Playing their best defense of the Spring, the U-17 Jr. Dinos were able to collect their second straight Sheep River Shooutout title by defeating the Foothills Falcons 90-58 in the final. In doing so, the Jr. Dinos have won all three tournaments they have entered this spring and have captured every U-17 tournament they have entered over the past two seasons compiling a record of 34-0 with 7 tournament titles.

Inspired by a defensive clinic put on by U of C Head Coach Dan Vanhooren during the week, the Jr. Dinos played the whole tournament determined to shut down their opposition through hard work and communication. In their opening round match-up, the Jr. Dinos played the Calgary Selects Grade 11 team. The Dinos started quick and never looked back. Getting off to an early lead, the Dino defense stifled their opponent, while the team’s offense and transition was clicking leading to a 114-41 victory. The Jr. Dinos were led offensively by Jordan Hone who poured in 21 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the floor, and 4 for 4 shooting from the free throw line. Jordan also added 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. The Dinos had 5 other double digit scorers: Mike Berlando, 15 points (7-9 FG’s, 7 d-touches), Tyler Fidler (5-8 FG’s, 4-5 FT’s, 4 rebounds, 4 assists 2 steals), Brennen Fule, 13 points (3-5 3pt FG’s, 2 rebounds, 5 d-touches, 3 assists), Pierce Anderson, 12 points (6-7 FG’s), and Ian Tomaszewski with 11 points (5-6 FG’s, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists). Taylor Norum had another strong game for the Dinos scoring 9 points while grabbing 6 rebounds, and Trevor Debolt continued his stellar play at the point guard position scoring 8 points, dishing out a season high 9 assists, while grabbing 5 rebounds and 4 steals. This was a complete team effort by the Dinos.

The second game of the tournament saw the Jr. Dinos up against a very well coached Cranbrook TQN team. Once again, the Jr. Dinos defense was on display. Carrying a 46-22 lead into the halftime break, the Dinos settled into their half-court defense and held TQN to only 7 second half points to win the game 90-29. With their talk and intensity on the defensive end of the court, the Jr. Dinos team defense was at its best. Leading the way offensively for the Jr. Dinos was Tyler Fidler. Tyler nearly completed a triple double posting 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting, and 3 for 3 from the 3 point line while grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out 8 assists, grabbing 2 steals and adding 2 blocks for a definite ‘Stat Sheet Stuffer’. Pierce Anderson was the other Jr. Dino to post a double-double scoring 11 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Other double-digit scorers included Taylor Norum who scored 13 points while grabbing 7 rebounds, and Joey Theriault who added 11 points and 6 rebounds. Trevor Debolt added a team high 5 steals while Mike Berlando added 9 points, and Ian Tomaszewski and Jordan Hone each added 7.

The final game of the tournament saw the Jr. Dinos in action against the host Foothills Falcons out of Okotoks, AB. The Falcons, a very well coached and fiesty team that showed no intimidation against the Dinos, that came out very hard and out-worked the Jr. Dinos for much of the first half. Hitting some key shots, and capitilizing on poor shooting by the Dinos, the Falcons kept it close even tying it up at 29-29 with just about 2 minutes left in the first half. However, it was a pair of technicals by Forward Joey Theriault and Coach Matt Skinn that changed the ‘tone’ of the game. Going on a 5 to 0 run to end the half, and getting back to their game, the Jr. Dinos were able to cruise on to a 90-58 victory. Once again, it was the Dinos defense that was the difference shutting down the Falcons top two performers in the second half. Tyler Fidler was the offensive leader again in the finals. Tyler finished the game with 17 points on 4 for 10 shooting from the floor and 6 for 8 from the free throw line, while grabbing 10 rebounds, handing out 6 assists, and blocking 2 shots. The key to the second half was also the performances of the two Jr. Dinos big men Pierce Anderson and Joey Theriault. Pierce scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and grabbed 6 rebounds, while Joey scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and collected 8 rebounds. The inside game was further strengthened by Taylor Norum who scored 10 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. The 5th double digit scorer for the Dinos was Brennen Fule who had a great tournament and final. Brennen scored 14 points capitilizing on 9 of 12 shooting from the free throw line while dishing out 6 assists, and grabbing 5 rebounds.

The Dinos will now concentrate on playoff action in the Airdrie Elite East Spring League. Quarter-Final action takes place on Tuesday, June 6 at 8:15pm against the Roswell Rayguns. The next tournament for the Jr. Dinos will be the Great Canadian Shooutout in Edmonton on the last weekend of June. Some much needed time off for the Dinos to concentrate on exams and school. Thanks again to all of the parents of the Jr. Dinos for your support and travel all weekend.

The U-16 boys just completed their 3rd weekend in a row of tournament play participating in the Sheep River Invitational this past weekend. Their 1st match up was the highly anticipated match up against the Selects 9 team who were a very strong, quick and skilled group of players. Right from the opening whistle the Selects used their quickness with a full court pressure man defense to distrupt any rhythum the Dinos had and with committing over 36 turn overs for the game the Dinos were down at half time 29-26. The Selects who were lead by their very quick guard Kelly O’Brien, who poured in 17 points in the 2nd half, were able to build a 50-36 lead with just over 8 min remaining in the game. The Dinos, as has been the case all season, did not quit. Showing the Selects they too are a quick team, the Jr. Dinos began to pressure the Selects into more turn overs, beginning to go inside. The Dinos went on a 15-0 run and ended up going into overtime with the 1st team to score 4 points the winner. The Dinos on their 1st posession went with a special call which resulted in their 9th straight score. The Selects however on 2 more turnovers were able to defeat the Dinos 59-57. A great game for both teams. The Dino player of the game was Adam Weir who finished with 17 points(7-11),8 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot while Scott Venoit added 9 points, and Jordan Tudor with 8 points. Turnovers were key in this game with hopes the Dinos will learn from.

The next game for the Jr. Dinos was against the Westside A team who had a few grade 12 players mixed in with some 11’s and 10’s. This was the 3rd time the teams have played each other with Westside winning the first 2 games by 40 and 11 points. This game would prove to be a big challenge for the Dinos after a hard fought game the night before. The Dinos showed very little focus in the 1st half and with Andrew Whytsma on fire for Westside took a 30-15 lead into the 2nd half. A good team chat at half time seemed to wakeup the Dinos and they played with pride and heart in the 2nd half and got to within 4 points of Westside, but Andrew Whytsma was to strong for any Dino to handle. He finished the game with 36 points and helped Westside defeat the Dinos 68-54. Another lesson learned for the Dinos in that you must play a full 40 min in order to have a chance to win a game. Player of the game for the Dinos was Paul Ohlinger who had 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 blocked shot and 2 steals. Jordan Tudor added 7 points.

Their final game was against the Cougars from southern Alberta. The Dinos came out of the gate with the intensity needed in order to compete against most older teams that they have played against this year. A strong team defense, quick fast break resulted with the Dinos having a 31-19 lead by half time. The coaches wondered if the team could play another strong half of basketball, and the answer was yes. They continued to play hard even though the Cougars had a very short lead in the 2nd half, but the Dinos held their composure and ended up winning 57-51. A strong game for the team
as they wrap up the first half of their season with a 7 win and 10 loss record. Player of the game for the Dinos was Scott Veniot who had a strong offensive and defensive game scoring 13 points and leading the teams offense, Jordan Tudor who led the team in scoring with 17 points(4-9 3’s), Adam Weir added 8 points, 8 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Again the coaches would like to thank all the parents for their support over the weekend.