Both Red River College basketball teams faced pressure over the weekend: The pressure of repeating, the pressure of being the top seed, and the pressure of being in their opponents’ building.

The women’s and the men’s teams overcame that pressure, though. Both beat #2-seeded teams from the University of Winnipeg College Wesmen to be crowned the champions at the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Basketball Final 4‘s.

For the Red River Rebels men, it’s their fifth straight championship. For the women, their second straight.

The men’s final was won in the trenches, as the College Wesmen shooters went cold at the same time as the Rebels forwards got hot. Regular season MVP and Rebels forward Mike Hebert won all the hustle plays, as he would finish with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Leading all scorers, though, was Rebels forward Corey Neufeld. His 26 points earned him tournament MVP honours.

The women’s final, meanwhile, was a much closer affair. Down by 15 at halftime with their forwards in foul trouble, the College Wesmen made a remarkable run to take a lead in the fourth quarter. Responding, though, were Celecia Luckwell and Tia Ruddock of the Rebels, who made key buckets to secure the win. For her efforts, Ruddock was named the tournament MVP.

All scores from Saturday’s finals are below. Click here for game stories from the two finals.

Women’s Championship – 2 p.m.
#1 Red River College 69 vs. #2 University of Winnipeg College 65

Men’s Championship – 4 p.m.
#1 Red River College 72 vs. #2 University of Winnipeg College 56

All tournament stats can be found at the official MCAC Basketball Final 4’s stat page here.

The Basketball Final 4’s took place at The University of Winnipeg’s Duckworth Centre, in the Dr. David F. Anderson Gym, on Friday, Mar. 1 and Saturday, Mar. 2. Click here for a full list of results.

The Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference consists of: Red River College (RRC), Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), Providence University College (PUC), Université de Saint-Boniface (USB), Assiniboine Community College (ACC), and The University of Winnipeg (UW). The MCAC competes in men’s & women’s basketball, volleyball, and soccer.