Two St. Albert teams are headed in opposite directions after crossing paths in Monday’s rivalry game in high school men’s basketball.
The Paul Kane Blues are trending toward the top of the metro Edmonton division two standings after beating the Bellerose Bulldogs 81-63 at the Home of the Hounds.
Paul Kane had dropped two in a row before raising its record to 5-2 as one of four teams deadlocked in second place behind the 6-0 Strathcona Christian Academy Eagles of Sherwood Park.
“We’ve got to pull it together so we can get into the playoffs and hopefully win a championship,” said Kevin Hessell, a Grade 11 Paul Kane post and returning player from last year’s 13-1 division two finalists.
The loss left the 1-5 Bulldogs scrambling to secure the eighth and last playoff spot with five games remaining.
“We’ve always seen ourselves as a grit and grind team,” said Conmeju Fregene, a Grade 12 Bellerose post. “We can beat anyone, but we always lose one stupid quarter that really loses us the game.
“Consistency is a big thing for us.”
The Battle of St. Albert wasn’t as wild and woolly as previous dust-ups even though the intensity was razor sharp from start to finish.
“It was St. Albert versus St. Albert. It’s always going to be a good game and you’ve got to fight as hard as you can,” Hessell said. “We just did what we had to do and that’s play hard defence, score the ball on offence and work hard as a team.”
Paul Kane delivered the knockout punch during a dominating 50-25 first-half performance with Roka Phalen-Baker dropping six three-point bombs on Bellerose.
“He was on fire. He was real hot. He was letting everything fly,” Hessell said.
Phalen-Baker, a Grade 12 gunner, finished the first half with 22 points and popped in another basket in the third quarter before leaving the match with an injured right ankle with 8:46 to play and Paul Kane cruising along at 67-41.
“In the second half we didn’t let up. We were boxing out, getting defensive rebounds and not letting them get any second chances,” Hessell said.
In the first quarter, Paul Kane grabbed the game by the throat at 22-7 as the Bulldogs called a timeout with 3:29 left in the period to relieve the pressure.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Dorian Therqaj and Josh Warner sparked a spirited Bellerose comeback to close the gap at 27-20 at quarter time.
Therqaj deposited eight of his 10 points in the first half.
Four three-pointers in the second quarter by Paul Kane – three for Phalen-Baker and one by Ryan Holmes – while outscoring the Bulldogs 23-5 made the outcome a foregone conclusion.
After three quarters, it was 62-41.
“We played a really good first quarter and we really lost the second quarter. The third and fourth it can go either way, but it was really the second quarter that lost us the game,” Fregene said.
Two fouls in the first couple of minutes by the energetic Fregene sent the six-foot-five Bulldog to the bench for a lengthy spell before subbing back on toward the end of the first half.
“I see myself as a confident player. I know what I’m good at and I know what I’m bad at and definitely the two fouls shook me,” Fregene said. “I had a really, really bad half, but some of my teammates stepped up like Kyle Nelson, Logan Kowaluk and Cam (Knisley).
“The most consistent player was definitely Derian Ward. He’s always consistent with us game in and game out.”
Ward’s 16 points included three three-balls and Josh Warner added nine.
Fregene, 17, gave Bellerose fans something to cheer about with a two-handed uncontested slam dunk early in the third quarter and the second of his three baskets in the contest put the score at 68-46.
Hessell, 16, showed off his offensive chops with 12 points while matching up against Fregene when the Bulldog was on the floor.
Holmes was steady as usual with 17 points.
Last year’s score of 80-60 at Bellerose ended a string of three consecutive losses by Paul Kane against the Bulldogs.
Paul Kane is 11-9 overall entering today’s 5:30 p.m. home tilt with the Spruce Grove Panthers (5-1).
As for the first half of the season, “We weren’t coming out how we should at the start of games and we were finally showing up in the second half, but it’s not good enough sometimes,” Hessell said.
Upcoming for Paul Kane is Monday’s bout with the St. Albert Skyhawks (3-3) at 5:30 p.m. at the SkyDome.
The Bulldogs are in Sherwood Park today to play Strathcona Christian Academy at 5 p.m.
The Bulldogs are chasing their first win since the 65-62 decision against the host Austin O’Brien Crusaders (2-4) Jan. 6 and the losing streak includes the 77-62 setback against the Skyhawks on Jan. 8 at Bellerose and last weekend’s three games at the Archbishop MacDonald tournament.
