CANMORE – The Canmore Wolverines JV boys made it known that they are a big problem for everyone else.
The high school squad schooled the competition and dribbled circles around the Springbank Phoenix 88-66 in Saturday’s (Dec. 16) gold medal game at Canmore Collegiate High School.
Wolverines’ Bekkett Roste was a bucket in the finals, scoring a game-high 27 points and draining five threes.
The Grade 10 shooter was thrilled to secure the victory, going 3-0 in the two-day tournament in front of the home crowd.
“We think we can win any game we get put into, so we’re hoping to win zones,” said Roste. “We’re going to try not to lose a game for the rest of the year, but that will be tough, there are a lot of good teams, so we’ll see.”
Roste said the JV team is defensive-minded, but can “shoot the lights out” when needed.
Gold for the #Canmore Wolverines JV boys basketball team at their home tourney. They defeated the Springbank Phoenix 88-66 in the final. pic.twitter.com/9G8glKuzqI
— Jordan Small (@jordiesmall) December 17, 2023
With a core group of ballers playing on the local Bow Valley Basketball club team, they have a head start on teams in their zone and it showed in Canmore. On court, the JV boys play an in-your-face full court press to force turnovers and rushed shots. While on offence, they’re comfortable running the ball on fast-breaks, driving to the hoop in the paint, or pulling up in three-point land.
“I thought they ran the ball really well today. We were definitely pushing the ball up the sideline, which is something we’ve practiced a lot,” said Wolverines coach Fraser Quelch, who also coaches the club team.
“We got a full-team contribution. We managed to play everyone on the bench. I think everyone might have scored today which is nice.”
The Wolverines knocked off the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans 90-47 and edged out the Bow Valley Bobcats 59-57 to advance to the final against the Phoenix.
The JV boys flexed early and often in Saturday night's main event, and led from buzzer to buzzer.
The finals started with a 7-0 run by the Wolverines. The Phoenix didn’t get their first bucket until after four minutes. Still, the game was within reach at the end of the first 10 minutes, with the Wolverines holding a six-point 21-15 lead after a less-than-spectacular three-for-10 shooting beyond the arc.
In the second quarter, the Wolverines held off on distance shooting and attacked the rim with much better success. The local boys opened up a 12-point lead at half. Getting into foul trouble in the quarter helped the Phoenix keep things close.
Both teams had trouble getting buckets to start off the second half. However, the Wolverines found their groove and didn’t look back.
With a short bench and only eight players, the Phoenix showed signs of fatigue, resulting in rushed shots and allowing the Wolverines to get behind the defence for easy buckets. The Wolverines opened up a 22-point lead and held their opponents to 10 points in the quarter, a game low.
By the fourth frame, any miracle the Phoenix had wished for a comeback was unanswered as the Wolverines cruised to a 22-point victory.
Beyond the arc, the Wolverines shot seven-for-26.
Despite shooting less than 30 per cent from three, Quelch isn’t overly concerned with that. Instead, he took away the positives, including a tough defensive pressure that turned into easy buckets.
The team has “big aspirations” this season for a banner, and along with the gold medal, the Grade 10 team can feel good about their performance at the Wolverines senior boys tournament earlier this month, going against Grade 11 and 12 players. The JV boys placed fourth.
“It showed us we gotta play a lot bigger than we actually are,” said Roste. “We’re a pretty small team and we gotta learn how to box out because we gave up a lot of rebounds, but it was a good experience. It showed us how to play against big kids.”
The weekend tournament in Canmore also doubled as the Wolverines JV girls home tourney. They finished third, beating the Bobcats in the consolation.
