Lightning earn banners at provincial tourneys
Three Pictou County Lightning teams took home gold from Basketball Nova Scotia provincial championships last weekend in the U12 Division.
The Smith/MacGregor team defeated the SLAM 36-31 to take the Division 3 boys banner. Austin Pottie received Tournament MVP, while Hudson MacGregor was named a tournament all-star. Braydon MacDonald received MVP honours in the championship game, and Daniel Thorne won the Hustle Award.
In Division 5, Shawn George’s team earned the girls banner with a 27-19 win over the Cole Harbour Rockets. Karissa George was named Tournament MVP, Olivia Marks was a tournament all-star, and Nicole Acheson received player of the game honours.
The Lemmon/Desmond team won the gold in Division 7 boys, which was hosted locally at North Nova Education Centre and Northumberland Regional High School. The boys were victorious over the Shelburne Thrashers, 45-44.
Daniel Walsh, who scored the winning basket, was the player of the game. Noah Thompson earned the Tournament MVP award, Taylor Robertson was named a tournament all-star, and Tanner Murphy received the Hustle Award for the final game.
Out of the seven Lightning teams competing in provincial tournaments on the weekend, two others advanced to cross-over games, with Team Stroud/Bryce winning silver in Division 6 boys, and Team Geddes placing fourth in Division 5 girls.
Team Geddes was also one of two winners of the Mini Girls AUS Championship Contest, and will get to play a 10-minute scrimmage with an AUS alumni all-star during intermission of one of the games, taking place in Halifax.
Seven Lightning teams will compete in U14 provincials March 24-26. On the weekend of March 31-April 2, four Pictou County teams will participate in U16 provincials and two will compete at U18 provincials.