Jonas Emilsson
www.KramMag.com

The Ernest Manning Griffins (8-0) grabbed a firm hold of the top spot atop the senior boy’s Div. III standings with a convincing 71-52 victory over the Crescent Heights Cowboys (3-4) in this week’s Spolombo’s Game of the Week.

Forward Mike van Son scored a game high 24 points for the Griffins, including a pretty break-away dunk in the third quarter.

The Cowboys were led by Matt Goulden’s 17 points and Mati Sayed chipped in with 14 points, including four three pointers.

The Griffins took advantage of so-so shooting night from the Cowboys, who never seemed to find their range on a consistent basis.

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The Griffins on the other hand enjoyed a terrific night from the field from all distances, especially von Son, who was a threat from all areas of the offensive zone.

They also deployed an effective, up-tempo game that resulted in plenty of easy buckets from quick breakouts.

“We are a team that like to take it to the hole, and we got them into some foul trouble early, and by doing that we were able to effectively manage our free throws,” said Griffins’ head coach Travis Juska.

And when the fast breaks stalled, guard Devon Lovell set up the half-court offense and ran the set plays to a tee.

“We were just staying calm and waiting for the screen to come and then just hit the open shot and crash the boards,” said von Son.

By the time halftime rolled around the Griffins owned a commanding 39-25 lead, which stretched to a 57-39 lead by the end of the third quarter.

“It was actually a really good game,” said Juska. “We came out strong and rebounded from weaker game last Thursday against Forest Lawn, so the intensity was there and defense was good.”

The Cowboys made a bit of a push in the latter stages of the fourth quarter, but the clock was their biggest enemy by that point considering the hole they found themselves trying to dig out of.

The win keeps the Griffins comfortably in first place, two wins up on second-place James Fowler Falcons.

Heading towards the finish line for this season it’s clear that the Griffins are the run-away favourites to capture the Div III banner.

Naturally, anything can happen, especially in a one-game playoff series, but the Griffins are 8-0 for a reason – they’re an outstanding, well balanced group that emphasized team play.

They’ve adopted a team-first attitude, which is not only limited to what they do as a group on the court for 40 minutes a couple of times a week.

Instead of just being one unit for the weekly regiment of games and practices, the boys have expanded the term team and brought the concept outside the lines of the basketball court.

“We want to focus on intensity and brotherhood,” said von Son.  “If we keep together off the court we’ll keep together on the court as well.”

Those are the kinds of words all basketball coaches want to hear.

“They’re outstanding,” said Juska.  I’ve had the opportunity to be with them for a number of years and they are by far the best group that I’ve ever coached.  They’re dedicated and there’s nothing they won’t do to support each other on the court.”