Hawks snag bronze

Times Reporter   

 

Though surprised by JC Charyk School from Hanna in the semifinals, the Holy Cross Collegiate (HCC) Hawks defeated Airdrie Koinonia Christian School for the junior varsity zones bronze medal at Strathcona Tweedsmuir on March 15. 

The junior boys basketball team won by roughly 25 points, with their entire bench touching the court.

“We were hoping we could win Zones,” HCC coach Tony Irving said. “I’m kind of disappointing we just didn’t know enough about Hanna. If we would have played them earlier in the season, we might have done better.”

Before earning their medal, earlier that day the Hawks lost 97-67 to JC Charyk. They had not played them in exhibition or league play this season.

“Hanna was a surprise because we watched them play on the Friday, they never ran. They walked up and down the floor, and they had no inside game. You kind of expect what to see when you go to play them,” Irving said. “They were the opposite when we went to play them. They were an incredibly good three-point shooting team. They did play an inside game, and they ran the whole game.”

Irving said the Hawks came back, and were down by many more points in the first half.

“They were a very good team, and a tough team to play against,” he said. “It’s good when you go to zones to be able to play as many of those teams as you can before you go. That’s a lesson for another year.”

Looking forward to next year, the team will have no Grade 12’s but will play at the senior level. Irving’s second-string players received a lot of experience during their first game at zones, against Acme on March 14, a 64-49 win.

“Acme usually has quite a strong program, but I think their team was quite young this year. We ended up being up by about 25 at the half,” Irving said. “That game against Hanna was a good learning experience and gives us more of an idea of what we’re going to have to do to succeed next year.”