The Foothills Falcons are reaching for the top.
For the second time in the past three weekends, the Falcons gave a top 5 team a scare but weren’t quite able to finish. Foothills was beaten 82-78 by the Bishop O’Byrne Bobcats in the finals of the Notre Dame Pride Sr. Boys basketball tournament Feb. 22 in Calgary.
“It’s exciting for us – this is what we have been building to all year,” Falcons coach Amron Gwilliam said. “We have got a group of talented kids who have worked hard all year long, we’ve consistently been playing against these top teams all year long and it is finally coming together.
“The last few weeks have proven we can play right there with the top teams in the province.”
Foothills gave the no. 1 4A team in the province, Western Canada Redhawks, a tough game in the final of the Calgary’s school home tournament on Feb. 8.
However, the Falcons haven’t quite got it done against a top five team – yet.
“If we can clean up a few more minor mistakes here and there I think we can put ourselves over the top,” Gwilliam said. “Hopefully we can fix a few defensive breakdowns we had on the weekend, be a little sharper on our offensive execution.
“I think our guys have the heart and determination to do it.”
The Bobcats-Falcons finale was a back-and-forth affair – the two teams were tied at 78-78 with about 56 seconds left.
BOB took the lead at 80-78 on an offensive rebound and a pushback.
Foothills had a chance win virtually at the buzzer when the Falcons Cam Boriskewich, who finished with a team high 32 points, missed a three pointer that was partially blocked as a pair of Cats were on him.
“He wasn’t quite able to get it off – they had their two biggest men on him and he couldn’t find an open man, there just wasn’t enough time on the clock,” Gwilliam said.
The Falcons were forced to foul and BOB hit the final two free throws for the four-point victory.
It’s a loss the Falcons will learn from as they head into the South Central zones in early March.
“We played with a lot of heart,” said Falcons guard Ethan Doering, who had a dozen points against BOB. “We’re going to go over game film and see where we can improve as far as our turnover ratio and taking care of possessions.”
The Falcons opened the tournament by downing Chestermere’s St. Gabriel Guardians 69-63.
“I thought our depth outlasted them,” Gwilliam said. “I didn’t think we played particularly well. Our defence didn’t move well at all.
“The good thing was we rolled our players and everybody got 10 or 15 minutes.”
They advanced to the final by beating the host Notre Dame Pride 82-74. Boriskewich finished with 20 points against Notre Dame, while Hunter Romeril had 17.
The Falcons, who seem to play less home games than the Harlem Globetrotters, have adjusted to playing on the road – thanks to a strong parent and fan base.
“The one thing that has happened for the last two or three years is we have been getting a lot of parent, family and friend support,” Gwilliam said. “I thought in that game (the crowd) was almost equal.”
The Falcons next games are on the road --- but only about a 12-minute drive if they hit the lights right.
They are in the 4A South Central zones against the Chestermere Lakers and the Holy Trinity Academy Knights March 10-14 at HTA.
The Knights have lost one game this season and are currently ranked no. 7 among 4A schools. The Falcons have an honourable mention at 13th.
“A good match up,” Doering said about taking on the Knights. “They have a couple more bigger guys than us but it will be another big game for us.”
He said the last three weeks have boosted the Falcons’ confidence.
“We just need a couple more weeks of practice and get ready for that last little push,” Doering said. “Right now, I think we are really close.”
The Knights did not play on the weekend, but they take on the Strathmore Spartans on Feb. 26 in a tilt to decide the Foothills Athletic Council regular season title.
The FAC finals are March 7 at HTA.
