Brandon teams set for AAAA hoops provincials

WINNIPEG — A small slighting might be just what the Vincent Massey Vikings needed this week.

Ranked No. 4 in AAAA varsity boys’ basketball at the end of the season, the Vikings were dropped to sixth without losing a game since Feb. 20, and take on the wildcard Garden City Gophers to open provincials at Pembina Trails Collegiate today at 5:30 p.m.

The drop is justifiable, and a result of upsets in Winnipeg zone championships, and it isn’t fazing the Vikings, who haven’t played a top-end team in three weeks and now get a tune-up before their biggest games of the year.

“I like it. I like being on the opposite side of the No. 1 seed (Dakota Lancers),” said senior forward Callum Brosseau. “It gives us a great chance to test out Churchill.

“We’re pretty confident about these games coming up.”

Massey head coach Brett Nohr isn’t thinking about the No. 3 Churchill Bulldogs, who the winner of their game plays on Saturday at 4 p.m., just yet. He has yet to escape the play-in round in 20 years at the school, and knows Garden City presents a unique challenge for his bigger lineup.

“We have to be able to play them five-on-five in the half court, because they’re all the same size, they play a five-out game, a lot of screening, ghosting action on the perimeter,” Nohr said.

“If we play well, we’re going to be fine.”

The Vikings set up a tough schedule, starting with a victory at the J.H. Bruns Bronco Invitational in December.

They finished fourth at the Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational, and third at both the Winnipeg Invitational Tournament and St. Vital Invitational.

Brosseau and juniors Knox Smith and Markus Stevenson lead the team offensively, while they have plenty of depth behind them.

In terms of X-factors who could make a difference in a close game this week, a few names come to mind for Nohr and Brosseau.

For the veteran forward, it’s captain Griffin Zilkey and Wesley Burton coming off the bench.

“They give it their all. We have hustle guys that really take over the game sometimes,” Brosseau said.

Added Nohr: “Rylan Lidster, Wes Burton, those two guys took their game to the next level, to be able to play starting minutes.

“Logan (Van Santen) has been a tremendous asset this year for us, because he took a back seat by not starting and playing the same amount of minutes but coming in at different times and being a different role player.”

PLAINSMEN GIRLS SEEK UPSET

The Crocus Plainsmen varsity girls are back in the top 12 after a one-year hiatus, seeking head coach Adam Hartman’s first AAAA provincial win as well.

They’re ranked 12th, and face a Daniel McIntyre Maroons team that beat them 64-47 in the third-place game at John Taylor’s Piper Classic on Jan. 10.

The game is at 7:30 p.m., at Winnipeg’s Vincent Massey Collegiate.

“I think people underestimate us and underestimate our power because we’re from Brandon and we’re Crocus, but I think we can come in and control our side, run our offence, I think we’ll be good,” said Grade 11 guard Mary Williams, who’s part of one of the strongest classes in recent Plainsmen history.

For Crocus, the key to stopping DMCI has to be containing University of Winnipeg Wesmen commit Ava Shaw, a five-foot-10 guard who torched them for 30 points in their first meeting.

The provincial team guard missed her Grade 11 year with a torn ACL but has put together a strong year under coach Carriera Lamoureux, a former Brandon University Bobcat, and was Wesmen coach Alyssa Cox’s first signing for the 2026-27 Canada West season.

The Plainsmen, on the other hand, seldom have the same leading scorer two games in a row. One day it’s senior Kate Hiebert, another it’s Kinsley Penner or Iliana Courchene.

They have a handful of players who can shoot the three-pointer, but won’t have the best player on the floor unless they can find a way to get Shaw off the court.

The winner plays the No. 4 Sisler Spartans on Saturday at 2 p.m.

PLAINSMEN JV BOYS HUNGRY

You don’t have to look past the city league season to see how much the Plainsmen JV boys grew.

They lost to the Vikings by 27 points in January and six in February, then swept them with 94-85 and 71-56 victories in the league final.

Crocus faces No. 5 Sisler today at 5 p.m. at Bruns, with the winner taking on No. 4 Transcona on Friday at 4 p.m.

“We knew we were more athletic than the Massey team from the beginning, we just needed to upgrade the skills we had because we weren’t at Massey’s level,” said guard Jasim Ameh, adding he knew his team’s work from the months leading up to this year would pay off.

“This summer, I was outside more than I was in my own house playing basketball, doing the thing we love.

“That’s all that matters. Getting the confidence to do it in front of all those parents, all those students, it was amazing.”

Ameh dropped a game-high 24 points in the series clincher, after Thomas Rosmus dropped 34 in the first one.

Ameh certainly likes sharing a backcourt with the crafty guard.

“He’s been scoring 30 points since Grade 9. What makes him the best is he can drive, he can pass, he can shoot, he can do everything,” Ameh said. “Having someone like that on my team really helps a lot. That’s someone I can rely on if I’m stuck, if I’m lost, to make a quick bucket.”

JV GIRLS EAGER

FOR OPPORTUNITY

The Crocus JV girls learned how to handle close games, losing by three to Massey and winning by two in the second regular-season clash.

They swept the final with 59-49 and 60-32 triumphs, and draw the Sisler Spartans at Dakota Collegiate today at 5 p.m.

The winner gets Oak Park on Friday at 4 p.m.

Crocus and Sisler met at the Pembina Trails tournament to kick off the season, with Sisler winning 69-30.

Head coach Kelsey Solarchuk said the group was intimidated by the Spartans at first, but realizes they aren’t the same team anymore.

“There’s been so much growth and they’re starting to see it in themselves,” Solarchuk said. “They saw it in the city championship and that made them even more excited to bring their skills to Winnipeg and see how we match up.”

Solarchuk said the Plainsmen are built around three dedicated players, Cadence Keller, Elia Blerot and Esther Olayiwola, who often stay after practice to work with the varsity girls.

“They’ll take any extra opportunity and those have been our three consistent leaders,” Solarchuk said. “Whether it’s role modelling, being vocal, they all lead in their own way.”

The JV AAAA semifinals are on Saturday, with the finals on Tuesday.

AROUND THE PROVINCE

It’s A/AA and AAA JV provincial weekend, with Carman playing host to the A/AA event, featuring the Souris Sabres boys and girls, as well as Gladstone’s William Morton, Gilbert Plains-Grandview and Glenboro-Carberry-Baldur co-op girls teams.

Westgate is hosting the AAA boys, including the Virden Golden Bears and Dauphin Clippers.

Dauphin is also in the girls’ event at Linden Christian.

The tournaments begin today and conclude on Saturday.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com