Sir enthusiastic about Energy

Off the court, there were a truckload of things that the Edmonton

Energy didn’t want replicated when they took the place of the Edmonton Chill this season.

On Friday night, the International Basketball League team revisited

the good part of their predecessors, in their 114-96 win over the Vancouver Titans.

The crowd at MacEwan gym was slightly smaller compared to last year but enthusiastic about what it saw.

Many of the faces on the Energy roster are back from a year ago and, most importantly, the Edmonton team continues to flex its collective muscle on its home court.

Steve Sir’s outside shooting totalled 26 points to lead the Energy, while Skouson Harker scored the majority of his 23 points in the paint. Andrew Parker added 20 points off the bench, as the team improved to 2-1.

Vancouver’s Kyle Keyes put up 22 points for the Titans, who fall to 3-5.

Edmonton head coach Paul Sir was happy to get the win, but saw room for improvement in several areas.

"I would have liked more people in the stands. I’m taking the attitude that what happened last year has residual effects," the coach said, referring to Chill owner Troy Barns’ splitting town at the end of the 2008 IBL season with team investors’ cash.

"I’m kind of going like Field of Dreams, where if you build it, they will come. I don’t think anyone who came to watch this game tonight didn’t enjoy themselves."

Edmonton let a 14-point second-quarter lead slip away and watched Vancouver hang around until late in the third quarter.

With the hot hand of Lee Scruggs cooled in the second half by his aching back, Parker came off of the bench to give the spark that his coach was looking for. The six-foot-four Edmontonian scored 10 of his points in the third quarter, with the Titans nipping at his team’s heels. Parker’s two-handed throwdown on a lob pass from point guard Alex Steele capped his scoring flurry and made it a 10-point game.

"What he did on the defensive end of the floor ... last year, he would have fouled out," coach Sir said of Parker. "This year, he’s much more under control and more focused. We’re happy with him."

With Steve Sir a constant threat from three-point land all night, Harker, a Raymond native, went to work in the paint on both ends of the floor. The majority of the six-foot-eight post player’s points were key to Edmonton breaking the game open in the fourth quarter.

"I think inside (the Titans) don’t have a lot as far as physical toughness that can match what we have," Harker said, "which is why I was on the floor at the time. I tried to be aggressive and go after them and we converted and stretched it out a bit."

"Skouson’s so athletic," coach Sir said. "He’s got that mean streak, he likes to be physical and he can shoot it on the outside. I really liked his game tonight, I thought he played within himself really well."

It was a tough road game for the Titans, said Vancouver coach David Petroziello.

"We had a lot of travel on our bodies," he said. "We got into the city at 4:30 p.m. (Friday) That makes it difficult, but bottom line is these guys are pros. They have to be able to come out and execute.

"They did it better than we did today and they deserved to win."

The teams will meet again at 7:15 p.m. tonight at MacEwan gym.

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