An impressive performance by the Portage Collegiate Institute (PCI) Trojans wasn't enough to knock off the first-place St. John's Tigers. They fell 80-78 in the West Winnipeg Athletic Conference Tier 2 varsity boys Semi-Final in Portage la Prairie last night.

PCI was down 34-29 at the half after giving up an early lead in the first quarter. The Tigers came out big in the second and right after the Trojans got within one, they hit three back-to-back three-pointers to climb ahead by 10. Portage didn't give up and continued to pressure their opponents, slowly chipping away at the lead until the final two minutes, when it looked like they might tie the game. Again, St. John's pulled ahead by five, and despite a long three-pointer from Gage Foster to get the Trojans within two with seconds to go, they couldn't get the ball down court quick enough to force overtime. 

Bryce Rose trying to defend the three-point shot Feb. 28, 2017. (Photo by Aaron Wilgosh)

"It was one of the best basketball games these guys have played as a collective whole," says Janey Bradford, Trojans head coach. "They executed our plan and that's basically all you can ask. We made St. John's work for it, it wasn't an easy game for them. We let one their guys get hot on the three-point line there with three back-to-back so it was really hard to chip away and come back. That's how dangerous that three-ball is in this game."

The Trojans seemed overwhelmed at times, forcing Bradford to use her time-outs much earlier than planned. "I couldn't save any for the last two minutes," admits Bradford. "I did that consciously because I was trying to get control of the team and execute the plan (earlier). Maybe if I saved one or two we could've gone ahead late, but if I didn't maybe the Tigers would've ran away with. As a coach and a player you have to learn from those situations."

The Trojans go for third place Thursday in Portage.

JV Saints Eye Championship

The PCI Saints have booked a spot in the West Winnipeg Athletic Conference Tier 2 junior varsity girls Championship Final.

They breezed by the Stonewall Rams in the semi-final in Winnipeg, winning 51-18 in a very one-sided match.

"We'll say it was a relaxed win," says head coach Dave McLeod. "We knew they probably weren't going to put up a whole lot of a challenge. We've played them three times this year and they haven't really come close. It was more about going out and executing, working on stuff and cleaning things up for Friday."

The championship game is Friday in Winnipeg. The Saints will be taking on the Kelvin Clippers.

"We've played them twice this year and we beat them by two, they beat us by one," says McLeod. "It's going to be a good game."

MacGregor Provincial Bound

The junior varsity girls won a thriller in MacGregor last night. The Mustangs bested Prairie Mountain 65-62 in overtime to punch their ticket to the Provincial Championships.

MacGregor's JV girls are off to the provincial championships later this month. (Submitted photo)

"It was a very exciting game," says head coach Jen Schroeder. "It was pretty even. We were up by two in the fourth and our defence definitely kept us in the game. We started pressing the dribblers as they came up the court and it shut them down a little bit, and their two better players fouled out. Then we held out with the lead in overtime, it was a lot of fun."

The Mustangs now go for the provincial championship March 10th, 11th, and 12th in Winnipeg.

"That was one of our goals," she adds. "Our two goals were to win Zone's and make it to provincials. We accomplished that and had a lot of fun doing it. We had good defence, our press break improved, and our offence was there when we needed it to be."