ANNAPOLIS ROYAL, N.S. — The Annapolis West Education Centre junior boys basketball team trounced host Horton in the semi-final and edged Hebbville in the gold medal game to take Tier 1 Regionals Feb. 26 in Greenwich.
The AWEC Wolfpack defeated the Horton Griffins 72-35, launching them into the final against Hebbville that was 58-57 for the Annapolis Royal team at the final buzzer.
There are no provincial for the junior boys, so the Regional banner the top award for the Ryan Scranton-coached squad that went undefeated in the regular season.
“The boys are very happy and deservedly so,” said Scranton after the win. “They have worked hard to get to this point in the year.”
Scranton noted there were a few scoring standouts on the team, but their success was very much a team effort.
“Top scorers for the team this season were Brennen Clarke, Sam Robar, and Rhys Scranton,” the coach said. “All three boys had a very strong day at Regionals, but it certainly took a full team effort to get it done.”
Scranton said the excitement on the bench was high.
“The players who were not on the court at any particular time no doubt have very sore throats from all the yelling they were doing to support their teammates,” he said.
The win wasn’t any easy one, by any stretch of the imagination.
“The game was back and forth for the most part,” Scranton said. “Hebbville had an early lead but we pulled it back to take a four-point lead into halftime. We managed to extend the lead to eight with a couple of minutes to go.”
It’s a good thing they had that buffer because Hebbville managed to hit a couple of three-pointers and a foul shot to get the game close with just six seconds to go.
“We made an unfortunate turnover to give them the ball back,” Scranton said. “Sam Robar saved the day with a blocked shot on their final opportunity. It was a very tense and exciting end to a game.”
While it’s the end of the season for the junior boys, the AWEC senior squad will hit the road for Division 3 provincials this weekend at Hants North. Scranton also coaches the seniors with help from assistant coach Jeremy Barnes and manager Sue Anne Cooper.
