ANNAPOLIS ROYAL - The Annapolis West Education Centre senior boys basketball team is back in action for the 2017/2018 season, picking up a win and a loss in their first two outings.
The Wolfpack is a relatively young team this season with only two Grade 12 students, said coach Ryan Scranton. The Grade 11 contingent is highlighted by forwards Griffin Batt, Sam Cooper and Kerwyn Currie.
“We are lucky to have some size with our forwards this season” said Scranton. “Being able to send three players out who are all about 6’4” to 6’5” causes some matchup issues for other teams. The three boys are all capable of controlling rebounds and putting pressure on opposing teams.” Averaging over 30 points per game last season, Currie is certainly a player to watch.
The AWEC backcourt consists of Grade 11 shooting guard Erik Heubach and Grade 10 point guard Cameron Wiles.
“Our guards give us some interesting options for outside shooting as well as ball penetration,” said Scranton. “Cameron is a gym rat who is constantly working on his game. Those efforts really show in how he is developing as a player. Erik has also taken some big strides in the last year and is playing with a lot more confidence.”
Due to the size of the school population, AWEC has been moved from Division 2 to Division 3 this season.
“It is an interesting opportunity for us to play in Division 3,” said Scranton. “In Division 2 we are the plucky underdog as one of the smallest schools. The dynamic is flipped entirely in Division 3 where we are the biggest school. Although we are the biggest, the boys know that they need to work hard in every game if we are going to accomplish what we have set out as our team goals.”
Indeed the two games they’ve played so far have been against Division 2 schools where they eked out n 81-68 win over Central Kings and trailed Bridgetown 85-70 in away action Nov. 14 and Nov. 23 respectively.
The only Division 3 schools in the southwest are AWEC, St. Mary's Bay Academy (Weymouth), Clare, and North Queens (Caledonia), making for a short schedule. But the AWEC squad won’t be short on games with numerous tournaments in the mix between now and February. They host their own tournament Jan. 19 and 20.
The Wolfpack is hosting a fundraising dinner on December 7 in the AWEC cafeteria. Funds raised at the dinner will go toward operating costs for the team.
“The dinner is an opportunity to earn some money toward our season,” said Scranton. “We have several tournaments which will bring us from Yarmouth to Pugwash so the dinner helps us to operate.”
Tickets are available for $10 by calling 532-8793.
Schedule
November
Nov. 14 – AWEC 81 - Central Kings 68
Nov. 23 – AWEC 70 at Bridgetown 85
Nov. 29 – Middleton at AWEC - 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 30 - North Queens at AWEC 4:30 p.m.
December
Dec. 4 - AWEC at St Mary's Bay Academy
Dec. 5 – NKEC at AWEC 5:00 p.m.
Dec. 7 – Fundraising Dinner at AWEC
Dec. 8,9 – Tournament at Pugwash
Dec. 14 - St Mary's Bay Academy at AWEC 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 15, 16 – Tournament at West Kings
Dec. 18 – Central Kings at AWEC 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 - Western Valley Shootout at Middleton 3:00 p.m.
Dec. 22, 23 – Tournament at Drumlin Heights
January
Jan. 3 Bridgetown at AWEC 6:30 p.m.
Jan. 5,6 – Tournament in Yarmouth
Jan. 8 - St Mary's Bay Academy at AWEC 6:30 p.m.
Jan. 12, 13 – Tournament at Barrington
Jan. 15 AWEC at St Mary's Bay Academy 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 23 Drumlin Heights at AWEC 6:30 p.m.
Jan. 19,20 – Tournament at AWEC
February
Feb. 8 - AWEC at Drumlin Heights
