In the opening seeding round, held in Timmins: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Dundas Parkside Panthers crushed the 12th-seeded Ottawa Ridgemont Spartans 81-56 as Andrew Cicuttini scored 27 and Quinn Henderson 20. Nehemiah Campbell led the Spartans with 20. Osman Faqi added 18. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Guelph Bishop MacDonell Celtics whipped 16th-seeded Toronto Cardinal James McGuigan Cardinals 54-34 as Tanner Lane scored 13, Drew Morris 12 and Michael Phillips 10. Olatoye Waheed led the Cardinals with 11. Taiwo Agiri added 7. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Oakville St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders stomped the 18th-seeded Timmins E.S.C. Theriault Flammes 75-31 as Charlie Drouin scored 18 and Matthew Blaha 12. Dominique Malette paced the Flammes with 10. Bryce Goulet added 8. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto George Harvey Hawks dumped the 14th-seeded Bracebridge & Muskoka Lakes Secondary 74-62 as Quinlan Veira scored 15 and Tyrelle Ferguson 12. Dylan McKenzie led Bracebridge with 34. Cody Sutherland added 7. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Belleville Nicholson Catholic Crusaders dispatched the 10th-seeded St. Catharines Eden Flyers 52-37. Steve Stone led the Flyers with 11. Jeff Vongphakdy added 10. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Basil’s Saints stunned the 7th-seeded Windsor John L. Forster Spartans 65-55 in overtime as William Hamilton scored 24, Tom Campana 16, Matt Bertolissi 14 and Chris Hunt 11. Jordan Sickle led the Spartans with 13. Moe Khalil added 12. “Everyone played well today, the whole team,” said Will Hamilton. “We’re pretty happy right now.” Saints coach Lou Mazzuca said “the guys played an awesome game. They were very focused and they had a lot of energy.” The Saints limited 6-8 centre Ali Haidar, bound for Michigan tech, to 8 points. “And we knew their guards were quick and could shoot the ball well,” Hamilton said. “So we had to be ready for that.” Jordan Sickle led Forster with 13. Moe Khali added 12. The Saints took a 20-10 lead by the end of the first quarter, but got into foul trouble in the second and Forster pulled even at 27-27 by the half. Things stayed tight in the third; with St. Basil taking a 39-38 lead. The Windsor squad hit a three-pointer to tie the game again with about 1:30 left in regulation, and the teams exchanged late baskets to set the stage for Hamilton’s heroics. “Will really stepped up in the overtime,” Mazzuca said. The Saints hit 16-21 from the line. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Perth Blue Devils clipped 15th-seeded Oshawa G.L. Roberts Lakers 43-31 as Adan Smyth scored 16 and Kyle Vonas 12. Kadeem Scott led the Lakers with 13. M. Abdel-Ghafour added 11. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Cornwall St. Joseph’s Panthers dumped the 17th-seeded Thunder Bay Westgate Tigers 58-41 as Ricky Parisien scored 17 and Jordan McAllister 16. Taylor Gynane led Westgate with 25. Jeff Barnwell added 7. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded host Timmins H.V.S. Blues stunned the 2nd-seeded London Westminster Wildcats 52-45 as Eric Ducharme scored 18 and Peter Gotz 14. Dejan Kravie led the Wildcats with 15. Ducharme iced the win with a key bucket and a pair of free throws down the stretch. Ducharme also sank a three-pointer with two minutes remaining the third quarter to give the Blues their first lead of the game at 37-36. “We practice a lot and try to make each player as versatile as we can,” Ducharme said. “We just try to become more versatile and create as many opportunities to score. … I guess they didn’t know much about us and we didn’t know much about them, but as soon I started driving it inside, I had nothing to worry about because we have five guys on the floor who can finish just as well as I can. If I’m not open, they’re open and I’m confident they’re going to knock it down. … You can’t take teams for granted. We came out with probably one of the best games we’ve played all season. Defensively and offensively we were patient. We were smart, limited our turnovers and came out on top.” Dejan Kravic, a 6-10 post, led the Wildcats with 15. Timmins coach Darrell Sokoloski said “I knew we could hang in there and play because our kids are pretty cerebral. They know what to do against anybody.” The Wildcats dominated early as Kravie kept block shots and Osmar Omar delivered a thunderous dunk. “Our problem was the big guy and the putbacks,” Sokoloski said. “I thought we were doing a good job offensively. We were getting almost every look we wanted, so I wasn’t too concerned about scoring, it was keeping them off the boards, that was a problem for us.” But the Blues because gang rebounding. “We’ve been focusing all week on doing the little things and rebounding, of course, is something every coach wants their team to do,” Sokoloski said. “I was really, really pleased with all of our guys especially Peter and Eric. But our guards got in there and got some good tips and created some loose balls as well, which was tremendous.”
In the second elimination round: …………………………………………………… The 16th-seeded Toronto Cardinal James McGuigan Cardinals clipped the 18th-seeded Timmins E.S.C. Theriault Flammes 66-47. …………………………………………………… The 15th-seeded Oshawa G.L. Roberts Lakers eliminated the 17th-seeded Thunder Bay Westgate Tigers 58-41. The Tigers (coached by Bob Gynane) included Tyler Gynane, Jeff Barnwell, Matt Kloosterhuis, Keon Doblej, Matt Broere.
In the third round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Dundas Parkside Panthers edged the 16th-seeded Toronto Cardinal James McGuigan Cardinals 50-47 as Andrew Cicuttini scored 30. Dylan Levy paced the Cardinals with 16. Newton Treasure added 12. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto George Harvey Hawks whacked the 9th-seeded Belleville Nicholson Catholic Crusaders 65-45 as Donon Hall scored 22 and Quinlan Veira 16. Mike Cathcart led the Crusaders with 16. Eric Van Winssen added 7, Josh Thompson 5, Connor Barbeau 3, Mitch Ford 3, Michael Forbes 3, Sean Barbeau 2, Alex Bowes 2, Chris Wiggins 2 and Curtis Fahey 2, while Ben Finkle, Patrick Chappelle and Jordan Cathcart were scoreless. The teams were tied 10-10 after the first quarter but the second quarter belonged to George Harvey. “We did a great job of handling George Harvey’s full court pressure defense in the first quarter,” said Nicholson coach Jim Barbeau. “Unfortunately, we lapsed during the second quarter when George Harvey outscored us 22-11 to trail 32-21 at the half.’ The Crusaders struggle with their offence in the third quarter to fall behind by 20 points. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Windsor John L. Forster Spartans nipped the 4th-seeded Perth Blue Devils 33-31 as Moe Khalil and Ali Haidar each scored 10. Mark Marriner led the Blue Devils with 12. Mitchell Pierman added 8. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded London Westminster Wildcats stomped the 5th-seeded Cornwall St. Joseph’s Panthers 67-36 as Dejan Kravie scored 18 and Osman Omar 14. Chris Tindal led the Panthers with 13. Ricky Parisien added 9. The Panthers (coached by Paul McAllister and Jack Chisholm) also included Kohlin Rosenberg, Jordan McAllister, Skyler Chretien, Ben Rolley, James Amelotte, Bruno Cambolo, Adam Delorme, Cameron Connor, Sinthusan Sinnaduria, Scott McGill, Jody Poitras, Dylan Ridal and Dylan Chatelain. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Guelph Bishop MacDonell Celtics dusted the 12th-seeded Ottawa Ridgemont Spartans 58-36. The Spartans (coached by Richard Sutton, Gio Donato and Somran Roy) included Osman Faqi Osman, Faysal Abdullahi Faysal, Nehemiah Campbell, Samr Farhat, Ayanle Aden, Hassan Ahmed, Elmi Rauf, Yassin Hassan, Mohamed Hassan, Musse Nur and Mengel Nagi. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Oakville St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders slapped the 14th-seeded Bracebridge & Muskoka Lakes Secondary 72-34 as Ryan Thomson scored 12 and Will Coulthard 10. Dylan McKenzie led Bracebridge with 14. Taylor Dellandren added 6. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Basil’s Saints defeated the 10th-seeded St. Catharines Eden Flyers 82-76 in double overtime as William Hamilton scored 29, Chris Hunt 21, Matt Bertolissi 15 and Tom Campana 9. Saints coach Lou Mazzuca told the Sault Star that “we came out flat and gave them an early lead. But we battled back. The kids showed a lot of character. The played their butts off.” Jeff Vongphakdy led Eden with 29. Corey Ross added 10. The Flyers (coach Bob Mandzuk, coach Jon Warner) also included Steve Stone, Sean Williams, James Klassen, Randy Lukaszewica, Jamie Grantis, Ryan Rosts, Jordan Cooke, Barossa Lum, Steve Komadoski and Jacob Williamson. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Timmins H.V.S. Blues crushed the 15th-seeded Oshawa G.L. Roberts Lakers 58-41 as Eric Ducharme scored 19 and Andrew Vincent 12. Terrell Lewis led the Lakers with 8. Mohamed Abdel Ghafour added 7.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Dundas Parkside Panthers defeated the 8th-seeded Toronto George Harvey Hawks 58-50.
The 2nd-seeded London Westminster Wildcats clobbered the 7th-seeded Windsor John L. Forster Spartans 80-58. The Spartans (coached by Pat Osborne, assisted by Mark Patterson and Mike Harrington) included Ali Haidar, Jordan Sickles, Kyle Osborne, Yusef Mohamud, Dushawn Roberts, Dustin Schuh, Sharmarke Abdulle, Mohamed Khalil, Trent Payne, Muhammad Youssouf, Ty-Lee Jackson, Clayon Green, Ali Shaban and Fred Muhigi.
The 3rd-seeded Oakville St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders whipped the 6th-seeded Guelph Bishop MacDonell Celtics 64-36 as Charlie Drouin scored 24 and Kyle Enright 23. Drew Morris led the Celtics with 10. Tanner Lane added 9.
In the last quarterfinal, the 11th-seeded Timmins H.V.S. Blues defeated 13th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Basil’s Saints 54-43 as Andrew Vincent scored 19 and Peter Gotz 12. Chris Hunt led the Saints with 13. Tom Campana added 10, Matt Bertolissi 9 and Will Hamilton 7. “The run is over,” said Saints coach Lou Mazzuca. The Saints led 20-16 in the second quarter; they trailed 25-23 by the half and 37-32 by the end of the third frame. “It was that double overtime,” Mazzuca said. “As the game wore on, we just weren’t hitting anything. Timmins was good. They were poised, they hit their shots.” Blues forward couldn’t believe the outcome. “I’m pumped up that we’re on the wall finally (with at least an antique bronze medal). The Blues led 25-23 at the half but began protecting the defensive glass in the second half. “We just came out and played our game (in the second half),” Emond said. “We were a little scared in the first and second (quarters), but we came through.” The Blues were also able to put additional pressure on the ball late in the game. Two of point guard Andrew Vincent’s steals came late in the fourth and led to layups in transition. One layup gave the Blues a 12-point lead, the largest they’d have in the game. Blues coach Darrell Sokoloski said his team showed the same defensive set throughout the first half because he wasn’t sure how much energy they’d have. The plan changed in the second half, however. “In the second half when it was just a two-point game, we decided to change it up and switch defences back and forth almost every second possession in the third quarter. And that’s what really got us the larger lead. One thing it did for us, because of the up-tempo with man-to-man, I think we got more into the tempo we wanted to play offensively. That let us shut them down.” The Saints (coached by Mazzuca) also included Mike Caputo, Geoff Clarke, Fraser Speckman, Nick Whitmell, Jeff Lloyd, Mike Alexander.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded London Westminster Wildcats whipped the top-seeded Dundas Parkside Panthers 60-36 As Dejan Kravic scored 24 and Osman Omar 12. Quinn Henderson led the Panthers with 15. Kyle Geidraitis added 8.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Oakville St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders stomped the 11th-seeded Timmins H.V.S. Blues 62-43 as Matthew Blaha scored 17 and Kyle Enright 15. Nate Emond led the Blues with 12. Eric Ducharme added 9.
In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded Dundas Parkside Panthers defeated the 11th-seeded Timmins H.V.S. Blues 43-36 as Kyle Giedraitis scored 15. Eric Ducharme led Timmins with 10. Andrew Vincent added 9. The Panthers won the medal despite losing star centre Andrew Cicutinni in the quarterfinals to a knee-on-knee collision. “It’s getting tougher to medal at OFSAA because there are a lot of good ‘AA’ teams, but my cap’s off to the kids,” said Blues coach Darrell Sokoloski. “It was a tremendous season. We set goals at the beginning of the season: Win some tournaments, win NEOAA, win the city and medal at OFSAA. We achieved our goals this year. Would we have like a different medal? Absolutely, but from the beginning, we said we wanted to get to the medal round and see what happens and that’s what we did.” The Blues struggled offensive, hitting just one field goal in the first quarter and as result trailed 11-5. They opened the second frame with a 9-0 run, including a trey by C.J. Baleck. Point guard Andrew Vincent hit a layup to make it 20-17 but then the Panthers responded with a 12-4 run. In the final frame, Mark Vanduyvenvoorde’s long-range jumper put Parkside up by 12 — their largest lead of the game — and deflated the Blues. Blues post Peter Gotz said “if at the beginning of the season you would’ve told me we were going to medal I would’ve been so excited. It kind of stings right now, but every year it’s our goal to medal at OFSAA. You have to take it one step at a time I guess.” The Blues also included Byron Wabano, Nate Edmond and Alex Belanger.
In the final, the 3rd-seeded Oakville St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders edged the 2nd-seeded London Westminster Wildcats 55-53 in overtime as Matt Blaha rebounded a Kyle Enright shot from the corner that had fallen short and laid it in for the winner. “It was crazy to do that, especially at OFSAA,” Blaha said. “It’s the biggest basket I’ve ever had. I’ll definitely remember that the rest of my life.” Raiders centre Ryan Thomson added that “we went to watch how the referees reacted. They counted it and then we could start yelling and jumping, a lot of craziness. Matt’s a pretty good player to have down the stretch of the game. He knows what to do and has been playing for a long time.” The teams had gone back and forth in regulation, with Aquinas ahead after the first quarter, Westminster leading at halftime and the clubs deadlocked after three quarters. The Raiders then appeared to pull away in the fourth, building a 48-41 lead with four minutes to go. “I thought if we could get one or two more stops, they’d start fouling us. We’re a good shooting team,” Aquinas coach Mark Maga said. “But they knocked down a couple threes and it was almost like maybe it wasn’t meant to be. The shots they were hitting were low-percentage threes.” Westminster tied the game with 10 seconds to go in regulation. Aquinas’ Charlie Drouin, who led all scorers with 20, had a chance to win the game at the end of the fourth but his shot hit the front of the rim. Maga said “I told the guys between regulation and overtime to just enjoy it. The atmosphere was unbelievable and it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be in an OFSAA final in overtime with the crowd going nuts. When you lose a lead like that, you might be reeling, but our guys came back due to the great senior leadership we have. We have Ryan, Kyle, Evan (St. Hilliare) in their last year, and they’re very even-keeled.” St. Hilliare hit two three-pointers in overtime to put the Raiders up again. But Westminster tied the game on a three with seven seconds to go in overtime. “I’ll never forget it, and I’ll never forget any of (the players) because they were a part of it,” Maga said. “These kids are a great group of kids and that’s what made it so much fun.” Kyle Enright added 14 and Ryan Thomson 7 for Aquinas.
The bronze medalist Dundas Parkside Panthers: Andrew Cicuttini; Quinn Henderson; Kyle Geidraitis; Matt Cicuttini; Ben Sutherland; Levon Thornton; Ty Patterson; Dustin MacTaggart; Mark VanDuyvenvoorde; Justin Johnson; Jeff Hunt; Mike Dzikic; Sam Giles; coach Nick White; coach Dan Meyer; assistant Justin Gunter
The silver medalist London Westminster Wildcats: Dejan Kravic; Osman Omar; Steve Keith; Tarik Omar; Lacal Sanders; Imran Khtana; Ahmad Omer; Khalis Elsayed; Moe El Halabi; Sallem Zabian; Alex Kravic; Moe Saber; Khalid El Sayed; coach Dan Colfax; assistant Steve Caslick; assistant Michelle Lange
The gold medalist Oakville St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders: Charlie Drouin; Matthew Blaha; Ryan Thomson; Will Coulthard; Kyle Enright; Evan St. Hillaire-Boney; Steven Hassan; Charith Fonseka; Tashan Ricketts; Tyler Singh; Eric Fram; Matt Franko; Danny Hawthorne; Peter Marcinko; coach Mark Maga; assistant Michael Giammichele; assistant Ron Szpakowski