In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Halifax Grammar Gryphons dusted the 8th-seeded Antigonish Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals 93-67 as Ethan Marshall-Harris scored 21 and Lydell Husbands 18. Jordan Phee led the Royals with 16. Nicholas David added 13.
The 5th-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix dispatched the 4th-seeded Cole Harbour Auburn Drive Eagles 102-94 as Sam Chisholm scored 34, Cherokee Robinson 28, Jared Talbot 12, Logan Smith 12 and Mahdi Abukar 11. Dreon Williams led the Eagles with 29. Dreezy Colley added 19 and Dre Smith 18.
The 2nd-seeded Dartmouth Spartans torched the 7th-seeded Truro Cobequid Education Centre Cougars 125-97 as Kyrie Thompson scored 42, Nai David 20 and Romie Smith 12. Matt Jones led the Cougars with 16. Rainier Magboo added 16.
In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins clocked the 3rd-seeded Coxheath Riverview Rural Redmen 81-52 as Braeden MacVicar scored 33, Kaj MacVicar 16 and Asa Hood 12. Mitchell Mersereau led the Redmen with 18.
In the bronze quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Coxheath Riverview Rural Redmen dispatched the 7th-seeded Truro Cobequid Education Centre Cougars 88-77 as Coby Tunnicliff scored 25 and Josh Crocker 20. Sebastian Barrington led the Cougars with 23. Matt Jones added 22. The Cougars (coached by Marc Roberts, assisted by Edwin Reynolds) also included Rainier Magboo, Michael Ritacco, Adonis Aggabao, Joey MacDonald, Max Ashton, Zach Sylliboy, Russell Malally, Matthew Shannon, Tino Beals, Erik Hayden and Lee Morrison.
In the other bronze quarterfinal, the 8th-seeded Antigonish Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals clipped the 4th-seeded Cole Harbour Auburn Drive Eagles 92-82 as Nicholas Dayman scored 25 and Cole MacDonald 22. Keezondre Smith led the Eagles with 31. The Eagles also included Nichale Brine, Dre’Onne Williams, Jayden Thomas, James Fitzgerald.
In the semis, the top-seeded Halifax Grammar Gryphons defeated the 5th-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix 87-78 as Lydell Husbands scored 35, including 7 from beyond the arc. Ethan Marshall-Harris added 26. Sam Chisholm paced the Phoenix with 22.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Dartmouth Spartans clocked the 6th-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins 126-76 as Kyrie Thompson scored 41 and Ashton Lake 16. Asa Hood led the Griffins with 21.
In the bronze semis, the 6th-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins defeated the 8th-seeded Antigonish Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals by nine (results not reported at NSAAF website or anywhere on web. Requests of NSAAF ignored and unanswered). The Royals (coach by Jason Dayman, assisted by Denton Anthony) included Christian Vitug, Jordan Dayman, Nicholas Dayman, Nathan Dayman, James Guro, Tyler Pictou, Anthony Sears, Czai Pangan, Ben Anthony, Liam Walker, Jordan Phee and Cole MacDonald.
In the other bronze semi, the 5th-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix spanked the 3rd-seeded Coxheath Riverview Rural Redmen 97-80. The Redmen (coach Dave Ogbuah, assistant Dennis Stapleton, assistant Ron Shaw) included Anthony Lecky, Coby Tunnicliff, Braeden Redshaw, Dylan Quirk, Ben MacDonald, Mykah Hill, Garreth MacKinnon, Nolan Skinner, Mitchell Merserau, Josh Crocker, Courson O’Rourke, Cameron MacKay and Braeden Redshaw.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix edged the 6th-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins 84-80. The Griffins included Braeden MacVicar, Kaj MacVicar, Asa Hood, Aiden Clarke.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Dartmouth Spartans clipped the top-seeded Halifax Grammar Gryphons 96-82 to complete a gender double and capture their second consecutive title. “It feels great,” Spartans guard Romie Smith told the Chronicle Herald. “I knew when they got us in the Cities my team was going to be down on ourselves in the locker room. But we knew we had another chance and I told them to keep their heads up. We knew there was a bigger prize and this one would feel a lot better when we got that ring on our fingers. … As a captain in the locker room, I can’t get down on my teammates so I just told them to stay up and stay positive the whole way through. I love all my guys. What we went through this year, all the ups and downs, everything – this feels great. … They went on runs and then we went on runs of our own. We weathered their storms and we stayed together until the end. That was the best part; we stayed together as a unit. Much love to all my guys. I’m speechless.” The backcourt tandem of Smith and Kyrie Thompson dominated, while the Spartans ball pressure periodically appeared to rattle the Gryphons. Gryphon post Ethan Marshall-Harris said “they’re definitely hard to stop. They were hitting some big shots so we couldn’t do much at times. … Their whole team plays well. It’s been back and forth these last three years, battling hard, but congrats to them today. We just couldn’t get it done in this one but it was a hard-fought game and I’m proud of my teammates. We worked right until the end and it was a great three years. … My teammates do a really good job of getting me the ball and cutting to get open as well. Different looks make it hard and we have a great coaching staff. They made it easy for me to get the ball.” Kyree Thompson paced the Spartans with 33. Naijuan David added 19 on 5 treys, Romie Smith 18 and Nacari Smith 11. Ethan Marshall-Harris led the Gryphons with 34. Jonah Crowther added 14 and Lydell Husbands 12.
The bronze medalist Halifax Citadel Phoenix: Sam Chisholm; Cherokee Robinson; Jared Talbot; Logan Smith; Mahdi Abukar; Chan Tantiwong;
The silver medalist Halifax Grammar Gryphons: Ethan Marshall-Harris; Jonah Crowther; Lydell Husbands; Euan Brydie; Kyle Munro; Gabe Davignon;
The gold medalist Dartmouth Spartans: Romie Smith; Ty Murnaghan; Nacari Smith; Kyrie Thompson; Ashton Lake; Naijaun David; Shadan Hansen; Benn Harrington; Ma-Kel Vincient; Travolta Beals-Flint; Angus Letter; Vantez Beals; Logan Raftus; Matt Thompson; Jonah Mosher; coach Lance Sparks; assistant Ashley Taylor; manager Contessa David