Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, Edwin Parr Compositeís senior boys basketball team also earned some gold last weekend.
Playing in their first tournament of the new year, the Predators were in Lac La Biche and went undefeated.
ìWe had a great weekend,î said coach Mark Francis.
Their first game was against New Sarepta, which they won handily by a 64-32 score. That was the first sign that the teamís goal to revamp their flagging offense had been a big success. The team implemented a new offensive system and took it for a test drive at the tournament, and found it to be firing on all cylinders. They scored lots in their second game as well, beating the hosts 63-33.
In the final, they met a Westwood School team from Fort McMurray that had been notching decisive wins in the tournament, scoring upwards of 100 points. But the Predators were determined not to be another victim, and they played a perfect game to win 60-57.
ìWe went in with the game plan to slow them down, and make them play a slow methodical game.î
The plan worked, as though the Westwood team was able to establish a lead, they never pulled ahead by more than 10 points.
The Predators also made use of a size advantage down low to pick up points while forcing Westwood to the outside.
Once Westwoodís outsides shots began failing them, the game was over.
ìWe followed the game plan and we wore them down. It was a perfectly executed game,î said Francis.
The Predators benefited from some stellar individual efforts, including Braden Andersonís. He was named tournament MVP on the strength of three games in which he scored 19, 18 and 15 points.
Neil Topola was another big factor for the team in the final, notching 19 rebounds.
With the win, the boys are continuing to round into shape. After losing their first three games of the season, they have won all but one of their last six.
The team will now break for exams before returning for the stretch run, which includes their home tournament Feb. 8-9.
ìThatís the stretch weíre gearing up for. Defensively weíre in every game, and now weíre back to scoring what we need to score to win. I think weíre a complete team.î
