Falcons Soar to District Final, Beat Boyer Valley, 61-45

St. Albert's Cooper Hamilton & Colt Spencer (2-20-26)

Falcons Soar to District Final, Beat Boyer Valley, 61-45 –

(2-20-26) – As the game got close, the Falcons took flight to secure the win.

Colt Spencer had 16 pts, several off of spectacular passes, as St. Albert pulled away late for a 61-45 win over Boyer Valley in the 1A-District 12 Semifinals Friday.

The game was a battle throughout with lots of physical play with each team committing over 20 fouls in the game. Spencer, who also had 8 rebounds, said his team was prepared for the physical pace of the game.

”It's the game of basketball, stuff's going to happen. But I think being able to say, when we play 4A, 3A, 2A teams all season, to really be able to compare to these guys, I think no one's, like those are for the most physical team, we played 1A all season, but those 3A, 4A, 2A teams really prepared me to get physical. I think it prepared all of us to be more physical.”

St. Albert built up a 15-pt lead at the half with a balanced attack and stifling defense that forced 11 turnovers after the first 16 minutes of the contest.

But the Bulldogs got back into the game in the 2nd half, at first matching the Falcons to keep within striking distance, then using an 8-2 run to start the 4th qtr to pull to within single digits.

That’s when St. Albert took over and ran away with the win, finishing on a 15-8 run of their own.

Cooper Hamilton had a game-high 18 pts for the Falcons, scoring 13 in the 2nd half. He felt the defense allowed him more opportunities to score.

“Our defensive pressure really changed. Like for us, we take pride in our defense. So, when we were getting stops and we were getting easy transition layups, transition threes, not a good night for shooting for me, but really attacked the rim and got to the free throw line a lot and that's just how we knew we were going to have to attack.”

“I think we take pride in our defense,” added Spencer. “We say it every day at practice, like defense comes. It's effort. Our shots will fall. So, it really starts on the defensive end, just pressuring them, getting fast break layups.”

The Falcons had 16 assists in the game as several passes opened up opportunities for easy layups. Hamilton talked about the camaraderie the team has built to be successful offensively.

“All year we've done really good at finding, if you have a good shot, you always find a better shot. Like our coaches always tell us, like if you have a good shot, somebody else has a better shot. So, we always, always swing the rock and we just kind of just play team basketball.”

Jace Bromert led the Bulldogs with 13 pts off the bench. Boyer Valley finishes their season 12-12.

St. Albert will play Woodbine in the 1A-District 12 Championship Game on Tuesday.

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