Congratulations to all 3 of the Jr. Dinos teams who competed in the NSD-Stars Season Opener Tournament in Calgary and Okotoks this past weekend.

U-15 Results:

Consolation Champions - Coaches Brendan Groat and Ian Ferguson

U-16 Results:

2nd Place, U-17 Division 2 - Coaches Randy Peron and Natasha Nagy

U-17 Results

Tournament Champions, U-17 Division 1 - 107-44 over the Calgary Selects in the Tournament Final - Coaches Matt Skinn and Kol Armstrong

All Jr. Dinos teams will be in action on the May long weekend. Stay tuned for www.dinosbasketball.com/juniordinos for all of your Club Updates!

Continuing their busy week of basketball play, the Jr. Dinos took the floor on Thursday May 3 against the Calgary Selects U-19 team. The Selects suited up many of the top grade 12 players from Calgary and the surrounding areas including Bert Church Stars Zack Mckee and Dallon Martin, Notre Dame star Jordan Hope, City Finalists and John Diefenbaker stars Fuad Osman and Brighton Gbrizia, UVIC signee Pierce Anderson, and Springbank scorer Addison Gough. A tough test for the young Dinos, their nerves would be their biggest enemy at the beginning of the game.

After only a few minutes, the Dinos trailed early to the Selects 10-4. The Dinos were getting great looks but could not capitalize against the older Selects. Dallon Martin was also on fire for the Jr. Dinos opponents dropping 18 big points in the first half and putting the selects up by a 46-38 margin (Coming in to the game, the Jr. Dinos had the fewest points against in the Airdrie Spring League giving up a slight 60 points per game).

The second half was a different story. The Jr. Dinos came out firing and got back to the defensive game plan that has made this early season so successful. Catalyzed by a quick Sean McCormick, an energized Kendell Boese, and a few early made shots, the Jr. Dinos cut the lead to 48-47 after just 2 minutes of action of the second half. From there, the Dinos defense took control of the game. The Selects scored only 26 in the second half while the Dinos finally starting hitting their shots to complete the 88-72 victory.

The Jr. Dinos were once again led by the strong inside play of Dom Coward who poured in 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting while grabbing a monstrous 15 rebounds and adding 3 big blocked shots. Other double digit scorers included Ian Tomaszewski with 16, Taylor Norum with 12, and Eric Bakker with 11. Solid performance by the Jr. Dinos two point guards, Trevor Debolt and Matt Urbanowski solidified the Dino attack, while Kendell Boese, Paul Ohlinger and Derrick Waldner played great defense all night.

The Dinos take to the floor again this weekend in the Stars Season Opener Basketball Tournament. All Jr. Dinos games will be played at Holy Trinity Academy in Okotoks. Game time on Friday is at 7:00pm vs. Cranbrook TQN.

Finally adapting to the style of eachother and the team, the Jr. Dinos have suddenly found themselves playing great basketball in the Airdrie Elite Spring League. Despite often playing against older and more experienced opponents, the Jr. Dinos find themselves sitting at 2 wins and 1 loss with the lowest points per game allowed in the entire league. With a stagnant 60 points per game, the Jr. Dinos defense seems to have become the team’s best offense.

On April 24, the Jr. Dinos took to the floor against the Old Ghosts, a team comprised of former Bishop Grandin players and several players who have moved on to play College or University Basketball in Canada. In a very tight and scrappy affair, the Jr. Dinos came out flat, and were unable to capitalize agains the much older Ghosts early in the action. However, the defense of the Dinos kept them in the game. By giving up only 30 points in the first half, the Jr. Dinos were able to stay within striking distance trailing 30-23 at the break.

The second half saw a completely different team. Running the floor, making the right decisions, and using their superior depth, the Jr. Dinos finished off the comeback by winning 70-60. The Dinos scored 47 points in the second half to the Ghosts 30, again, keeping up their stellar defense. The Dinos were lead by the inside play of Dom Coward. Dom finished the game with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists. Other double digit scorers included Ian Tomaszewski with 11, Taylor Norum with 10, and Trevor Debolt with 10. Kudos to both Tomaszewski and Kendell Boese whose defense limited the Ghosts top performer.

In action again on May 1, the Jr. Dinos took the floor agains the host team of Airdrie Elite. Never to be taken lightly, the Airdrie squad prides itself on hard nosed play, and great coaching tactics. Coming out firing, the Jr. Dinos took command early and never relinquished the lead. After a 11-2 run to start the game, the Jr. Dinos finished off the game with a 87-35 victory once again stagnating their opponents defensively. The Jr. Dinos were lead by the play of Sean McCormick. Sean was everywhere and finished the game with 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 steals for the near triple double. The versatile forward was the catalyst in the Jr. Dinos press attack. Eric Bakker lead the Dino scoring with 12 points in what was easily his best performance of the Spring. Eric finished the game with 12 points on an efficient 6 for 9 shooting, also recording 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Other double digit scorers included Brett Pekar with 11 points and Dow Coward with 10. 3 Dinos recorded double digit rebounding games. Besides McCormick, Derrick Waldner, the 6′7″ post from Holy Trinity Academy and 6′7″ forward Taylor Norum recorded 11 and 12 rebounds respectively.

The Jr. Dinos next action is on Thursday May 3 against their in-city rivals, the grade 12 Calgary Selects. Game time is at 7:15 at Bert Church High School.