The pressure to duplicate what the girls did as winners of back-to-back city crowns almost sunk the Lorne Akins Gators in the boys final Thursday.
The defending St. Albert Physical Education Council champions fell behind by eight points at halftime and trailed by 15 with under three minutes left in the third quarter before rebounding to defeat the Vincent J. Maloney Marauders 44-39 at the SkyDome.
“There was a lot of pressure after the girls won,” said Grade 9 guard Dawson Murray, a key contributor in the comeback with 10 clutch points in the fourth quarter, including the last seven of the game for the Gators.
“We didn’t play good at the start but we ended up coming together and getting the W.”
An erratic first quarter for both teams ended with VJM on top 8-5 and the lead grew to 25-17 at halftime.
“We were nervous but our coach told us to keep on going,” said Murray, who scored all of his points in the last nine minutes of the contest.
Down 34-26 after three quarters, the tide turned as the Gators clawed back and with 4:45 to play jumped ahead 37-36 on Aiden Kelly’s three-pointer after a defensive rebound by Owen Cooke.
“We never gave up on ourselves and we came up big when we needed to,” said Kelly, who dropped in a game-high 16 points. “It was just all heart. We worked really hard too. VJM played really well, they made it so hard on us, but we did too.
“It was great defence too and our coaches (Tim Russell and Rick Dorn) really helped us out. They’re great.”
Kelly’s three-ball was his last basket before fouling out with 2:23 remaining and the Gators on top 39-37. The Grade 9 guard pumped in eight points in the third quarter, highlighted by a mighty three in the last minute of the period.
“It’s a great feeling when you make shots like that for your team,” Kelly said.
“He hit some clutch shots,” Murray added. “He brought us back and we got the momentum and won the game.”
VJM regrouped after losing the lead to knot it at 37 on Eric Bradley’s free throw and the Gators responded with Murray’s field goal.
VJM also played the last 3:59 minutes without their big man, Travis Heggart, who suffered a leg injury in a play under the basket.
The final was knotted at 39 after a pair of Bradley free throws when Murray rocked the house with the play of the game. His pivotal three from the corner of the floor in front of the Lorne Akins’ cheering section with 1:40 to go pretty much sealed the deal.
“It felt so good. I don’t even know how to explain it. You hear the crowd roaring and you can’t even hear anything else. It’s crazy,” Murray said.
Defensive rebounds by Bryce Neuls and Drew Olsen in the late stages were followed by Murray’s two free throws with 13.9 ticks on the clock to close out the scoring.
It was a tough loss for a plucky VJM lineup, especially after suffering a 37-34 setback to the Gators in week two in the SAPEC schedule.
VJM drained four of its five threes in the first half of the final, including three by Marcus Rogers-Kumar for a team-high 13 points, and Sajad Kirimi’s nine points featured a three in the third quarter to extend the lead to 25-17.
Ryan Telenko also collected six points and Heggart had five as VJM finished 8-2 in league play.
The Gators also received contributions from Cooke with five points and Nolan Biesinger’s gritty defence.
The Gators not only repeated but finished with a perfect 10-0 league record.
“It’s a big deal what we did,” said Murray, one of three returning Gators from last year’s team that upset the undefeated Richard S. Fowler Falcons 67-56 to finish 15-9 overall.
“We really want to see if the Grade 8s (on the team) can repeat one more time next year.”
The city banner is the ninth in team history.
“This is pretty sweet but nothing beats the first time,” said Kelly, another returnee, of winning consecutive titles for the Gators. “Our team was just so good this year. We were more coachable. I’m not trying to slag the other team but we’re just a great group of guys.”
Visit www.stalbertgazette.com to check out the team’s championship banner picture.
