In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Raymond Comets bludgeoned the 16th-seeded Fort McMurray Westwood Trojans 107-47 as Jimmy Ralph scored 24 and Jordan Oler 20. Shane Moghaddami led the Trojans with 22. The Trojans also included Curlan Alexander, Sam Andrews, Daniel Caoili, Will Clarke, Cody Clyburn, Abdul Hafiz, Brennan Kearney, Miroslav Maric, Isse Mohamud, Brandon Mowzer, Dylan Patterson, Harsh Shah, Josh White and Mitch Wood. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded St. Albert Paul Kane Blues (coached by Rick Stanley) dumped the 9th-seeded Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams 91-78 as Tyler Wise scored 45, including six from beyond the arc, and Connor Bradley 17. Clay Gibb led the Rams with 20. Colten Murrey added 17. “It’s a huge win for us. It’s big for our confidence,” said Wise. “I just did what I could to help our team win.” Connor Bradley said “Tyler really stepped up. I’ve never seen him hit so many shots. He looked confident. He looked like he had his swagger out there. He was the man.” Wise didn’t miss a shot in the first half while dropping four three-balls and 23 points on the beleaguered Rams. His 18 points in the first quarter included three three-balls. The Blues led 30-25 after the first quarter, 55-34 at halftime and 70-63 after three quarters. Bradley said “there were a lot of haters out there saying that this team was going to beat us but we didn’t listen to that. We knew we could beat this team. They’re really strong but we came out flying and we came out shooting,” Bradley said. In the third quarter, after a couple of slick low post moves by Wise for buckets, the Rams out-scored the Blues 17-7 to trail by seven entering the last period. After the Rams pulled to within one, Wise’s fifth three-ball from the corner pocket in front of the Paul Kane bench with 7:48 to play was followed seconds later by a three-ball by Bradley from almost the exact spot to make it 78-69. Wise added two clutch free throws with 6:17 remaining to extend the lead to 80-74. “We knew that as a unit if we worked together, we could win the game,” Wise said. The Rams also included Nabaa Alam, Taha Benbrick, Max Drollinger, Kai Fender, Colton Gibb, Brandon Karl, Ben Lewis, Brett Neill and Dylan Willoughby. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Calgary Father Lacombe Lasers clipped the 13th-seeded Edmonton St. Francis Xavier Rams 88-74 as Mangk Akwi scored 21 and Kashif Tucker 18. Ty Gaertner led the Rams with 18. Kerry McElhanney added 12. The Rams also included Andrew Danyleyko, Sean Flynn, Joey Galan, Nikko Guce, Alex Kozicki, Sean Kristiansen, Loic Mulatris, Euriah Pemberton, Joey Schwartz, Brendan Siwak and Michael Tessier. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels stomped the 12th-seeded Calgary Bishop McNally Timberwolves 102-79 as Jon Dosunmu scored 25 and Jordan Olson 19. Tony Walter led the Timberwolves with 17. Bol Bol added 14. The Timberwolves also included Bernard Baria, Shahn Cui, Kristian Diaz, Mark Fernandes, Paul Gulfo, James Kuol, Raiden Marshall, Yonathan Mekuria, Justin Ramos and Thiik Thiik. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans (coached by George Hoyt) clubbed the 15th-seeded Grande Prairie Tomahawks 107-45 as Kyle Peterson scored 22 and Sebastian Cava 22. Corey Plett led the Tomahawks with 10. Leif Carstairs and Zack Duinker each added 9. The Tomahawks also included Jarrod Caufield, Damian Hickok, Matt Hynd, Melcris Juralbar, Kareem Kilani, Joren Manz, Justin Martin, Micah Reimer, Jared Waldroff and Joel Zimmerman. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds (coached by Dave Youngs) upset the 7th-seeded Cardston Cougars 71-68 as Alex Nugusse scored 26 and Jada Lado 16. Dallin Low paced the Cougars with 13. Dylan Ferguson added 12. The Cougars also included Justin Folsom, Tarren Gregson, Aaron Kennard, Brady Olsen, Rylan Olsen, Shaun Quinton, Carter Redord, Skylar Thompson and Ethan Webster. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts defeated the 14th-seeded Red Deer Notre Dame Cougars 66-61 as Eddie Asamoah scored 19 and Matt Johnson 15. Dario Viveros led the Cougars with 32, including seven from beyond the arc. John Goranson added 16. Cougars coach Stephen Merredew was pleased that his troops were able to play with the Ghosts until the final quarter. The Cougars also included Brandon Ballantyne, Tyler Cassidy, Austin Clark, Jesse Clark, King Dela Cruz, Cameron Ehnes, Jordan Handel, Jonakor Jongkor, Kierran Pruden and John Sinclair. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Calgary Western Canada Redmen dusted the 11th-seeded Okotoks Foothills Composite Falcons 81-57. Western Canada Redmen came out hard against Foothills and took a 20-point lead into the first-quarter break. “We started off terrible,” Foothills coach Amron Gwilliam said. “They were quite nervous.” The Falcons rebounded in the second and third quarters and closed the gap to seven points, however, the Redmen coasted. The Falcons included Taylor Armsworthy, Ryan Derochie, Joss Engen, Ray Goff, Tyler Grigor, Bryce Hardy, Taylor Orr, Taner Parrington, Landon Pitcher, Scott Sparrow, Kurtis Taylor and Mackellar Wilkie.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Raymond Comets blasted the 8th-seeded St. Albert Paul Kane Blues 97-52 as Jimmy Ralph scored 24 and Brad Baker 17. Connor Bradley led the Blues with 12. Stuart Boucher added 8. “It’s almost a pleasure to lose to a team like that,” said Blues coach Rick Stanley. “It’s not only their athletic ability; their attitude and their respect for the game and each other makes them really special. … Raymond is a slick, classy team with kids that are just athletic. They work hard. They’re respectful. They’ve got the whole package. I was excited and happy to get to play them. I know we didn’t compete down the stretch but I think our boys learned a valuable lesson. They were tougher than any team we played in the States [during the Christmas break in San Diego].” Blues guard Khalil Bertin said “they’re a great team. They have really good defence so it was tough for us. We have a lot of young guys and they’re an older team, so it was tough dealing with the pressure of playing them but I’m sure we’ll be better because of it next year.” The Blues trailed 26-19 after the first quarter, 56-29 at halftime and 77-43 after three quarters. The Blues also included Sean Allen, Des Anderson, Khalil Bertin, Brandon Best, Jayden Bordian, Shane Kolba, Peter McKay, Adam Sturgess, Hyrum Sutton, Jon Van Dorp, Kyle Watkins, Tyler Wise and Zack Yaremko.
The 5th-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels dispatched the 4th-seeded Calgary Father Lacombe Lasers 93-82 as Jordan Olson scored 28, Denzel James 19 and Jesse Smith 19. Justin Makasiar paced the Lasers with 33. The Lasers also included Mangk Akwl, Laul Ateam, Evan Hennebury, Jeremiah Jimenez, Katt Magak, Oj Ojullo, Daniel Pawelko, Kent Reid, Alberto Rorigez, Sam Sargent and Kashif Tucker.
The 2nd-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans outlasted the 10th-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds 78-73 as Lyndon Annetts scored 20, Keith Gerdis 19 and Kyle Peterson 7. Alex Nugusse led the Thunderbirds with 25. Blake Hinchey added 22. Thunderbirds coach Dave Youngs said “I’m proud of these guys. This is the kind of play we’d been hoping to get from them all season long.” The game hinged on the Titans’ ability to grab rebounds, select good shots and hit foul throws in the closing minutes. They trailed by 16 points in the first quarter and were down by 12 at the half. A pair of Galan Mohammed free throws finally gave Ainlay a 62-61 margin with about six minutes remaining. A couple of missed free throws at the other made it impossible for the Thunderbirds to regain the lead. With 11 seconds remaining, needing a three-pointer to tie, they didn’t get a shot. “Inconsistency has been a problem for us,” Youngs said. “But we didn’t beat ourselves. Ainlay beat us.” The Thunderbirds also included Ethan Behm, Etienne Holder, Jorge Joseph, Rosen Karanov, Jada Lado, Elliot Li, Tyree Malcolm, Jarron Mathews, Eric Permann, David Ponich, Jordan Vogel and Robert Wannamaker.
In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded Calgary Western Canada Redmen whipped the 3rd-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts 86-71 as Ammon Crowfoot scored 24 and John Traboulsi 21. John Hegwood led the Ghosts with 23. Dieter Posien added 20. The Ghosts also included Eddie Asamoah, Sawyer Brown, Michael Clarke, Zach Hartley, Matt Johnson, Chris Maroti, Connor McCleary, Randall Mosca, Jason Rodrigues, Tyler Seal and Austin Still.
In the semis, the top-seeded Raymond Comets survived the 5th-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels 97-91 as Jimmy Ralph scored 28 and Tyson McIntyre 17. Denzel James and Jon Dosunmu each scored 18 to pace the Rebels. Jasper Place coach Matt Burrows said his team played its best game of the year. “We were in a tight one in the city finals but I didn’t think we played as strong as we did today. We played against a great team and we talked earlier this year about (Raymond’s) aura or their presence and our kids started believing in themselves.” The Comets took a 25-20 lead and outscored the Rebels 12-2 and built a 17-point lead in the second quarter. But the Rebels got a lift off the bench from guard Chandler Campbell, who hit a couple of much-needed three-pointers and made stops on the defensive end of the floor. In a span of five minutes, with help from Grade 11 forward Denzel James and point guard Jesse Smith, the Rebels reeled off a 20-4 run to get within a point and found themselves back in the game, down 45-44 at the half. “To their credit they shot the ball very well and I felt like our intensity dropped a little bit,” Comets coach Todd Heggie said. “And we got away from the run, which is our game. In the third quarter we turned that around and kept going.” The Comets outscored the Rebels 34-21 in the third quarter. They continued to push the ball and work both ends of the floor. While Ralph continued to bomb away from the outside, 6-5 centre Tyson McIntyre punished Jasper Place on the offensive glass. Heggie said that his team is far from a one-man show. “Through our playoff run and (in provincials), another five or six guys have stepped up. Jimmy is obviously pretty good, he’s a great ballplayer, but we’ve got other guys who step up and fill their role and do good.” When the game came down to crunch time, though, it belonged to Ralph. The scrappy 5-10 guard made a steal with Jasper Place within six points in the final 2:30 and hit a deep three to push the lead to nine. He missed a drive in the final minute, but grabbed his own rebound and was fouled. The only blemish on his night were a pair of missed free throws that would have stretched Raymond’s four-point lead to six with about 15 seconds to play. “He usually doesn’t miss two (foul shots) in two weeks of playing,” Heggie said. “But he’s a gamer and we’re usually pretty good with the ball in his hands.” Ralph was upset with himself for the missed freebies, but said a run like the one the Rebels had is a part of the game. Our coach always tells us that good teams are going to go on runs, it’s a part of basketball. So when they did, we calmed down and let the game come to us.”
In the other semi, the 6th-seeded Calgary Western Canada Redmen outdueled the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 122-121 in double overtime. Ammon Crowfoot paced the Redmen with 31. Jordan Jensen-Whyte added 26. Lyndon Annetts led the Titans with 34. Kyle Peterson added 31. John Traboulsi hit the winner from the free throw line with a second left on the clock. “Confidence,” the Grade 12 guard said of his thoughts at the line with the game tied and his team’s season in the balance. “I could see all the players, all the fans were talking a little trash, but (I wanted to) just shoot with confidence. I knew I was going to make it.” Redmen coach Steve Wiebe said. “I’ve never seen two teams hit so many big, big shots. Just when you think, ‘That’s the dagger,’ the next team came back. And that happened again and again and again. “A few weeks ago, these kids were all in the locker room (after losing in overtime) bawling their eyes out. They were in the depths of despair. And now they’re at the top of the mountain.”
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels defeated the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 81-74 as Denzel James scored 22 and Jon Dosunmu 18. Mustafa Ismail paced the Titans with 17. The Rebels avenged a loss to the titans in the Edmonton city playoffs. The Titans also included Lyndon Annetts, Sean Baergen, Colton Ballour, Corey Crowfoot, Richard Jordan Garside, Keith Gerdes, Galan Mohammed, Michael Moore, Troy Neilson, Ryan Patterson, Kyle Peterson, Werner Vandermerwe and Aundrey Webster.
In the final, the top-seeded Raymond Comets defeated the 6th-seeded Calgary Western Canada Redmen 82-76 as Jimmy Ralph scored 23 and Brad Baker 22. Ammon Crowfoot paced the Redmen with 24, all from beyond the arc. Jordan Jensen-Whyte added 16. “That was a classic battle,” Comets coach Todd Heggie said. “This was as good as a final gets. (Both teams) were out of gas at the end. Ammon shot the ball extremely well. He pulled us out of that zone once or twice, but we stuck with it and we rebounded well. It was a great game.” The Comets ripped off a decisive 15-5 run in the third quarter to take command. Western Canada coach Steve Wiebe said “we played hard and we played well. Raymond is so fast and has some big guys. We didn’t get the job done inside and we missed some key hoops.” Heggie told the Lethbridge Herald he almost considering abandoning the zone late but decided to stick with it after discussing the matter with his assistants. “We were on the verge of getting out of it. They were shooting the ball well; But we had our guys inside doing a great job rebounding. I didn’t think we were giving them anything when they did miss, so we stuck with it. Those grade 12 guys [Quinn Workman, Tyson Maclntyre, Brad Baker and Owen Sieben] are a pretty special group, aren’t they? It’s great to send them out on a high. … They’re good athletes that love to compete and they just give it their all every time. … You watch them, maybe they’ve got that toughness that you need. You watch them go through Dustin
(Ralph’s) football program, they’ve got the toughness. They’ve got a lot of confidence. I really focused this year
on myself keeping calm. They probably handled it [high expectations] better than I did. I think there were times I
looked to them for that. They were that kind of group.”
The bronze medalist Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels: Ryan Bowie; Greg Buffie; Chandler Campbell; Sebastian Cava; Arran Chambers; Jon Dosunmu; Denzel James; Jordan Olson; Cody Prechel; Jesse Smith; Andrew Timmer; Dan Wester; Kevin Yashima; coach Matt Burrows
The silver medalist Calgary Western Canada Redmen: Sean Blomfield; Tim Boettcher; Ammon Crowfoot; Jordan Jensen-Whyte; Strahinja Kucinar; Cordell Minnifee; Ryan Sandhu; Joe Sykes; T.T. Thokbuom; John Traboulsi; Glen Zarzecki; coach Steve Wiebe
The gold medalist Raymond Comets: Brad Baker; Peter Bridge; Robbie Karren; Nick Leavitt; Tyson McIntyre; Jordan Oler; Dillon Prince; Connor Ralph; Jimmy Ralph; Owen Sieben; Nikora Smith; Quinn Workman; coach Todd Heggie