International Falls escaped with a 58-46 victory Tuesday at home against St. John’s (Manitoba), despite a lackluster performance in the first round of the 2009 Can-Am Holiday Tournament.
“The second half was alright today. The first half was frustrating,” Broncos head coach Derek Dowty said.
With a quiet Falls High Gymnasium setting the tone for a slow-paced contest, Shawn Filipiak’s double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds led the Broncos (4-2). Adam Potter added 13 points and five assists and Trevar Carlson scored 12 points, including 10 in the first half. Nick Bujold finished with seven points and five rebounds.
Hazen Pacag led the Tigers (0-2) with 11 points, while Kevin Capitly also finished in double figures with 10. Rodney Coutu and Jillian Radocaj scored seven points apiece.
The pace was so slow in the beginning, St. John’s held only a 14-10 lead 11 minutes into the game.
St. Johns traveled four hours from Winnipeg for the tournament and brought only eight players — seven seniors and one junior. The lack of depth played a role down the stretch.
“Mentally, I think we were fatigued and made some mistakes,” Tigers coach Jim Anastasiadis said.
After trailing 26-21 at the break, and 37-28 midway through the second half, the Tigers clawed their way back to tie it at 41-41 with 7:45 remaining. However, they never led in the second half.
Following a timeout by Dowty after the Tigers tied it, the Broncos outscored the visitors 17-5 the rest of the way.
This was only the second game of the season for St. John’s, who started practice way back in the end of October. Its season gets rolling shortly after the new year.
“Can’t be disappointed,” Anastasiadis said. “It was fun. The kids are enjoying themselves and we look forward to playing tomorrow, hopefully on the other side (of the result).”
Roseau defeated Fort Frances 86-69 in the other game, pitting the Rams against the Broncos in today’s championship at 7 p.m. St. John’s plays Fort Frances at 5:15 p.m.
In junior varsity action, Roseau defeated Fort Frances 67-32 and International Falls defeated St. John’s 89-59. The JV games precede the two varsity games today.
