The St. Albert Skyhawks are slowly rising towards the playoffs in metro Edmonton basketball.
The division two pool B men’s team is 3-2 after falling 78-56 to the undefeated Bellerose Bulldogs on Wednesday.
The Skyhawks are tied for third in the pool B standings with four games left until the playoffs, followed by the 3A Edmonton zone provincial qualifier.
The first Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association 3A rankings of the season listed the Skyhawks as one of five honorable mentions and the metro teams to crack the top 10 were the No. 2 St. Peter the Apostle Spartans (4-2 in division one), No. 3 Oscar Romero Ravens (5-0 in division two pool A) and the No. 10 Beaumont Bandits (3-2 in division two pool A). The St. Joseph Saints (4-1 in division two pool A) also received an honorable mention.
“So far I would say it’s been a successful season but there is still room for improvement. We haven’t hit our peak yet and that’s where we’re trying to be at the end of February,” said Tylar Dobish, a Grade 11 Skyhawk, after draining a team-high 12 points in the loss at Bellerose.
The Skyhawks trailed 20-15 after the first quarter, 41-29 at halftime and 58-35 after three quarters.
The backbreaker was the opening six minutes of the second half as the Bulldogs rolled up 14 unanswered points before Kyle LePan hit a field goal with four minutes left in the third quarter.
“We played good in the first half but coming out of halftime we just had some lapses and defensively we could’ve beared down a little bit,” said Dobish, who netted 10 points in the first half. “They were making more shots than us and we weren’t making our open shots and making our free throws so that was the big thing that contributed to the loss.”
The Skyhawks showed flashes of promise but lacked consistency at both ends of the floor.
“When we picked up the energy and picked up full court we got some scores and they weren’t able to handle that pressure but when we were picking up half court I don’t feel we were giving as good of energy picking them up,” Dobish said.
Joseph Marsiglio chipped in with nine points, LePan produced eight and Logan Blumhagen and Justin Akkerman had seven apiece.
“This was probably one of our worst games,” Dobish said. “There were a few guys that normally score a bit more but had trouble scoring tonight and some other guys had to try and step up and couldn’t step up to the table.”
The first loss in league play was the controversial 58-56 result against the host Paul Kane Blues (5-0) Dec. 19 as no foul was called on the Blues on the last play of the game by the Skyhawks for the tying basket.
“We definitely could’ve gone into overtime but I don’t think we should’ve relied on the refs on that play. There were a bunch of plays down the stretch that we didn’t capitalize on and it shouldn’t come down to one play I feel,” Dobish said. “They may have missed a call but you can’t always rely on the refs.”
Dobish, 16, is among six returning Skyhawks from the 2015/16 division two pool B team that finished in a three-way tie for fifth with the Spartans and Ravens at 4-5 and in the crossover opening playoff round lost by 13 points to the Lillian Osborne Legends.
At the 3A zone tournament, and a trip to provincials on the line, the Skyhawks lost on a buzzer beater to the Spartans.
“We’re a little bit less mature than last year,” said Dobish, a six-foot-five point guard. “Last year we had a lot of veterans who stepped up to the table and took over when they needed to and this year we have only three Grade 12s and nine Grade 11s.”
The next game for the Skyhawks is 5 p.m. Wednesday against the Austin O’Brien Crusaders (2-3) at the SkyDome.
