The host team escaped Thursday’s tournament lid-lifter with a victory at the Paul Kane Classic.
Leading by one after giving up a 10-point run to the Lloydminster Barons, the hometown Blues rallied for seven points in the last 41 seconds of the third quarter and in the last period tacked up nine straight to go up by 15 with under four minutes to play.
“There were just too many mental mistakes today,” said Grade 12 post Shaydon Philip after the dicey 66-54 decision in high school men’s basketball. “It’s good that we won but we’ve got to work more as a team and hustle.”
The Blues closed out the first half on top 35-25 after leading by four at the end of the first quarter.
Down by 12 halfway through the third quarter the Barons got rolling to cut the deficit to one. Kirk Hann drained three of the team’s four three-pointers in the period during the 10-point outburst. Hann finished the game with five three-pointers and a game-high 21 points.
The Blues rebounded with a clutch three-pointer by Carter McKinley with 41 seconds left until quarter time.
Thomas Laxdal unloaded a field goal off a turnover with 13 seconds to go and with only two ticks on the clock McKinley converted a bounce pass from Dani Iskander off another turnover.
The Blues sealed the deal in the fourth quarter with two free throws by Laxdal, Philip’s field goal and Cam Wagensveld’s three-pointer during the nine-point scoring spree.
“When we actually bear down and focus and we play our game like that we’re probably one of the better teams in the league,” Philip said of the 3-3 metro Edmonton division one Blues.
The slippery McKinley was the team’s leading scorer with 13 points. The six-foot-four Philip drained 12 and Laxdal chipped in with 10, including two three-pointers.
However, the Blues were guilty of an alarming number of missed shots that clanked off the rim, resulting in the Paul Kane athletic department scrambling to find money in its budget to replace the damaged hoops.
“Unlucky day, maybe. It will be better the next game,” Philip said of the shaky shooting display.
The Blues played the W.P. Wagner Warriors Friday in the semifinals but the score was unavailable at press time.
The Warriors, a 3-0 division two pool A team, knocked off the No. 5-ranked 3A Edmonton Christian Lions, a winless division one team, 81-66 Thursday.
The eight-team men’s draw wraps up today with the consolation final at 1:45 p.m., the third place game at 5:15 p.m. and the final at 8:45 p.m.
It’s the third tournament for the Blues after placing third at the Totem Hoop Classic at Ross Sheppard High School and finishing seventh at the REB Invitational at Jasper Place High School.
The overall record for the eighth-ranked 4A team in Alberta was 8-6 after Thursday’s performance.
“It could be better but we’re still working on it,” Philip said. “As long as we keep working hard we’ll get better.”
The Blues are tied for ninth in the ultra-tough 16-team division one standings. The other metro teams in the top-10 4A rankings include the Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds (4-1), last year’s fourth-place finishers at provincials, at No. 4, the gold-medal winning Harry Ainlay Titans (7-0) at No. 5 and O’Leary Spartans (4-2), last year’s silver medallists, at No. 6.
Philip, 17, insisted “it’s not a big deal” the Blues are listed eighth in the first rankings period.
“It’s a good thing to see that we’re getting noticed but we’ve still got to win games,” said the standout football player for the reigning Miles conference division two champions.
The first game after the Christmas break for the Blues was Wednesday’s 75-60 loss to the Bev Facey Falcons (4-2) in Sherwood Park.
“That was a tough one, same as this game almost,” Philip said. “We practised a lot (during the holidays) so we were prepared, we just have to perform and execute better. It was just our mental lapses I guess.”
The current edition of Blues features eight Grade 12s and nine returning players from last year’s team that placed eighth while finishing 6-8 in league play after losing the playoff opener to the Titans.
“We’re better than last year,” said Philip, noting teamwork and chemistry as the team’s most improved areas. “We just have to keep focusing, work hard and get our systems down. Once we do that we’ll be better.”
The next metro game is Monday against the Thunderbirds at 6:30 p.m. at Paul Kane.
The Blues visit the M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs (4-2) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
At the Paul Kane Classic, the Voyageurs lost 58-53 to the No. 7-ranked 3A Sturgeon Spirits, a division two pool B team, on Thursday at Namao.
