Winning the last game of the season was worth the long wait for the Richard S. Fowler Falcons.
The first St. Albert Physical Education Council junior high boys' basketball championship since 2012 was celebrated in Thursday’s Tier I city final.
“It feels good to take home that huge trophy,” said Kevin Hessell, a six-foot-three Grade 9 post after the breakthrough performance in the fourth final in five years for Fowler.
The 67-58 victory also capped off a 10-0 campaign in league play.
“There was pressure but it was our game to win and it was our game to lose,” said Max Hartman, a Grade 8 wing. ”We knew we could win and the only way we would lose was if we made mistakes and we limited those mistakes.”
Visit www.stalbertgazette.com to view the team’s championship banner picture.
Fowler was on a mission after losing last year’s final 55-50 to the Lorne Akins Gators and in the semifinals the Falcons knock off the defending champions by 24 points.
“Our coaches really wanted us to win,” said Hessell of the excitable tag-team tandem of Clint Ludtke and Neil MacLeod.
The Falcons were anxious to continue the winning ways of the junior male and female teams at Fowler, as well as the girls repeating as SAPEC champions in the first game of the playoff doubleheader at the SkyDome.
“It's really exciting to know that every single team at Fowler won SAPEC and it’s just a great feeling to come to school and know that we have a SAPEC win under our belts,” said Hartman, who tossed in seven points in the make-or-break fourth quarter.
Fowler clung to a tight 48-47 lead after three quarters.
“It was really nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time,” Hartman said.
VJM tied it at 51 on Marcus Dayman’s jumper in the lane with 6:18 remaining and Fowler answered with baskets by Hartman and Josh Fraiser.
After a timeout and Fowler up 55-54, John Hessell pulled off a defensive gem for a steal to set-up Hartman’s layup with 3:37 to go.
As the momentum shifted towards Fowler, Jack MacKinnon picked off a pass and Joland Garda finished off the turnover for the basket.
Hartman’s clutch three-point play off a baseline drive with 2:39 left was followed by baskets by Garda and John Hessell to make it 66-54 with about a minute to go.
“When they started scoring there at the end we kind of started losing it, like mentally we started losing it, and then we just lost it physically,” said Dylan Zapisocki, a Grade 9 VJM post.
Fowler trailed 34-30 at halftime after VJM rallied to even the score at 17 at the end of the first quarter.
"At the beginning we were kind of choking I guess and we weren’t playing Fowler basketball and then we kind of put our heads back on our shoulders,” said Hessell, who sank nine of his 12 points in the first half. “The turning point was definitely us just putting the ball in the basket and taking our shots. In the beginning we were trying to put on a show for the crowd and that just wasn’t working for us.”
MacKinnon, the only returning player on the roster, posted for 13 points on the strength of three three-balls and the third opened the scoring in the second half to start an 11-point run.
Fraiser also tacked up 11 points.
“Everyone had their best game of the season which was our last game,” said Hartman, 14, who finished with nine points. “We played a really good game, a consistent game all the way through. Our bench players came through big. They were all amazing. Our entire team was amazing. Everybody pulled through. The fans were great too.”
Zapisocki scored 15 points, including two threes, all in the first half. Logan Kowaluk dropped in three three-balls for 11 points overall, Dayman chipped in with eight and Eli Quinn added six in the third for the 7-2 Marauders.
“It’s a tough loss. I really wish we could’ve won,” Zapisocki said. “We did our best on defence. At least we tried and we gave it our all.”
Hessell, 14, described the victory as a typical performance by Fowler, winner of the VJM and Power of 3 tournaments while placing second at the Boston Pizza SAPEC Invitational and third at the Fowler Classic.
“We beat most of the competition by like 10 or 20 this year.”
