The Weyburn Comprehensive Eagles, for the third year in a row, are the winners of the annual McLeod Series.

In a thrilling night of basketball, the Eagles would split the two games at the Eagles Gym of Weyburn Comprehensive Wednesday, with the nightcap game featuring the senior boys’ teams from both WCS and Estevan. The WCS boys team would dominate the play for the most part, and in the end, brought fans storming onto the floor with a 78-62 victory, securing the win in the 85th edition of the annual rivalry series.

The McLeod Series is a four-game, total point series played over the course of two nights, with two games in Estevan, and two in Weyburn. The boys and girls squads from both schools play in the event.

SEE: Gallery of photos from the McLeod Series

Coming into the action Wednesday, the Eagles had a 16 point margin and were eager to hoist the trophy on their home court. 

The first game of the evening saw the WCS Senior Girls’ squad taking on the Estevan Elecs. The Elecs came out strong and built up an early lead. At the end of the first quarter, ECS was up on Weyburn by a score of 29-19. The strong play of Bethany Monteban, who finished the night with 24 points, led the way for the Elecs.

Action from the Senior Girls' game Wednesday night. (photo by Steven Wilson)The points kept coming throughout the first half, and Estevan headed to the break with a 47-30 lead.

In the third quarter, the Eagles found a way to get some points on the board themselves, and at one point, had closed the gap to just five points. The play of Denae King helped WCS, as she finished off the game with 21 points. Arliss Sidloski was also a big contributor to the offence, ending the night with 17 points. 

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Eagles found themselves down 68-59, but the Elecs found an extra gear. The visiting team would pour it on in the final quarter, and finished off the night with a 92-72 victory. 

The win erased the 16 point edge the Eagles had in the series, and gave the ECS Senior Boys’ team a four-point advantage heading into the penultimate game.

In the nightcap, the Eagles found themselves using their jump shot to overcome the zone defence of the Elecs, but ECS had ways to score themselves. After the first quarter, the Elecs were up 17-14. This put WCS in a position of having to rally back to not only overcome the deficit in the game but an additional four points if they wanted to secure the series victory.

In the second quarter, the teams went back and forth, with Weyburn, led by Blake Anderson, eventually taking the lead in the final moments of the half. At the buzzer, the Eagles were up 31-30.

In the second half, WCS started to pull away.

By the end of the third quarter, the Eagles had built up a 54-42 lead. The scoring for WCS came from a number of players as well, with Zach Olson putting up 10 points himself, including two big three-pointers. 

The fourth quarter saw WCS put things away, with 24 points scored, including big dunks from Sawyer Kopec and Anderson, and three-pointers from Zach Schmidt and Olson. In the end, the WCS Eagles won the game 78-62. The 16 point win would give them a 12 point margin in the total points for the victory.

Students rushed the floor at the buzzer, and hoisted Anderson to their shoulders, with chants of MVP being shouted by the WCS faithful in attendance at the game.

With the intensity of the McLeod Series now over, for this year, the teams look ahead to the rest of the season. From here, all four teams will begin to prepare for regionals, which will determine qualifications for Hoopla, which is scheduled for Regina this March.