The 14th annual Mike Dea Classic at the St. Francis Xavier Sports Centre signals the start of the high school basketball season for senior teams from St. Albert and area.
The round of 16 tips off Thursday.
In the 12-team women’s bracket the Sturgeon Spirits hoop it up at 8 a.m. against the Jasper Place Rebels and at 10 a.m. the Morinville Wolves play the host St. Francis Xavier Rams.
Last season the Spirits placed second overall in the Metro Edmonton City Conference playoffs and the Wolves finished 1-2 at their third-straight 3A provincials as the North Central zone champions.
At 2 p.m. the St. Albert Skyhawks will meet the Spirits or Jasper Place in the women’s quarter-finals. Last year the Skyhawks lost the tournament final to the O’Leary Spartans 52-41.
The two-time defending 3A provincial gold medallists from St. Albert Catholic High School are shooting for their eighth straight trip to provincials. They won the Edmonton zone final the last five years.
In the 16-team men’s bracket the Paul Kane Blues battle the Bert Church Chargers of Airdrie at noon. The 2011 metro Premier Conference champions from Paul Kane will be back on the court at 6 p.m. on the consolation side or 8 p.m. in the quarter-finals.
Visit www.stfrancisxavier.ecsd.net for game times and results.
The St. Albert Skyhawks are hosting the Go Logowear Invitational Junior Basketball Tournament this weekend at the SkyDome and Vincent J. Maloney School.
The inaugural event is designed to give junior teams competitive games before league play commences.
Eight girls’ and eight boys’ teams are entered.
The Skyhawks fly into action Friday at the SkyDome against St. Joe’s at 8:45 a.m. in the girls’ draw and 12:15 p.m. against Camrose in the boys’ draw.
Saturday’s finals are 5:30 p.m. for the girls and 7:15 p.m. for the boys at the SkyDome.
Schedules are available at www.sachs.ab.ca/athletics/basketball/.
The St. Albert Merchants and Morinville Jets renew their junior B rivalry Sunday at 6:45 p.m. at the Ray MacDonald Sports Centre.
Early in the season the Jets won 3-1 in St. Albert and the Merchants posted a 2-1 decision in Morinville.
After the 21-game mark in league play, the first-place Jets (15-4-2) lead the fourth-place Merchants (11-8-2) by eight points in the west division.
The Jets completed their November schedule with a record of 5-2-1. The Merchants finished 5-4 after Sunday’s 8-1 loss to the second-place Beverly Warriors (14-6-1) at Clareview Arena.
Dalen Paul of the Jets is enjoying a banner season with a league-high 26 goals in 20 games. He is also tied for second in the points race with 36.
The Merchants are led by Jake Behiels’ 12 goals and 21 points in 20 games.
The Merchants’ next home game is Friday against the Edmonton Mustangs (9-10-2) at 8 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
