Hawks hoops wrap up 2017 with home tournament

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

A busy stretch to kick off the Holy Cross Collegiate Hawks senior basketball season came at a price, and it might have cost them a chance at taking home the bronze medal from their host tournament.
After weeks of layup drills, defensive shuffling and running lines at practice, the Hawks got their season underway with five games last week, culminating with a shot at the bronze medal in their annual hosted tournament.
But all those miles logged earlier in the week caught up to them, as the Three Hills School Royals wore them out 90-78 Dec. 16 at the HCC gym.
“We just didn’t have the energy to rotate well enough in our zone defence,” said Hawks Head Coach Josh Jalbert, who saw his team outscored 50-44 in the second half. “It’s early and our conditioning hasn’t come along yet. We just didn’t have the legs to keep up at the end of the day.”
Leading the charge for the Hawks was sophomore guard Alex Nwoye with 37 points. Behind him was Landon Osachuk with 18.
“Landon really got his confidence back in that last game,” said Jalbert. “He was getting to open spaces on the floor and knocking down the shots when they came to him. When we get that kind of scoring from it, it makes a huge difference.”
Despite the tired legs on defence, the Hawks were able to post a tourney-high in points, dramatically improving from their semifinal loss to the Rundle Academy Rockies 75-52.
“At half, we had only shot 29 per cent. It was a case of they were hitting everything and we weren’t,” said Jalbert. “We had great ball movement, but couldn’t knock down a three or a layup.”
In the opener Dec. 15, the Hawks blew the doors off the Bassano School Broncos 63-29. Nwoye scored 18, Osachuk chipped in with 14 and Ralph Valencia supplied 10 points.
Leading up to their first tournament of the season, the Hawks also squeezed in a pair of Foothills Athletic Council Games.
Following their home opener loss Dec. 11 to the Notre Dame Collegiate Timberwolves, the Hawks dropped their first road game of the season 64-59 to the Strathcona Tweedsmuir School Spartans Dec. 14 at Strathcona Tweedsmuir.
Nwoye, who appears to be able to go off for 30 at any point this season, led the way with 34 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Osachuk was the next highest scorer with eight points. Valencia recorded seven points and tied the team lead with four assists.
The Hawks final game before the holiday break went Dec. 20 in High River, when they took on the Oilfields High School Drillers in FAC play. The team will resume action Jan. 10 with a road game at Holy Trinity Academy. Their next home game is slated for Jan. 17, when they host the Drillerss at HCC Gym.

Consolation winners
Playing in their first action of the season, the junior varsity boys won the consolation medal during their hosted tournament last weekend.
After starting the tournament with a loss to the Deer Meadow Titans Dec. 15, the Hawks turned things around with a victory over the Dr. Elliot School from Linden in the consolation semis, before downing the Oilfields High School Drillers junior varsity program in the finals.

Lady Hawks action
Playing in their final FAC game before the Christmas break, the Hawks senior girls program dropped a close one in Okotoks Dec. 12, 48-40 at the hands of the Holy Trinity Academy Knights.
Hope Given led the way with nine points, as Angelina Palardy finished with six points and Reiley Folvik added three points.
“The girls played a hard-fought game. They were able to shut down HTA’s press and played solid defensively. We were unable to score when we needed to in overtime,” said Hawks Assistant Coach Michelle Leitner.
The Hawks held a few practices before breaking for the holidays, and they will resume action in the new year with a week of practice starting Jan. 8, followed by a tournament in Bassano the following weekend.