The Morinville Wolves lowered the boom on the No. 1-ranked 3A provincial men’s team in the province at the Archbishop MacDonald Marauders tournament last weekend.
Matt Osunde registered 31 points, eight assists and nine rebounds in the 84-80 win against the Edmonton Christian Lions, 4-3 in the metro Edmonton division one league.
Russ Foisy also pumped in 28 points for the 3A honourable mention team.
The final was 75-56 for Grande Prairie as Osunde generated 24 points, six assists, five rebounds and Foisy added 16 points.
The Wolves were victimized by Grande Prairie’s strong three-point shooting. It was a one-point game at halftime but the Wolves ran out of steam in the fourth quarter.
An injury in the second quarter also reduced the team’s rebounding strength for the rest of the final.
The Wolves tipped off the tournament with an 85-54 decision against MacDonald’s junior team filling in for the Charles Spencer Mavericks who were unable to make the trip from Grande Prairie because of the weather.
Osunde’s stat line was 13 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds and Jacob Christensen contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Leading up to the tournament, the Wolves downed the Edwin Parr Predators of Athabasca 93-34.
Christensen led the way with 25 points and 18 rebounds, Foisy tossed in 24 points and Osunde chipped in with 15 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.
The Wolves are 12-4 entering the Eastglen Blue Devils Classic and the first game is tentatively set for Thursday against the St. Joseph Celtics of Grande Prairie.
The winners of Rise Up in December at Namao are also hosting a tournament Feb. 15-16 and the North Central zones March 8-9.
Last year’s North Central champions placed 10th at provincials.
