Hawks young core ends season

Tyler Lowey

Times Reporter

 

The Holy Cross Collegiate Hawks senior boys basketball team might not have received the results they were searching for at the 2A South Central Zone Championships last weekend, but the future is still bright looking forward to next year.
“We saw how close we are already to competing with the top competition in our zone and we saw the compete level we need in order to get to provincials,” said Hawks head coach Josh Jalbert. “It’s definitely an attainable goal next year.”
The Hawks opened the tourney against the eventual zone champs, losing to the host Three Hills High School Royals 65-52 March 10.
Reid Jensen was the Hawks leading scorer in zones, but had to work for his buckets, finishing 26-for-68 (22 per cent) from the floor. He finished one rebound shy of a double-double, with 21 points and nine rebounds. Fellow freshman Alex Nwoye chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Luke Sproul was strong in the paint, supplying six points and nine rebounds.
Down by five with a minute remaining, the Hawks picked up a couple quick baskets, edging the Prairie Christian Academy Sabres 60-59.
Jensen recorded 18 points, eight boards and eight steals, while Nwoye pulled the double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
In the finale, the Notre Dame Collegiate Timberwolves brushed back the Hawks 61-57.
Jensen turned in his most efficient performance, registering 29 points on 11-of-19 shots. Nwoye grabbed 10 boards to go with his three points, Sproul yanked down nine boards and supplied 10 points, and Ralph Valencia recorded seven points and five rebounds.
Out of 11 players on Jalbert’s roster, only Kyle Gerencer, Jericho Ricafort and Sproul won’t be back because they will have graduated by the time next season tips off.
“This year, we saw how talented we are, the potential we have moving forward and it was exciting,” said Jalbert. “We grew a lot, got smarter, and that year of experience for a young core definitely helped.”

 

Senior girls end season with win
The Hawks senior girls squad put a bow on their season with a convincing win in their final game of zones in Brooks.
The Hawks dumped the Hugh Sutherland School Kodiaks 61-41March 11.
“It was good to see us end the season like that. We learned a lot of skills this year. We knew coming in that if we worked hard and had some fun, it would be a good year,” said Hawks head coach Brad Everett.
Despite a late surge from the three-point line, the Hawks fell 58-54Didsbury High School Dragons.
Dealt a tough hand to open zones, the Hawks took on top-ranked J.C. Charyk Hawks, and got thumped 59-24.