A spectacular season so far for the John Paul II Junior Crusaders boys’ basketball team got even better on the weekend in Edmonton.
The team took part in the Big Dawg Classic, which included top teams from the metro Edmonton area.
The Crusaders were the only non-Edmonton team to compete and they ended up winning the tournament, defeating Vernon Barford Blues by a 68 to 48 score.
While the championship game was a comfortable win, the semifinal against Archbishop Jordan Scots was a back and forth one. The Crusaders were trailing at one point but came back and managed to pull out a 44-41 win.
The Crusaders’ most dominant win of the tournament came in their first game, beating Millwoods Christian Royals 59 to 36.
Overall, the Crusaders have a perfect 15-0 record and have finished first in five tournaments in a row. But the Big Dawg Classic was their toughest of the season.
“This is kind of our biggest tournament of the year,” said Head Coach Nate Jurgens.
“They’ve won every tournament they’ve been in, and this is one that they definitely knew they would be challenged at, and ended up coming out on top. It was very, very nice to see them step up in challenging situations.”
In particular, it was “nice to see new teams and new competition, and face a challenge, for sure,” said Jurgens.
