The DVSS Senior boys basketball team are provincial –bound after a weekend where they were more than convincing they were the best 2A team in the zone.
DVSS hosted the zone tournament last weekend. Fans came to cheer on the Dynos where they made short work of the competition and cruised to earning a zone banner.
“In the last couple weeks we have cut our turnovers in half. We are always going to be a high turnover team because we play a faster pace, but we have cut down a lot of our half court turnovers, so we are taking control of the ball better that way,” said coach Jeff Messom. ”We are moving the ball better so that is good to see.”
The Dynos opened the tournament against J.C Charyk of Hanna. The Dynos came out strong and led by eight after the first quarter. Hanna matched Drumheller in the second quarter ending the half, 31-23 for the Dynos. In the second half Drumheller took over and Hanna was only able to score six points. Alex Cliche led the way for the Dynos with 21 points, Kyle Smith had 16 points on 61 per cent overall shooting from the field, Jordan Britton had 14 points.
The Dynos advanced to play St. Joseph’s Collegiate of Brooks, who were ranked fourth in the zone. The first half was close but the Dynos led 46-41 at the break. Drumheller blew it wide open in the third quarter outscoring St. Joseph’s 28-15. Their dominance continued in the final quarter, and took the win 98-72.
This time Smith had the hot hand with 29 points. Britton and Cliche each had 17.
“We have shut down teams in the third quarter. For a while the third quarter used to be our worst quarter,” he said.
This set up the zone final Saturday night as the Dynos took on league rivals Prairie Christian Academy for the final.
The Dynos led from beginning to end, dominating PCA 91-55. Cliche was on fire with 31 points on 84 per cent shooting, to go with 12 rebounds. Brock Boyd had 12 points and 11 boards.
“Prairie was undermanned when we played. One player rolled his ankle in a previous game and that made a big difference,” said Messom.
The Dynos are on to the provincials. They along with Prairie qualified coming out of the South Central Zone. Currently DVSS are ranked second in the province. Messom likes the look of the team with its mix of younger and veteran players. The younger players are eager, and confident. Its veterans are confident after playing at provincials last season, but still remember the sting of two years ago when they were ranked number one in the province and were ousted in zones.
“I don’t think I am worried about overconfidence, they are not that type of group of guys,” said Messom. “This is the time of year it comes down to one game, you don’t get any second chances.”
This year the 2A provincials are hosted by Assumption School in Cold Lake. The Dynos’ game is Friday at 12:30 p.m.
Fans can follow the Dynos’ journey, including watching a live stream of games by going to www.asaa.ca and follow the “Championship Hosts “ link.
