Turns out some home-cooking and a high-quality Orange can help some basketball players cure what ails them.
Some solid defence and sharp shooting doesn’t hurt either.
The Foothills Falcons overwhelmed the William Aberhart Orange 80-50 in an exhibition senior boys basketball game at the Comp on Jan. 6.
The victory comes after two losses at the Sugar Bowl in Raymond over the Christmas break.
“We didn’t have the weekend that we wanted at the Sugar Bowl,” said Falcon Cam Boriskewich, about Foothills losses to Magrath and Cardston in Raymond. “Getting a big win at home is really good for us.
“Aberhart is a top-team out of Calgary, so this is really good.”
The Orange was on fire in the opening 10 minutes as they jumped out to an early lead thanks to some three point bombs. However the Falcons were able to hold back the Orange tide and take a slim 20-19 lead after the first quarter.
Foothills squeezed the Orange attack with a smothering defence in the second quarter and when Falcon Cley Perrett hit a three-pointer with 3:10 left in the half, suddenly the home squad had a 20-point bulge at 42-22.
“We adjusted and started to work more as a team in the passing lanes and in the driving lanes to take them down,” Perrett said, who led the team with 15 points including hitting three threes from beyond the arc.
The Comp would hold Aberhart to five points in the second quarter and had a 46-24 lead at the half.
“Aberhart was a really big team,” said the Falcons 6-foot-3 Preston Layton. “(For us) it was just a lot of defensive fundamentals, boxing them out and getting them outside of the paint.
“I think what we learned tonight is that we can play with some of the top teams.”
Layton provided 14 points to go along with his stifling defence.
Falcons coach Amron Gwilliam said greater focus by his squad was the key in the second stanza.
“Most three-point shots come from dribble penetration where a guy can get into the key and force a help rotation and they kick it out to a shooter,” Gwilliam said. “We did a much better job of containing that dribble penetration in that second quarter and for the rest of the game.”
Perrett would extend the Falcons’ lead to 30 points with a two-point bomb just inches inside the arc with four minutes left in the third quarter.
There was no looking back as Foothills went on to the 80-50 victory.
The Falcons’ victory over Aberhart came after a not so sweet outing at the Sugar Bowl.
“We had four guys who were right in the middle of that nasty chest cold and three guys who were just coming off it,” Gwilliam said. “Sam (Simard) was playing in the Mac’s (Midget Hockey) tournament and he makes a huge difference for us and Ethan Doering hurt his foot just before Christmas.
“We were shorthanded.”
A healthy Falcons’ squad showed its worth against Aberhart.
“They are in the top five in Calgary,” Gwilliam said. “I thought our guys really came out to play tonight.
“Our defence was good and I thought we rotated well. Offensively our execution was okay. There are some things we have got to clean up, but our guys played hard tonight.”
The Falcons had 10 three-pointers, from seven different players, Connor Oliver, Liam Gunning, Scott Mathieson, Jamison Strilchuk, Beynon Gwilliam, Layton and Perrett.
“We are so small we have to be able to shoot. Out of our 13 guys we’re fine with almost all of them putting up a three-point shot if they are open,” coach Gwilliam said. “Our whole goal is to work hard, find who is ever open and let that guy shoot.
“And we will live with the consequences.”
The Falcons are in a tournament at Ernest Manning High School this weekend in Calgary.
They are back at home next week, when they host the Bishop O’Byrne Bobcats on Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. The Junior Varsity boys will play at 5:30 p.m.
