Ross Sheppard High School – The Paul Kane Blues ended their season on a losing note at the 4A provincial men's high school basketball championship.
In the semifinal bracket to determine the seventh and eighth place finishers in the 16-team draw, the Blues suffered a stinging 97-90 defeat by the fourth-seeded Father Lacombe Lasers of Calgary.
"We came out pretty fast but they had some pretty quick guards that our defence kind of had trouble with at times," said Grade 11 guard Khalil Bertin, Paul Kane's top scorer with 32 points. "Later on in the game we got a little bit tired and they got on a bit of a run to take the lead. After that we didn't really pull through. We weren't able to come back from that."
Earlier in the day, the number-one seeded Raymond Comets, the eventual provincial gold medallists, clobbered the Blues 97-52 in second round action. It was the most lopsided defeat of the season for the metro Edmonton premier champions.
"They're a great team. They have really good defence so it was tough for us," Bertin said. "We have a lot of young guys and they're an older team, so it was tough dealing with the pressure of playing them but I'm sure we'll be better because of it next year."
The Blues trailed 26-19 after the first quarter, 56-29 at halftime and 77-43 after three quarters. Connor Bradley led the team in points with 12 and Stuart Boucher added eight.
"Raymond is a slick, classy team with kids that are just athletic. They work hard. They're respectful. They've got the whole package," said head coach Rick Stanley. "I was excited and happy to get to play them. I know we didn't compete down the stretch but I think our boys learned a valuable lesson. They were tougher than any team we played in the States [during the Christmas break in San Diego]."
Bertin, 16, said the Blues wasted no time putting the loss behind them.
"We moved on actually pretty quick. We knew we were the underdogs against Raymond, even though we were hoping for the upset," Bertin said. "After that game we just wanted to go out with a win."
Stanley was happy to see the Blues rebound from the humbling loss.
"I was really worried after that Raymond game, [but] these kids came out to play," Stanley said. "One thing that I was most appreciative of this team all year was we rebounded very well, not on the court, but mentally. Yes, we lost a game, but they're resilient and they came back and played well today."
Last game
Needing a win to extend their season by another game, the Blues ended the first quarter with a Hail Mary shot by Jayden Bordian that bounced off the glass and dropped in before the buzzer sounded that left Paul Kane trailing 23-21.
In the second period the Blues battled back from deficits of 29-21 and 32-26 with a nine-point run to lead by four. The teams traded points towards the end of the half, as the Lasers went into the break on top 45-44. Bertin contributed eight points in the second quarter charge and 12 overall in the first half.
After the Blues started the third quarter with a blistering 14-6 point run, the Lasers picked up the pace to lead 67-66 entering the fourth quarter.
A three-ball by the Lasers with 6:44 remaining put them up by five. A few seconds later, Adam Sturgess and Bordian were assessed technicals for initiating confrontations with the opposition. Sturgess was slapped with the first technical, then Bordian was tagged with the second T while players from both teams milled around centre court as the referees tried to restore order. The Lasers went on to salt away three free throws to make it 79-71.
After pulling Sturgess and Bordian off the floor, Stanley gave both players a loud earful on the bench for their actions.
"Yes, we took the two technical fouls and discipline has got to be in place," said Stanley, who wasn't willing to throw the players under the bus during the post-game interview. "We lost the game fair and square. We made a couple of blunders but you know what? We allowed them to score 45 points in the first half so if you want to blame anybody, blame our D because our goal is 30 per half. If you keep teams under 60 you will pretty much win 98 per cent of your games."
The Lasers put the Blues away for good with three lightning-fast buckets in a row for an 87-75 advantage with 2:48 to play.
"They're athletic and we had trouble with their open court quickness," Stanley said.
Bertin played a whale of a game in a losing cause. When he wasn't hitting jumpers he carved up the Lasers with defensive-splitting drives to the basket.
Bradley drained 14 points and Tyler Wise had 13 as the Blues finished the season with a respectable 29-13 record.
"At the beginning of the year we were a little bit slow getting out of the gate but after that everybody improved," Bertin said.
The Blues lose six players to graduation but have nine eligible to return.
"Provincials was a really good experience for our team because we have a lot of guys coming back next year and none of us have been here before," Bertin said.
After winning the premier final in a cliff-hanger, 72-69 over the Bev Facey Falcons, the Blues lost four of their last five games to close out the season.
In the Edmonton zone playdowns, the Blues got thumped 90-68 by the public league champion Harry Ainlay Titans, seeded second at provincials, and 87-72 by the fifth-seeded Jasper Place Rebels.
As the third qualifier from the Edmonton zone, the Blues tipped-off provincials with an impressive 91-78 victory over the ninth-seeded LCI Rams of Lethbridge. Tyler Wise was on fire with six three-balls and 45 points.
"Against Harry Ainlay … we played a good first quarter but then all of a sudden the lug nuts got loose. Against JP we can make excuses that we didn't have Connor," Stanley said. "We went in [to provincials] as third and used that as a psychological advantage. We came out and played well against LCI … We could've won by 30. We had them by 22 one time and they beat us by 18 the last game we played them [at the Scona tournament]."
Stanley described his first coaching stint at Paul Kane as very rewarding.
"I changed as a coach a little bit and I did that halfway through the year. After meeting with some players I had to give them a little bit of a lease," said the former bench boss of the Jasper Place Rebels.
Strong season
Stanley was thrilled to see the growth in the Blues from the start of the season.
"We came a long way," said the former Alberta Golden Bear. "If anybody had told me at the beginning of the year we were going to win metro and go to provincials and finish top eight, I probably would've taken it and walked away.
"What I was most happy with was we executed and played D. We weren't doing that at the beginning and I really, really saw a change and that, for me as a coach, is most gratifying. The kids were willing to listen and were willing to work. I was hard on them at the beginning and then loosened up during a stretch and let them play and they changed and as a coach that's what you've got to see."
After the loss to the Lasers, the team held an emotional closed-door farewell.
"We had a good cry. Everybody hugged and said thank you. It was nice," Stanley said. "We had a long talk. We sat in here for a while and I went through every player. I also talked about how I gained as a coach coming here.
"I just made sure the kids left here feeling proud. We accomplished a lot. Metro championship. Tournament championship [at O'Leary High School]. Trip to San Diego. Six or seven tournaments. Top eight in the province. Provincials. It was a great year."
Stanley is confident the Blues will be even better next season.
"I'm pretty excited. This team could be top two or three in the province. You look at all the teams above us, we're number eight and we have the most returning guys and some pretty electrifying talent, too. Tyler Wise is going to be unstoppable. Khalil down the stretch was just a force. We'll miss Connor but we've got guards that are coming around the corner in Des [Anderson], Peter [McKay], Stuart [Boucher] and Brandon [Best]. I've also got two of the best kids in junior high coming to Paul Kane in Zane Warren and Jacob Laxdal. Our juniors won this year and we've got three or four kids there," he said. "This team is going to be very good next year."
