Carlton overwhelms St. Mary for big win in annual food bank game

Photo courtesy of Scott Manson. From left to right, Carlton Crusaders basketball players Gage Prodaehl, Zane Litzenberger, and Tucker Prodaehl pose for a photo at the Prince Albert Food Bank while dropping off the proceeds from the annual Food Bank Game with St. Mary High School.

The Carlton Crusaders Sr. Boy’s basketball team struck early and often for a big win over the St. Mary Marauders in the annual Food Bank Game on Tuesday.

Carlton led 46-36 at the half, but pulled away in the third and fourth quarters, outscoring St. Mary 47-20 on route to a 93-56 win on home court. The victory was a far cry from the last meeting between the two teams at the Guardian Invitational Tournament (GIT) in Saskatoon, where Carlton eked out a one point victory.

“We came out and played with an intensity level that I haven’t seen yet,” Carlton head coach Randy Emmerson said when asked about the win on Tuesday. “I just think it was our night in our gym. St. Mary is strong. The score certainly doesn’t indicate the closeness of the game and how competitive our two teams are—and will be through the course of the year.”

Everett Moccasin-Bourke led the way for Carlton with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Clarence Ermine and Emerson MacCuaig both had 11 rebounds, tops among all Crusaders, while Zane Litzenberger led the team with five assists. Litzenberger and Franck Ntwari tied for the team lead with four steals.

Emmerson said the squad did a good job communicating and defending, which led to a win.

“St. Mary is a team that likes to get out and run, and they shoot the three-ball very well,” Emmerson said. “We knew that we could give them very little space in the half court, and we needed to match their speed as best we could to limit their fast-break chances. After the game in Saskatoon, we realized we needed to play a little bit differently, and we were able to do so and have a different result.”

Carlton and St. Mary basketball teams have been playing food bank games against each other since the 1980s, when Carlton’s Rob Clarke and St. Mary’s Dale Regel started the concept. Instead of paying cash to watch, attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food time, or make a cash donation. Carlton players dropped the donations off on Thursday.

Emmerson said Carlton students, parents, staff, and SLCA rallied around the game and made it a successful event.

“To have it still continue 40 years later and have the crowd, and the excitement, and the ability to do something for the community is an opportunity for both teams that should be recognized,” he said.

The Crusaders are off until they travel to Moose Jaw for their next tournament on Jan. 10-11.

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