior boys win Battle West Districts

Feb 14, 2024 | 3:43 PM

The North Battleford Comprehensive High School (NBCHS) junior boys basketball team recently took home a gold medal at Battle West districts, to cap off a memorable season for the team.

The final day of districts took place Monday at NBCHS, featuring the top four teams, with the host Vikings winning both of their games by decisive margins on their way to the gold, to finish the season on top.

The Vikings topped Unity in their semi-final matchup by close to 40 points, setting up an all-Battlefords matchup in the final, with the Vikings facing their cross-town rivals from JPII in the district championship game. There, the home-side would again prevail with a 72-34 win, to top the podium as champions.

It was an appropriate finish for a Vikings’ team that hit the ground running back in the fall with an undefeated showing at their home tournament prior to Christmas, before also winning Lloyd’s ‘Hot Hoops’ tournament. The team would go on to win all but two games this season with a 12-2 record overall.

Head coach, Jeff Gibson said perhaps most impressive was the team’s work ethic and dedication to continue to improve as the year progressed.

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“The team just continued to build and grow and get better together,” Gibson said. “We were by far the best defensive team we’ve had in years and very good at supporting and helping each other out on defence. You match that up with some really strong offensive players, and that’s a pretty nice combination; great defensively, good rebounding, and can really put the ball in the net.”

A youthful team, featuring nine Grade 8s and four Grade 9s, with two of the eighth-graders already in the starting lineup, the Vikings junior boys look to be set up well once again moving forward into next year.

“I really like what I see out of our youth,” Gibson said. “We have a lot of kids who come in in the mornings and work on their skills every day, and a lot of it was our Grade 8 kids. There were lots of flashes of brilliance this season with those kids when they got their minutes and I would say it should be pretty exciting again next year.”

In addition to NBCHS’ success, other local area programs also saw a strong showing at junior boys districts. John Paul II Collegiate took home the silver medal, while Unity topped Wilkie’s McLurg High School for bronze.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1