Toilers Escape Devils
“So what do you think of us?” an unidentified Lumsden Devils player asked me at half time.
“You’re a lot better than I thought you would be,” I responded.
“That’s what all the teams say we are a lot better than they think we are,” the Lumsden player replied.
The score at half time was 37 Peacock and Lumsden 20 with the Devils keeping pace…
Story and Photos by Robert Thomas
It was a tougher than anticipated Lumsden Devils senior boys basketball team who showed up to take on the Peacock Toilers.
The Toilers, like most local basketball teams, have been hit by a bit of a flu bug as of late but still battled on.
The First Quarter saw the Devils literally go toe to toe against the Toilers.
The battles under the basket were intense and the Devils seemed to have the better hands and pitchforks consistently coming up with the ball.
The score at the end of the first quarter was 10 - 10 which sent a chill over the Peacock faithful.
The Second Quarter saw the Toilers regroup and escape Hades clutches with the score at Halftime Peacock 37 and Lumsden 20.
The Third Quarter saw the Devils close the gap with a score of Peacock 50 and Devils 38.
The Fourth Quarter however saw the Toilers pick momentum and outpace the Devils with the final score being Peacock 78 and Lumsden 42.
Peacock Top Scorers:
Kai Houghton - 19 points
Owen Varjassy - 12 points
Teagan Gagnon - 11 points
Lumsden Top Scorers:
Ben Dollach - 15 points
Jake Flichel - 8 points
For Lumsden Devils head coach Drew Schenk his team is full of surprises.
“We’ve got some guys that are athletes and I don’t know if we are true basketball players yet but we are coming,” Schenk said.
“We work hard as long as we keep working hard we’ll be OK,” he said.
Asked about the team’s abilities under the basket where their quick hands grabbed numerous offensive and defensive rebounds he said “they have a nose for the ball.”
“They board the ball really well. Peacock is a really big team and they got some strong kids but yeah some of our guys have a nose for the ball. I like the way they go after it.”
Asked about the Devils going toe to toe with Peacock in the first quarter and sliding later he said it’s work ethic and determination.
“We don’t quite have the depth of the other teams we’re up against but you know I love our guys they work hard and even if we’re outsized or outmatched we’ll try to bring it every night.”
Asked if he thought the team went for far too many field goals or three pointers he said he thought otherwise.
“I think the more field goals we attempt the more we can hit. Because we don’t shoot the ball at a very high percentage so I think we need to take a lot of shots,” Schenk said.
After spending one season in junior varsity (JV) he said it was OK to be back in senior basketball.
“It’s OK. I don’t know if we are truly belonging here but due to size we are. We come up against Peacock and Central and Vanier when it comes down to regionals at the end of the season so it’s where we belong in terms of (student) population so I’m OK (with it).”
The work ethic and determination by Lumsden was something noted by Peacock Toilers head coach Troy Setter said.
“I think Lumsden came ready to play. They made the guys work so good on them,” Setter said.
When asked Setter said he wasn’t surprised to see the Devils come out strong.
“Drew (Schenk) is a good coach. He’s always got his team prepared. They came out ready and they played hard. They deserve to be in that game like they were.”
Asked further if he was surprised by how good Lumsden was in picking up low balls after rebounds, he said he wasn’t but stressed the effort Lumsden put into it.
“I wasn’t surprised by anything. They play hard they made their shots when they had their chance. I think they deserve to be where they were in that game 100 percent.”
A strong point in the team’s performance was Luke Andrews he said.
“Luke played well. A big man hitting the floor for loose balls is always nice to see.”
The other strong point was the 10 players dressed played well and everyone got lots of minutes on the floor. The game time is a great help to development of the team which has some new additions this season.
“You have got to get experience and you know this is a great game for the boys to get experience.”
One of those new additions who saw plenty of playing time was grade 11 student Jayden Lobb.
Lobb - known for his hard work and love of basketball - spent the past two season’s with the Peacock Toilers JV team (the team that never quits) has brought the work ethic over to the senior boy’s team.
Lobb, who really didn’t want to be interviewed, said he was happy to make the jump over to the senior boy’s team where he was going to work hard and play his best.
“Jayden he is a good kid. He works hard and unfortunately he is behind by a week because he was sick. He really hasn’t had any practice. He didn’t come to our first tournament. So he is trying to catch up. But he is getting there. He is working hard,” Setter said.
“He comes out here and works hard and gets along great with his teammates.”
Asked what the team was going to work on Settter said “we have got lots to work on. There is always lots to work on.”
He said the team was going to be taking it easier at practice for the next couple of days as the team needs the time to get healthy from the flu that has hit most of the teams in the league.
Noticeable scratches from the game were veterans Makungu Mutabazi and Josh Johnson.
