St. Francis Xavier 49th annual BRIT champs

For the 2nd straight year a team from Edmonton Alta. has won the 49th annual BRIT invitational basketball tournament.

St. Francis Xavier defeated Campbell Collegiate out of Regina 77-55 on Saturday night in front of a packed house at Bedford Road Collegiate.

“I couldn’t have done it without the team,” said Xavier Grade 12 guard Geoffrey James. “The relationship we have is great.”

James had 25 points for the Rams.

“It’s a big win as it’s a huge atmosphere in this building,” he said. “We just did what we had to do to get the win.”

Jesse Trussler for Campbell had 20 points.

“I think we could have been ready to play more,” he said. “They embraced the hype of the game and we coward from it.”

In the dying seconds of the third quarter, James brought the crowd to their feet as he alley-oop dunked to massive applause.

“I couldn’t have done it without the setup,” he joked. 

Trussler said the loss is on him.

“I stepped up throughout the tournament,” he said. “I definitely could have played better this game and should have led my team better.”

Magrath High School out of Alta. finished third place, while Marion M. Graham Collegiate from Saskatoon finished fourth.

Half-time entertainment North Sask. regiment @TheBRITClassic #yxe pic.twitter.com/r7eGZ0IW2K

— JT Marshall (@jtmarshallCKOM) January 15, 2017