Killarney Guide

The Killarney Raiders are Zone 9 Varsity Boys Basketball Champions, after beating the Souris Sabres 66-59 to win the banner at home on Tuesday night.

As for the season, the Raiders swept their league play with a perfect 8-0 record. 

Coach Eric Carlson said that their overall record stands at 17-4, which includes a 14-game winning streak after starting the season 1-2 after the Carberry tournament in December.

“For tournaments, we finished 9-4: 1-2 at Carberry, 4-0 at the Wollny Invitational in Russell, 3-0 at our Home Tournament, and 1-2 at the Glenboro Invitational last weekend,” said Coach Carlson. “We finished fourth there (Glenboro) after two hard-fought games in which we lost to Elm Creek in Game 2 (final score 57-61), and Pinawa in OT in the third place game (final score 48-52).”

Carlson said highlights from the season included the Raiders winning their own Killarney Varsity Boys Basketball Tournament, and beating the MacGregor Mustangs in the process, who were ranked #5 in the province for AA Varsity Boys. 

The 14-game winning streak was also noted as a memorable highlight, plus one other high-flying achievement. 

“Nikolaus Kummer converted three out of four slam dunk attempts in-game,” said Carlson of his nearly 6’5” player’s soaring accomplishments. “That was something our boys were very excited to see happen live!”

Tuesday’s league final at Killarney School was very hotly contested by both teams. The Raiders looked good heading into the fourth quarter, with an 18-point lead over the Sabres, but Souris would push right till the end, to finish with a much tighter 66-59 score.

“We took, and luckily made, a lot of three-pointers that game, which helped keep up the pressure on Souris to score,” said Carlson. “The boys were able to hold off Souris’s last ditch momentum drive, causing them to start taking fouls, with us up 6 and 35 seconds on the clock. We hit enough free throws, and played good defense, to win the game. My boys showed a lot of poise at the end, and a lot of resiliency to keep fighting through calls and foul trouble,” added Coach Carlson. “I’m very proud of what they have accomplished as a group, so far.”

Carlson and the Raiders are now waiting to hear if they qualify for the Provincial Qualifier games on March 2. If they do, and they make it through those games, Killarney would punch their ticket to Provincials, being held in Russell from March 14 to 16.

DROP IT LIKE IT’S HOT – Sebastian Pauls (right), of the Killarney Raiders Varsity Boys team, waits for his layup to drop with the Souris Sabres hot on their tails late in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s league final. Souris made a big push but Killarney would prevail 66-59 to win the Zone 9 Varsity Boys Basketball Championship. Keep scrolling to share this story below.

KILLARNEY BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPS – From left: Coach Eric Carlson, Kylan Anderson, Eric MacDonald, Sebastian Pauls, Josh Archambault, Nikolaus Kummer, Logan Sitnik, Chase Nafziger, Kirk Sardal, Kaleb Friesen, Tristan Medwid, and assistant coaches Dylan Martens and Dennis Villanueva are Zone 9 Varsity Boys Basketball Champions, after beating Souris 66-59 on Tuesday.

JAY STRUTH/KILLARNEY GUIDE PHOTOS