Jonas Emilsson
www.KramMag.com

Last season the Bishop Grandin Ghosts came within three points of successfully defending the senior boys division one title.

Unfortunately for them, a surging Notre Dame Pride shocked most people and squeaked out a 69-66 win to claim the first ever division one basketball banner for their school.

Brayden Daniel takes the ball strong against the Pride defense.

On Tuesday night the Ghosts had an opportunity to avenge the loss when both teams kicked off a brand new season at Bishop Grandin High School.  And boy, did they take away at least some of the sting from that loss thanks to an impressive season-opening 95-59 victory.

“We played two good quarters, the second and the fourth, but we came out slowly in the first and the third,” said Ghosts head coach Mike Henry.  “Notre Dame is a good team, played man to man on us in the first and zoned us in the second half so we had to make some adjustments.  I thought it was ok.”

6’5″ forward Grant Peters led all scorers with 28 points and 5’11″ forward Austen Hartley added 16 points to pace the Ghosts’ attack.

Biinyam Mengsteab led the Pride’s scoring with 14 points.

After struggling through the first quarter that ended with the Pride holding a 22-20 lead the Ghosts completely took control of every aspect of the game.

“I think they just decided to play,” said Henry.  “We didn’t change a thing between the first and the second execpt I think the 20-22 pounding we were taking maybe opened their eyes up a little bit and they decided to start playing a little bit harder and to the level I think they should have been playing at the whole time.”

The Ghosts limited the Pride’s offence to just four points in the second quarter.  Combine that with an offence that suddenly caught fire, especially from beyond the 3-point arc, and 12 minutes later the Ghosts held a commanding 51-26 lead.

“We had open looks, open shots,” explained Henry.  “We have to work on our spacing and some timing.  We’re getting better and I’m hoping to peak at the end of the season, make some adjustments now and go from there.”

The Ghosts kept the pressure up throughout the second half leaving no doubt that they are ready to keep up with the big boys this season.

The Ghosts’ perimeter defenders were brilliant in forcing the Pride’s sharpshooters into contested shots that rarely found the mark.  The missed shots were quickly gobbled up their bigs, who did a terrific job of starting off the fast breaks with quick outlet passes.

The offensive attack was led by 6’1″ guard Brayden Daniel.  The grade-12 player was brilliant at maintaining an up-tempo pace the entire time he was on the court.  His speed created plenty of easy baskets for his teammates, especially Peters, who often found himself alone under the hoop for an easy bucket thanks to a nifty dish from his point guard.

He had an awesome game, he was great defensively,” said Henry.  “He’s our best point guard, he’s one of our leaders on the floor and today he did everything right.”

The play of their big man Peters was also something that pleasantly surprised Peters.  The powerful post player came out of nowhere to cement himself in the starting lineup, and he makes a living by making smart plays under the basket and being in the right place at the right time.

There’s nothing really fancy about his game, but when it comes to the man patrolling the paint simple and consistent is exactly what a team wants when they’re stacked with players that can hit jumpers.

“He’s been a stud for us all year so far and he’s been a more than a pleasant surprise for all of us,” said Henry.  “Last year he sat on the bench quite a bit and we never noticed him.  This year, he came back, he grew and got stronger.”

“His game is extremely simple but that’s why he’s very, very good.  It’s his strength, he knows it and he doesn’t do what he can’t do.”

Grant Peters goes up for an easy two points.

More scores from Tuesday night’s action.

Jr Boys Basketball 
St. Mary’s                65    Father Lacombe        44
Lord Beaverbrook        63    John G. Diefenbaker        59
Notre Dame            76    Bishop Grandin            62
Western Canada        60    Crescent Heights        52
Sir Winston Churchill    96    Central Memorial        55
William Aberhart        85    Lester B. Pearson        55
James Fowler            60    Queen Elizabeth        48
St. Francis            68    Centennial            43
Bishop McNally            90    Bowness                28
Bishop O’Byrne            88    Henry Wise Wood        28

Jr Girls Basketball
Ernest Manning        65    Bowness                21
Bishop Carroll            61    Western Canada        35
Crescent Heights        51    Queen Elizabeth        45
Forest Lawn            46    Father Lacombe        27
Dr E.P. Scarlett            47    St. Francis            41
Bishop O’Byrne            48    John G. Diefenbaker        30
William Aberhart        59    Sir Winston Churchill    26
St. Martin de Porres        73    James Fowler            13

Sr Boys Basketball 
Bishop Grandin            95    Notre Dame            59
Lord Beaverbrook        88    John G. Diefenbaker        63
Bishop O’Byrne                 108    Henry Wise Wood        85
St. Mary’s                       83    Father Lacombe        66
Centennial                     69    St. Francis            64
Lester B. Pearson        63    William Aberhart        37
Bishop McNally          102    Bowness                59
James Fowler                  75    Queen Elizabeth        56
Crescent Heights               70    Western Canada        52
Sir Winston Churchill    91    Central Memorial        31

Sr Girls Basketball 
Ernest Manning        62    Bowness                50
William Aberhart        55    Sir Winston Churchill    53
Crescent Heights        52    Queen Elizabeth        33
Dr E.P. Scarlett                     52    St. Francis            51
Western Canada        58    Bishop Carroll            43
James Fowler                     43    St. Gabriel            39