It’s business as usual for the undefeated Paul Kane Blues.
The runaway leaders in metro Edmonton division two men’s basketball remain focused on the end result instead of resting on their laurels as winners of 14 games.
“Nothing changes. We keep working hard, we all show up to practice and we keep grinding to get better,” said co-captain Aidan Kelly after the Blues rattled off their sixth win in league play Wednesday, 76-47 over the Bev Facey Falcons at Paul Kane. “We’re definitely happy, but it’s all about keeping the same level of intensity at practice and realizing that teams are coming to beat us now. They’re marking us down on their calendars so we’ve got to be prepared every single game we play.”
The Blues have five games remaining, including two must-see encounters – Feb. 4 against the Bellerose Bulldogs (2-4) and Feb. 20 against the St. Albert Skyhawks (2-4) – plus a tournament next month in Calgary before the round of eight playoffs start for qualification in the March 1 final at Ross Sheppard High School.
The last senior men’s basketball team at Paul Kane to win a metro banner was 2012 in the premier conference.
So, is this the Year of the Blues?
“We’re not saying anything like that now,” Kelly said. “Hopefully we’re there in the big game at the end of the year, but we’re just going to keep pushing and working and make ourselves accountable while trying to reach our goals this year.”
Barring a total collapse, the Blues will be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs after posting victories against their closest competitors in the standings – 86-68 over the defending champion Spruce Grove Panthers (5-1) Dec. 27 and 78-71 against the Holy Trinity Trojans (4-1) Monday at Paul Kane.
“It gives us home-court advantage and that’s going to mean a lot. It’s really useful,” said co-captain Jack MacPherson.
As for the perfect record, the Blues almost blew it against the Trojans while trailing for most of the match before outgunning the visitors 31-18 in the last 10-minute period.
“It was a little scary at the start. They came out really strong and we weren’t as ready to play as they were, but we showed a lot of character and got ourselves back into the game and got a big win,” Kelly said. “In the second quarter we made it a single point deficit and then in the third and fourth quarters we started clicking and everything came together. We were executing really well on offence and defensively we matched their intensity.”
The Blues, who trailed by as much as 15 points at one point, battled from behind from shortfalls of 14-11 after the first quarter, 36-29 at halftime and 53-27 after three quarters before eventually surpassing the Trojans in the late stages.
“We were definitely rattled in the first quarter because they were fast and they were better than we expected. They caught us by surprise,” MacPherson said. “We really rallied after halftime. We were mad and we weren’t going to lose so we came out with some fire and were ready to play.
“We had a really good run in the third quarter. It was like a 9-0 run that really helped us come back,” MacPherson added. “It was just a really good team effort. We really rallied well when we were down.”
MacPherson, 17, throttled the Trojans with 17 points in the last quarter, highlighted by nine straight that included the second three-pointer and third of the game by the 2018 Metro Athletics all-star.
The Grade 12 forward and 2018 U17 Team Alberta player closed out the comeback win with four free throws for 35 points overall.
Owen Cooke, fresh off the disabled list, posted 12 posts, Ryan Holmes tossed in 11 after halftime and Colin Martin added 10 against the Trojans, a 2-9 division one team last year.
“We’ll probably see them again so we hope to come out and match what they came out at us with,” said Kelly, one of five returnees from last year’s 3-8 non-playoff team in division two.
The Blues also overcame a sluggish opening quarter Wednesday before plowing past Facey (1-5) with ease.
“We’ve got to play a little bit better coming out,” Kelly said. “When we try and get focused we’re really a tough team to beat.”
The Blues trailed by as much as 11 before the first quarter ended with Roka Phalen-Baker’s buzzer-beating three-pointer closing the gap to 19-15.
The first half ended with the Blues on top 38-25 with four three-balls the deciding factor in the second quarter as MacPerson’s third of the half put Paul Kane ahead for good at 26-25 with 5:21 left until the break.
The Blues wired seven three-points in the half and 10 overall. The last three-ball was Phalen-Baker’s third of the night and the buzzer-beater made it 61-39 to wrap up the third quarter.
Phalen-Baker led all scorers with 21 points, MacPherson netted 16 of his 19 points in the first half, Aiden Bergen’s eight points included two three-balls and Kevin Hessell and Martin chipped in with eight points apiece.
“We’re all good shooters but if we’re having an off game like the other game (against the Trojans) we can still get inside and bang down low and get points easily,” said Kelly, a Grade 12 shooting guard.
The third-year senior team player credits the 14-0 perfect record to chemistry.
“We have a lot of guys returning and we’re all really good friends off the court so that’s the biggest part of our success,” said Kelly, 18.
Monday the Blues face the host Oscar Romero Ravens (1-5) at 5:30 p.m.
