Perennial runners-up no more. Holy Trinity Academy Knights head coach Sam Aiello spent the past six years handing out the Knights Senior Boys Basketball Classic trophy to the champions while his teams stood on the court with their silver medals.
Perennial runners-up no more.
Holy Trinity Academy Knights head coach Sam Aiello spent the past six years handing out the Knights Senior Boys Basketball Classic trophy to the champions while his teams stood on the court with their silver medals.
Not this year.
Coach Aiello presented the trophy to Knights captain Matt Scharien after they downed the St. Peter the Apostle Spartans 79-66 at Holy Trinity Academy on Saturday for their first title since 2011.
"It is nice to win it again," Aiello said. "We played really well this weekend. St. Peter's is a great team — they are 3A provincial champions for a reason. We played with great intensity, great teamwork and the shots fell for us tonight."
It wasn't easy. Although the Knights won by 13, the two teams were deadlocked at 32-32 at halftime. With HTA having a recent history of lackadaisical third quarters — they had been outscored in that quarter in both their two previous tournament games — and with the Spartans the defending champions, the Knights were arguably underdogs going into the second half.
"I told the boys at halftime if we get down in the third quarter against this team, we aren't coming back," Aiello said. "They responded and did a great job."
However, the Spartans scored the opening four points of the second stanza to take a 36-32 lead.
HTA didn't panic, they defended.
"We got down on defence," Aiello said. "St. Peter's has some great athletes, and we kept them off the board. That was the difference."
HTA would take the lead at 37-36 when tournament MVP point guard Matt Scharien hit a three.
He said HTA's strong third quarter was due to keeping things on track.
"It was nothing but focus, usually we are light and joking in the locker room, but we locked it down this time,” said Scharien, who finished with 14 points, 10 assists and a steal against St. Peter's. "Coach told us in the locker at halftime, that if we don't keep the gas on in the third quarter, they are going to definitely come back and hurt us... When they got ahead, we didn't panic and got it going."
While Aiello had waited seven years for a title, Grade 10 rookie Ewan Fuhr played a large part in winning the title in his first try.
He hit back-to-back threes in the span of about 10 seconds to give HTA a 71-52 lead with 5:10 remaining in the game.
"I got the ball in the corner and as soon as it (the first three) went in, I got a burst of energy and I caught fire after that," Fuhr said. "I was ecstatic. Hearing the crowd cheer, it was one of the best feelings of my life. It was awesome."
The Spartans would chip away at the lead after Fuhr's firebombs, but HTA remained steadfast defensively for the 79-66 victory.
Grade 12 Knights forward Kessler Bishop was named HTA's game MVP. He had 20 points to go with his 18 rebounds and three blocks.
"We got destroyed by St. Peter's last year, we played really well this year," Bishop said.
He said he got a lot of feeds from his teammates. Those included a terrific pass from the flamboyant Carson McKenzie, which Bishop took for an under-handed layup from beneath the hoop.
"Playing on the court with Carson is awesome, even when he goes up for a shot he looks for me and that's how we got that one play," Bishop said. "We have a lot of chemistry. Matt is also very good at getting us the ball."
St. Peter's leading scorer was Levi Schlecker with 18.
Spartans head coach Chris Delano was pumped at halftime, clapping his hands telling parents how he loved these kinds of games. His enthusiasm wasn't dampened too much by the loss.
"We didn't defend as well in the second half and they got some great shooters and made five in a row, that is going to happen at this level," he said. "HTA is a very well-balanced team and they are huge.
"I'm really happy how we played. We're young and HTA is a great squad, plays good fundamentals."
The Knights opened the tournament with a convincing 99-58 victory over 4A South Central zone rival, the Chestermere Lakers. Bishop was the Knights' top gunner with 24 points, Scharien had 17 points. Justin Cyr had 11 points to go with 19 rebounds.
HTA advanced to the finals by beating the Canmore Crusaders 77-57. Bishop finished with 21, while Fuhr had 13.
The Knights have now won the Classic five times in its 21-year history.
Thy resume Foothills Athletic Council play — where they are undefeated at 4-0 — when they travel to Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School to take on that's school's Spartans Jan. 17. They will then hit the book, not the boards and the buckets, for exams.
The past 10 Knights Classic finals
Year Champion Finalist
2018 HTA St. Peter's
2017 St. Peter's HTA
2016 Chestermere HTA
2015 Chestermere HTA
2014 Chestermere HTA
2013 Churchill HTA
2012 McCoy HTA
2011 HTA Churchill
2010 St. Joe's Crescent Heights
2009 Chestermere HTA
