Cole Knudsen is about 6-3. But his commanding presence on the basketball court often makes him look even taller.
Just ask Westlock’s T-Birds who faced the Senior Jaguars in Saturday’s final of the junior high divisional tournament at Barrhead Composite High School.
Knudsen was the difference between two otherwise evenly matched teams. Whenever the T-Birds got close to levelling the score, the Jaguars’ No. 15 would pluck the ball from the air and put it in the hoop.
He was also a tower of strength in defence, continually thwarting Westlock’s attacks with his long reach.
It enabled the Jaguars to maintain a nervy 8-10 point lead for much of the match and walk away with gold medals after a 50-42 victory.
More importantly, it means the Jaguars qualify for the weekend zones tournament in Morinville on March 9-10.
“It has been a great day,” said coach Colin Erickson. “It was a tough final game and I was extremely impressed with our performance.”
The Junior Jags, made up of Grades 7 and 8 won a consolation final 29-24 in overtime against Swan Hills.
Meanwhile, the girls Senior Jaguars finished their season with bronze medals after beating Jarvie 30-22. The Lady T-Birds won gold, defeating Neerlandia 30-18.
The tournament at BCHS was held over Friday and Saturday, with seven boys teams: Senior Jaguars, Junior Jags, Westlock, Neerlandia, Swan Hills, Clyde and St. Mary. Girls teams were: Barrhead, Westlock, Neerlandia, Swan Hills, Jarvie, Clyde, Fawcette/Fort Assiniboine and St. Mary.
The Senior Jaguars got off to great start on Friday, defeating Swan Hills 48-24 before easing past Neerlandia 49-21 to reach the final.
Erickson said a lot had been riding on the game against Westlock, but Barrhead coped well with the pressure.
He said the three players from last year’s team – Knudsen, Tyson Chizma and Jacob Deinum – made a big difference.
They knew how to control the basketball and slow things down. Whenever they were on court, there were 90 per cent fewer turnovers.
Erickson said Knudsen was worth about 25 points a game.
“He has played a couple of games with the high school,” he said. “He is a very coachable player and also a team leader.”
Erickson thanked Kal Tire for sponsoring the tournament banner and Subway for donations.
Junior Jags coach Rob Brotherton was encouraged by his team’s steady improvement through the tournament leading to an overtime victory in the consolation final.
He said it had been a particularly difficult start to the tournament, facing a strong Westlock team and losing 49-19. This was followed by a disappointing 29-28 loss to Clyde.
“They improved so much and began playing as a team, working together,” he said. “I am proud of what they did. That’s it for us – our season is now over.”
Girls Senior Jaguars coach Warren Warehime said his team had worked hard for bronze medals. After beating Clyde 22-13, the girls slipped up against Neerlandia 22-15.
“All in all it wasn’t a bad weekend,” he said. “The girls put in a lot of effort, they gave 100 per cent and that is all I can ask of them.”
Warehime believed his team had deserved better against Neerlandia. But fate worked against them.
It had taken a lot of resilience for Barrhead to bounce back in the afternoon and defeat Jarvie to win bronze.
Neerlandia girls coach Arjan Koekoek was very proud of the way his team played with wins over Fawcett/Fort Assiniboine (44-16) and Barrhead.
To win silver medals was a big achievement for Neerlandia Public Christian School, which has about 215 students from kindergarten to Grade 9, he said.
In the final, Neerlandia – made up of Grade 7 to 9s – kept pace initially with Westlock and even held a 13-12 lead at the end of the second quarter. After that, however, they struggled, scoring just five more points.
“We try to teach our students the basics of basketball,” said Koekoek. “We want them to have a lot of fun.”
