ESTEVAN - The Weyburn Comprehensive School Eagles have won the 86th McLeod Series.
The Eagles senior boys basketball team defeated their rivals, the Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs, 68-61 Wednesday night in Estevan in the finale of the best-of-four showdown.
Each team won two games this year, so the series came down to point differential. Weyburn outscored Estevan by 12, 247-235.
It's the fourth straight time that Weyburn has won the series.
In the senior boys' game Wednesday, the two teams were tied 22-22 after the first quarter and 33-33 at halftime. The lead changed hands on numerous occasions.
Estevan pulled ahead in the third, and led 49-44 after three quarters. The Elecs grew the lead to 57-50 midway through the fourth quarter, but Weyburn rallied, outscoring the Elecs 18-4 down the stretch.
As for the senior girls' game Wednesday, Estevan won 54-49 in overtime. The Elecs had a 29-14 lead at half-time, thanks to a dominant second quarter in which they outscored Weyburn 19-1. Estevan had a 35-21 advantage late in the third, but Weyburn responded with 14 straight points, including a buzzer-beating three-point shot to tie the game at 35-35.
The Elecs had a 45-41 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but Weyburn made two clutch shots to force overtime.
ECS outscored Weyburn 9-4 in the extra frame.
A large, boisterous crowd turned out for Wednesday's game, packing the main grandstand at ECS. Many fans were seated on benches behind the hoops, or were standing at various locations. They cheered their respective teams on, and chanted loudly throughout the night.
The first two games were played Monday in Weyburn. The Weyburn senior boys won 88-66, while the Estevan senior girls won 54-42.
Be sure to check out next week's editions of the Estevan Mercury and the Weyburn Review for more on the competition.
