Hawks soar to the top at home tournament

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

The Holy Cross Collegiate Hawks senior boys’ basketball team fended off all competition and captured gold at their home tournament on Dec. 14 and 15.
The Hawks had to climb out of a big hole to beat the Calgary Christian High School Cougars in the final game, which ended with a score of 90-73.
“Our last two games were probably two of our better games of the year, it was lots of fun,” said Hawks head coach Joshua Jalbert.
The Hawks didn’t come out guns blazing in the finals and found themselves down 35-15 in the second quarter. According to Jalbert, it was at this point the momentum shifted; the Hawks started to find their game and break the press being put on by the Cougars.
“We started scoring points in transition, we had layups, we made some three pointers and kind of had everything going for us,” said Jalbert. “We were making big stops on defense and it became one of our most complete games of the year.”
The road to the finals wasn’t easy for the Hawks. The first game of the tournament was crucial as the Hawks needed to win to be in the winners bracket. They were successful in beating Bassano School 64-48, but struggled to hold onto the ball and made the game harder on themselves.
“We played pretty poorly in that game,” said Jalbert. “We had 35 turnovers in the game which was way too many.”
The Hawks faced off against the Rosemary School Rockets in the semifinals and won 92-78. Hawks shooting guard Ralph Valencia led the charge for his team, going 14-for-15 from the floor and 5-for-5 on the three pointers.
“He was extremely efficient with his shots,” said Jalbert. “He played one of the best games I’ve ever seen him play.”
The Hawks will be back on the court Jan. 11-12 at a tournament in Drumheller.