In the quarterfinals, held in Truro, the top-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix nipped the 8th-seeded Bedford C.P. Allen Cheetahs 86-83. The Cheetahs included Arnar Bjornsson, Omar Abou Elnagg, Chris Hayley, Marquis Simms-Oliver, Jeremy Arseneault, T.J. Leopold, Cody Watson, Max Blanchard, Logan Acksey.
The 4th-seeded Cole Harbour Auburn Drive Eagles stomped the 5th-seeded Truro Cobequid Education Centre Cougars 114-64. The Cougars (coached by Marc Roberts) included Emad Khalek, Ryan Pedersen, Daniel MacLeod, Brandon Mackay, Shane Stonehouse, Sanjay Makkar, Dylan Hortie, Tyrell Johnson, Jesse Clark, Nicholas Roberts, Eshaan Hague, Sam Horsman, Taran Jordan and Austin Deuville.
The 2nd-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins escaped the 7th-seeded Dartmouth Spartans 81-78. Lorenzo Parker paced the Griffins with 26. Adam Melanson added 16, Josh Thomas 16 and Jake Kendrick 14. Justin Beals led Dartmouth with 16. Shirvase Roddick added 13 and Cody Cluett 13. The Spartans also included Julien Rogers, Jakiel Downey, Akeem Berry, J.J. Wilson, Maurice Colley, Shondell Johnson, Ryan Wright, Conor McLaughlin.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Cole Harbour District Cavaliers dumped the 6th-seeded Sydney Academy Wildcats 65-51. Mandrez Downey paced the Cavaliers with 24. Roberto Beals added 15 and Randrez Simmons 10. Cole Harbour led 29-26 lead at halftime. Ryan MacPhee paced the Wildcats with 15. Jacob MacDonald added 12. The Wildcats rallied with five with four minutes to play but could get no closer. The Wildcats (coached by Johnathan Penny, assisted by Joel LeBlanc) also included Luke Noona, Darryl Mulo, Jacob MacDonald, Brandon Skeete, Chris Farrow, Jordan Bishop, B.J. Burns, Matt Farrell, Miguel deMello, Duncan MacDougall and Jason Hardy.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Cole Harbour Auburn Drive Eagles stunned the top-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix 87-80 as Shaquille Johnson scored 22, Ian McShane 18, Shaquille Smith 15 and A.J. Simmons 12. Derico Tynes paced the Phoenix with 23. D.J. Smith added 16, Travis Adams 14 and Thomas Watson 11.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins edged the 3rd-seeded Cole Harbour District Cavaliers 86-84 after rallying from a 17-point deficit. The Cavaliers led 29-18 after one quarter and 46-42 at the half. The Griffins led 64-59 after three quarters. Lorenzo Parker paced the Griffins with 29. Adam Melanson added 16, Josh Thomas 14, Alex Thomas 13 and Jake Kendrick 12. Mandrez Downey led the Cavaliers with 30. Roberto Beals added 20 and Damon Downey 16.
In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix defeated the 3rd-seeded Cole Harbour District Cavaliers 71-61 as Jayden Nordin scored 18, Liam Mitchell 13 and Thomas Watson 11. Dequan Beals paced the Cavaliers with 13. Damon Downey added 11 and Cortez Downey 11. The Cavaliers included Roberto Beals, Mandrez Downey, Corey Hollett, Randez Simmonds, Cody Coehlo, Jacoby Downey.
In the final, the 4th-seeded Cole Harbour Auburn Drive Eagles whipped the 2nd-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins 121-92. The Eagles led 37-28, 62-46 and 96-66 at the quarters. Shaquille Smith led the Eagles with 26. A.J. Simmons added 22, Ian McShane 16, Ian Mitton 16, Rickyle Beals 11 and Shaquille Johnson 10. Josh Thomas paced the Griffins with 22. Jake Kendrick added 20, Lorenzo Parker 18 and Adam Melanson 18. “They shot extremely well and we couldn’t stop them,” Horton coach Tim Kendrick. “We had a tough first-round game with Dartmouth, expended a lot of energy, then we had to come back from 17 points down to beat Cole Harbour. When it came to the final, we had nothing left in the tank. … We tried our best but we came up short against a really good team who shot really well. I’m as proud of this team as I’ve been of any team I’ve coached in the last 22 years. They gave so much, and went way above and beyond anything anyone ever expected.” The Griffins finished 44-6 on the season. “I was a little upset (right after the final) but, once I sat back and thought about it, all in all, it was a pretty good year,” Kendrick said. Eagles coach Lance Sparks told the Halifax Chronicle-Herald that his troops “weren’t going to be denied. We were there the last two years. We were the No. 1 seed the last two years, this year we came in No. 4, but we were able to put the work in to get it done. This was a team effort, one through 12. The guys just played outstanding. I’ve never seen a group of kids come together like this.” Guard Shaquille Smith said “it means a lot to us because we just worked so hard all year. We actually worked hard for the last three years to win this. We practise every morning at 7:45 a.m. so it just feels good that the hard work didn’t go to waste. Even though we lost early on in the season to some of the higher-ranked teams we kept going and kept pushing. We came out on top and we deserved it.”
The bronze medalist Halifax Citadel Phoenix: D.J. Smith; Chris Brown; Derico Tynes; Thomas Watson; Travis Adams; Jaydin Nordin; Isiah Thomas; Jesse White; coach Mark Parker
The silver medalist Greenwich Horton Griffins: Lorenzo Parker; Adam Melanson; Josh Thomas; Jake Kendrick; Alex Thomas; Kiegan McGill; Bradley Fuller; Cochrane Noseworthy-Smith; Brandon Davis; Jamaal Smith; Hunter Haas; Danaan Pederson; coach Tim Kendrick
The gold medalist Cole Harbour Auburn Drive Eagles: Shaquille Smith; Shaquille Johnson; A.J. Simmons; Jordan Crawley; Bruce Willis; Davante Provo; Rickyle Beals; Gentry Thomas; Ian McShane; Tyreece Ewing; Jared Klaus; Ian Mitton; Ben Leger; Chris Thibedeault; coach Lance Sparks