The difference between the St. Albert Skyhawks and Bellerose Bulldogs was 25 points in Thursday's showdown at the Skyhawks Invitational Tournament.
Cam Vilcsak racked up 20 points and six-foot-six post Cole Aikens drained 17 as the Skyhawks whipped the Bellerose Bulldogs 73-48 in high school hoops.
"We definitely brought our A game today, especially since it's a big rivalry," said Vilcsak, a Grade 11 guard.
The Skyhawks posted leads of 19-11 after the first quarter, 36-19 at halftime and 64-39 after three quarters.
"We came out hard and the intensity gave us a good push," Vilcsak said. "We were pushing the basketball well and that's what got us into an early lead and then we just kept the intensity going on defence."
The Bulldogs needed a long shovel to dig themselves out of a deep hole after falling behind by 14 points early in the match.
"At the start of the game they out-worked us but towards the end we started to get our stuff together. We definitely played good as the game progressed," said Dean Fairall, the Bulldogs' captain and Grade 12 guard. "We also didn't have a big guy to cover Cole. He's a huge guy and that definitely didn't help us because he put a lot of baskets in."
Fairall wired two three-pointers en route to a team-high 15 points. Danjuma Mba and Kyle Letts had eight apiece for the Bulldogs.
Tonight's final in the seven-team men's draw starts at 7:15 p.m. at the SkyDome.
Premier surprise
In league play the Skyhawks are 3-2 in the metro Edmonton premier conference after placing fifth at 7-5 last season in the city conference.
"We were kind of the underdog coming into premier after playing in cities," Vilcsak said. "We're proud of our accomplishments so far but it's definitely not the end of the road for us."
Wednesday the Skyhawks gave it their best shot but were unable to knock off the first-place O'Leary Spartans (5-0) and lost 73-56 at O'Leary High School. Aikens dropped in 28 points and Vilcsak fired four three-pointers while tacking up 16 points against O'Leary, an honourable mention in the 4A rankings.
"We came out a little timid but later in the game we got it going," Vilcsak said. "It was just that second quarter that lost it for us but other than that we were with them the entire game."
The Skyhawks have four games remaining before the playoffs tip off Feb. 27.
"We want to carry the intensity that we brought into this game and keep it going for the rest of the games this season and bring that into the playoffs as well," Vilcsak said.
In the 3A rankings the Skyhawks are listed seventh — the second Edmonton zone team to crack the top 10.
"It's a good feeling," Vilcsak said. "I've been with the program for two years and it's nice to see players progress as well as the program."
Last year in the Edmonton zone elimination tournament, and with two provincial berths up for grabs, the Skyhawks bowed out in their first game.
"We want to go to provincials. It's our goal," said Vilcsak.
Playoff hunt
In the city conference the Bulldogs are chasing a playoff spot after finishing 11th out of 13 teams at 3-9 last season.
"Our goal is to do really good in the playoffs as the underdogs," said Fairall, 17.
The first game for the Bulldogs after the exam break was Wednesday's 84-39 loss to the Trojans (6-1) at Holy Trinity High School.
"We've been having a little bit of commitment issues in practice. We haven't had a full team practice for probably two weeks," Fairall said.
The loss was the fourth in six games for the ninth-place Bulldogs. Their roster is made up of mostly football, lacrosse and hockey players.
"We've got a lot of athletes this year," Fairall said. "We've got a good vibe going on the team. We've had a real good season so far but we've got stuff to work on."
FREE THROWS: League play resumes Monday for both St. Albert teams. The Bulldogs visit the Louis St. Laurent Barons (4-3) and the Skyhawks travel to Sherwood Park to play the winless Archbishop Jordan Scots. Game times are 6:15 p.m.
