The 2016 edition of the TELUS Stampeders Basketball Program tipped off on Tuesday afternoon at Calgary’s St. Joseph’s school.

Students and staff lined the court to welcome the Stamps while also supporting their Jaguars. Both the boys’ and girls’ squads representing St. Joseph’s faced off against Brandon Boudreaux, Andrew Buckley, Rob Cote, Ben D’Aguilar, Bo Levi Mitchell, Rene Paredes and Adam Thibault of the Stampeders.

Highlights of the much-anticipated matchup included a slam dunk from Buckley, as the rookie quarterback and former Calgary Dino brought the crowd to its feet when he jammed home two points for the visitors.

After a series of shifts against the boys’ and girls’ teams, the Stamps managed to pull off a narrow 54-51 victory as they staved off a late comeback.

Wearing their Red and White with hand-crafted signs in tow, students received post-game autographs and posed for photos alongside their favourite players before a select few were awarded with exclusive prizes courtesy of TELUS and the Calgary Stampeders. The players of the game received a Stamps team-signed jersey (male) and Fitbit (female), while four lucky kids in the stands walked away with Selfie Sticks. Each St. Joseph’s player also received snow leopard critters.

Next up in the TELUS Stampeders Basketball Program is a trip to Chestermere Lake Middle School on Friday at 11 a.m.

>> Click here to see a photo gallery from the game