Cade Mather knows what it feels like to lose in the final of the prestigious Luther Invitational Tournament (LIT), which returned for the 69th time over the weekend.
Despite suffering a heartbreaking loss in the 2020 final of the high school basketball tournament, Mather has nothing but fond memories of his time at the event.
“Yeah, we were sad, but that was probably some of the most fun I’ve ever had,” said Mather, who played in LIT in 2019 and 2020 and is now a member of the University of Regina men’s basketball team.
“Growing up, you strive to play in LIT. I’d probably been to five LIT’s before I’d ever got to play in it.”
After a two-year hiatus, LIT returned to the Luther College High School gym and showed once again why some consider it the gold standard in Canada.
For Troy Casper, Luther’s Athletic Director, meeting expectations is not easy.
“I’ve had 105 emails in the last two days. It’s a lot of work,” said Casper.
Casper is no stranger to LIT and has been a part of the Luther community for a long time.
“I’ve been doing it for 25 years as a teacher and then throughout university I coached here and three years as a student, so I’ve been here since grade seven, watching LIT. That’s 30 some years,” said Casper.
While the tournament does feature some of the best teams in Western Canada, many say the games are just a small part of the experience.
“I think the biggest thing is actually the stuff outside of the basketball that happens,” said Zenon Orobko, a long-time spectator of LIT who hopes one day to coach in the tournament.
“It’s done really well. Even the banners hanging from the middle of the court.”
The boy’s tournament has run since 1953. A girls tournament was added in 2016. This year, eight boys and eight girl’s teams competed.
The tournament features opening and closing ceremonies, as well as a banquet that all teams attend. At halftime of the girls final, dogs raced against kids.
The girl’s final saw Alberta’s Raymond Comets defeat Winnipeg’s Dakota Lancers 64-62. Raymond guard Delaney Gibb had 33 points in the final and broke the female record for most points in a single tournament.
The McGrath Zeniths from McGrath, Alta. beat the Walter Murray Marauders from Saskatoon 102-71 in the boy’s final.
The success of the tournament, which is the longest running high school basketball tournament in Canada, has led to some other organizers reaching out for advice. Casper was contacted by a Luther alumnus who was looking to start a tournament in Vancouver.
“She spent a couple days on the phone with me off and on, getting all the details and I sent her the timeline of everything that I do,” said Casper.
One thing that Casper makes sure to do is get the school community involved.
“The whole game plan is that we want our students to do as much as they can,” said Casper.
Students, placed in various committees, run the tournament and are in charge of everything from the concession to the banquet. Casper cites student involvement as a main reason for the sustained success of the tournament He also understands what the tournament means to the Regina.
“The basketball community is pretty big in Regina, for how big the city is and you just have to give them something that they want to come to,” said Casper.
“That’s why its really important that we continue it.”
