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And after a 104-56 win over the Grande Prairie Comosite high school Tomahawks to kick off their 2010 Alberta Schools Athletic Association 4A provincial boys’ basketball run Thursday afternoon in Raymond, Comets head coach Todd Heggie said the defence won’t be able to let up as they venture deeper into the tournament.
“It’s going to be the same thing we’ve been doing all year. We have to play some good defence,” said Heggie. “Now we advance to the next round where we’re going to see some good teams. So we’ll step it up defensively. We’re a believer that if we do that our offence will follow.”
The triple-digit win aside, the offence sputtered early in the Comets’ provincial opener.
“We came out and it was bouncing a bit funny right off the start,” said Heggie. “We were missing a lot of layups that we usually don’t miss. It was just a part of the game. You always expect that coming into a provincial game.
“It’s not a team that I think was nervous. I think it was a case of being too excited and trying too hard and doing things that are uncharacteristic. It was just pushing and trying too hard and once they settled down it started to flow pretty good for them.”
The Comets play today at 9 a.m. against Calgary Bishop Grandin at Raymond High. A win puts the top-seeded Comets into the championship semifinal at 7 p.m. at the U of L’s 1st Choice Savings Centre.
Tyson McIntyre put in three quarters for the Comets, posting 29 points, while teammate Jimmy Ralph hit for 24.
Also hitting double digits for Raymond was Nathan Allred with 18 points and Brad Baker with 12.
“I think our defence kept up, our offence wasn’t rolling too smoothly, but our defence played pretty tough,” said Heggie.
“I think that’s kind of what got us through this game, our defensive effort.”
The Cardston Cougars kicked off their provincial run on a winning note.
Travis Hartley hit for 24 points as the provincial co-hosts topped Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary 85-70. Dallin Low chipped in with 19 points and Jon McMurray had 16.
In other boys action Thursday, Sir Winston Churchill downed Airdrie Bert Church 90-73, while Bishop Grandin edged Edmonton Harry Ainlay. Jasper Place topped Medicine Hat 89-67 and St. Francis Xavier downed Notre Dame 97-63. Catholic Central lost 79-41 to Edmonton Ross Sheppard and will play in the fith-place bracket at 3 p.m. at Raymond Junior High. If they win, they will play at 9 p.m. at Raymond High.
Action continues today as Cardston faces seventh-ranked St. Francis Xavier at 11 a.m. at Raymond High School. A win puts Cardston in the 9 p.m. semifinal at the U of L.
4A girls
In girls action Thursday, the No. 5-seeded Cardston Cougars handed the Red Deer Hunting Hills Lightning a 106-44 setback as Taylur Stepan led the Cougars with 31 points. Dani Sheen hit for 18 points, Karen Low had 16 and Sidney Carlson chipped in with 10.
Cardston will take on St. Francis today at 11 a.m.
Should they win that game, they will play in the semifinal at 7 p.m. at Cardston High School. Should Cardston lose, they will play at 5 p.m. at Cardston High in the seventh-place semifinal playoff.
The No. 6- seeded Raymond Comets opened provincials with a win, beating Calgary Western Canada 82-66.
Kimber Snow led the way for the Comets with 19 points, while Natalie Tollestrup had 16. Also hitting double digits was Ali Cameron with 15 points and Dakota Weir with 14.
Raymond plays today at 1 p.m. against ArchBishop O’Leary at Cardston High. A win puts them into the championship semifinal at 9 p.m. at Cardston High.
A loss means Raymond will play at 7 p.m. at Raymond Junior High.
The LCI Clippers were up against Calgary Centennial at Cardston Junior High gym.
The game was ongoing at press time.
Should LCI win, it will play at 11 a.m. at Cardston Junior High. Should LCI lose, it will play at 3 p.m. at Cardston High.
In other opening-day play, St. Francis downed Medicine Hat 81-42 and Calgary St. Mary’s topped Jasper Place 69-55. Number one-ranked Harry Ainlay downed Lloydminster 114-29.