In the opening round, held in Guelph: …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels defeated the 18th-seeded Barrie Innisdale Invaders 93-75 as Victor Fynn scored 21, Jermaine Dunkley 19, Yannick N’Kindu 11, Bryan Furtado 11, Daniel Williams 8, Romeo Walker 8, Joe Polizzi 7, Justin Dick 2, Jesse Beaulac 2, Rai Sean Greenidgell 2 and Brandon Lukasik 2. Chris Martin paced the Barrie Innisdale Invaders with 26. Theo Dunlop added 16, Jesse Sulmona 13, Marlon Campbell 12, Sean Buchan 4, Jazz Singh 2 and Alex Dominato 2. “Defence wins,” guard Yannik N’kindu told the Hamilton Spectator. “We could have scored more, but in a game like this you have to play smart defence. It’s going to be a long tournament and our mentality is we can do anything we put our minds to.” The Gaels led 28-11 after one quarter and 52-38 at the half. “A game like that can make you think you can slack off on defence,” said N’kindu. “But you have to keep in your head defence wins games. Every game gets harder and harder and we need to keep that focus on defence. … We’re just trying to build on every game and keep the momentum going.” …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Mississauga Father Michael Goetz Gators dumped 11th-seeded Thornhill Vaughan Voyageurs 84-75. Tut Ruach and Ayham Al-Dajane each scored 17 for Goetz. Jonathan Gryndale added 16, Isaac Kuon 15, Jesse Sandiford 10 and Coady Muamba 9. Vlad Kovalsky notched 15 for Vaughan. Brendon Gittens added 9, Dwayne Crowl 3 and Karl Fredrick 9 and Dwayne Crowl 3. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Kingston Frontenac Falcons defeated the 17th-seeded London South Lions 48-33 as Stu Turnbull and Rob Saunders each scored 15. Zach Bell added 7, Justin Wallace 4, Craig Smith 4, Dee Stirling 4 and Dan Steele 2. Pat Sewell scored 11 for London South, Ben Latvanen 7, Danny Jeon 6, Jeremy Mitchell 7, Billy Glannoulis 2, Andrew Wighton 2 and Zana Mohammad 2. The Falcons led by four at the half. “For a 17 seed, London’s a very good team,” Frontenac coach Suche James told the Kingston Whig-Standard. “They always seemed to have five guys who could handle the ball, they have good size, they’re quick and athletic.” The Falcons were hampered by early foul trouble for Turnbull and Saunders. But Dan Adams and Zach Bell came off the bench “and really picked up the slack when we ran into foul trouble,” James said. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Rexdale Father Henry Carr Crusaders crushed the 15th-seeded Markham District HS Marauders 71-43 as Lamar Robinson scored 12, Charles Agyemang 13, Kerchel Carter 14, Kimarley Daley 17, Chris Predergast, 2, Steve Stopay 4, Richard Frimpong 4, and Eddie Agyeman 5. Sivan Gunasingan scored 4 for Markham, Tyler McGarrity 18, Mike Folker 6, Nilesh Chauhan 2, Andrew Kraus 11 and Sean Thomas 2. The Crusaders led by only 31-29 at the half but exploded for a 26-6 third quarter to dispatch the Marauders. McGarrity told the Toronto Star that the Marauders panicked. “We knew we were the underdogs and just tried to pound the ball inside and not turn the ball over. Their second-half pressure caused us to panic, turn the ball over and it got out of hand.” Carr coach Paul Melnik noted that “Markham got a good start and we just seemed to fall asleep. We had some trouble penetrating the key but once we play our game, it’s tough to shut us down.” Marauders coach George Kraus was befuddled by his squad’s second-half collapse. “Their pressure and our turnovers, it’s not the equation I like and before you knew it, we were down by 20 and became a frustrated ball team.” Kimarley Daley said the Crusaders were lax in the first half. “I think we took them too lightly and may have looked ahead. The coaches were not happy and told us that we had a chance to play our game or get eliminated. We didn’t need any reminders after that.” The Marauders (coached by Kraus) also included Jeremy Hwee. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans dumped the 11th-seeded Waterloo CI Vikings 61-51 as Papa Oppong scored 13, Jadwey Hemmings 13, Justin Dennis 12, Milton Laidley 10, Jumol Mullings 6, Obina Nwagu 3, Dave Mills 2 and Cedric Carter 2. Gavin Horne scored 19 for the Vikings, Jaan Montgomery 11, Mike Roeder 6, Justin Lah 6, Dillon Heap 5, and Wes Heap 4. “That was not our best game, we let it slip away,” Vikings coach Steve Maloney told the Guelph Mercury. “We can shoot a lot better. We didn’t hit any of our perimeter shots. Normally we can hit some threes to complement our guys inside. We had a size advantage at two positions. I thoroughly expected we’d win that game. We just had a bad offensive day.” Titans coach Richard Gallacher said “I thought it was going to be really tough. I was worried about them because of their size. Their big guys really hurt us. They did a good job of getting the ball into them. We didn’t do a good job on the boards. Normally the bigger teams don’t hurt us.” The undersized Titans had no problem with the Vikings height, particularly that of 6-10 post Jaan Montgomery. “Fifty-one points is a low total for us,” Maloney said. “We expected to come through but you don’t always win. I think we let an opportunity slip away. Mother Teresa is the number two team so you have to give them credit. They’re ranked number two for a reason.” Gallacher said “part of the reason they didn’t shoot the ball well was because we had a hand in their face. They’re good but we held them to 50 points.” The Titans were patient on offence and wore down the Vikings with ball movement. “I have some kids who really understand the game,” Gallacher said. “I’ve got some guys who have played together since Grade 9. They really look for each other and they’re patient. I think my kids believe we have a shot (at winning OFSAA). The goal is to medal, it has to be. The better the medal, the happier I am.” The Titans hit just 5-11 from the line in the fourth quarter but held on for the win. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the 12th-seeded St. Catharines Governor Simcoe Redcoats 57-46 as Andrew Cunningham scored 2, Learie Duncan 8, Reynold Walters 11, Tyrone Mattison 5, Ronnie Williams 18, Earl Green 5, and Tristan Blackwood 8. Brandon Krupa scored 24 for Governor Simcoe, Blair Bazylewski 10, Robert Paris 8 and Andrew Ferguson 4. The Saints led 21-12 after one quarter and 36-22 at the half. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints defeated the 9th-seeded Brampton Notre Dame Knights 58-53 as Jules Sylvestre scored 17, Dan Trepanier 16 and Adrian Bisson 10. Daviau Rodney led the Knights 21. Akin Brown added 12, Charles Antwi 10 and Jordan Rose 8. …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded Pickering St. Mary Monarchs upset the 9th-seeded North York C.W. Jefferys Saints 49-46 as Nathan Thomas scored 16, Frank Janke 5, Dwane Howard 14, Sean Maingot 8, Erik Glane 2 and Brandt Gordon 4. Andrae Hutton scored 9 for the Saints, Ryan Cato 2, Saliym Cadogan 11, Anthony French 3, Matthew Powell 8, Kevin Watson 11 and Ken Lewis 2. The Saints led 17-11 after one quarter. The Monarchs led 41-36 after three quarters. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Kitchener C&VS Raiders defeated the 13th-seeded Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish 78-72 as Craig Bauslaugh scored 16, Borko Popic 15, Cam McIntyre 12, Sam Rich 6, Simon Campsall 5 and Bojan Peka 4. Alex Sabino-Ifill scored 16 for St. Patrick’s. Brandon Weeks added 13, Nick Reynolds 10, Tyson Wilson 7, Chris Bromfield 2, Kwame Duah 2, and Hussein Mahmoud 2. “I thought we were really uptight out there and didn’t play real well,” Raiders coach Al Haehn told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record. “We had high expectations and maybe that came with a lot of pressure that we didn’t realize.” The Raiders broke to an 8-0 lead on buckets by guard Craig Bauslaugh and forward Borko Popic. The Irish took a slim lead in the fourth quarter but Bauslaugh answered with a pair of treys. “It always feels good to win but we thought we would win by more than we did,” said Bauslaugh. “We have to play much harder in the games coming up. We’ll be extra pumped for them.” Fighting Irish coach Mike Rowley told the Ottawa Citizen that “Our lack of OFSAA experience hurt in the final minute.”
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Thornhill Vaughan Voyageurs defeated the Barrie Innisdale Invaders 64-43. …………………………………………………… The 17th-seeded London South Lions thrashed the Markham District H.S. Marauders 67-42 as Pat Sewell scored 27. Mike Folker led the Marauders with 26.
In the third round: …………………………………………………… The Mississauga Father Michael Goetz Gators defeated the St. Catharines Governor Simcoe Redcoats 68-66 as Jonathan Tyndale scored 17 and Tut Ruach 14. Blair Bazylewski scored 31 for the Redcoats. Brandon Krupa added 15. The Redcoats led 22-16 after one quarter. The Redcoats (coach Pat Woodburn, assistant Larry Miller, manager Ed Krupa, manager Lynn Woodburn) also included Conner Groat, Travis Berry, Andrew Ferguson, T.J. Green, Colin Vanduliet, Amin Mohammed, Rob Paris and Richard Johnson. …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded Pickering St. Mary Monarchs upset the 10th-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints 54-45 as Nathan Thomas scored 14, Frank Jonke 4, Duane Howard 13, Sean Maingot 3, Erik Glavic 14 and Brandt Gordon 6. Dan Trepanier led St. Anne with 9. Jules Sylvestre scored 7, Vince Allevato 6, Chris Cullen 5, Adrion Bisson 8 and Everett Vossen 7. The Saints (coached by Larry Loebach, assisted by Tom Foster and Roger Mousseau) also included Marwan Helei, Nick Minello, Paul Girardi, Jason Voakes, Mike Lacroce, Nick White and Jim Hogan. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints crushed the 16th-seeded Thornhill Vaughan Voyageurs 75-58 as Ronnie Williams scored 15 and Learie Duncan 11. Brendan Gittens notched 17 for Vaughan. Karl Fredick added 15. The Saints led 28-12 after one quarter. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels whipped the 8th-seeded North York C.W. Jefferys Saints 63-38 as Victor Flynn scored 15 and Bryan Furtado 10. Andrae Hutton notched 13 for C.W. Jefferys. Matthew Powell added 7. “We just wanted them to shoot over us because Yannik (N’kindu) and Joe (Polizzi) will get the first rebound every time,” Gaels coach Mark Daly told the Hamilton Spectator. “If they were going to beat us it, they’re going to beat us by shooting a million threes.” The Gaels, particularly 6-4 Joe Polizzi, dominated the boards. “I just try to be hard on the other players and aggressive, too,” Polizzi said. “We’ve really stepped up our defensive game. We’re more consistent on both sides.” The Gaels led 13-8 after one quarter and 33-21 at the half. “Our guards are so poised,” Daly said. “Furtado just doesn’t turn it over and Vic is tremendous. Then there’s Dunkley with Joe and Yannik cleaning up anything they’ve missed.” The Saints also included Kern Lewis. The Gaels led 13-8 after one quarter. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Rexdale Father Henry Carr Crusaders dumped the 13th-seeded Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish 68-55 as Kimarly Daley scored 19 and Kerchel Carter 17. Chris Bromfield scored 16 for the Irish. Tyson Wilson added 11. The Crusaders led 29-11 after one quarter and romped. The Irish (coached by Mike Rowley) also included Alex Sabino-Ifil, Kwame Duah, Hussein Mahmoud, Jeff Philippe, Nick Reynolds, Patrick Bush, Brandon Weekes and Mohamed Zeineddine. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans dumped the 17th-seeded London South Lions 61-38 as Jumol Mullings scored 14. Jeremy Mitchell hit 13 for London South. Pat Sewell added 12. The Titans held the Lions to 7 points in the first half. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Brampton Notre Dame Knights dumped the 7th-seeded Kitchener C&VS Raiders 66-60 as Daviau Rodney scored 23 and Jerome Messam 18. Craig Bauslaugh notched 25 for Kitchener. The Knights led 30-24 at the half. The Raiders led 51-49 after three quarters. The Raiders 9coach Al Haehn) also included Borko Popic, Jeff Mitchell, Cam McIntyre. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Kingston Frontenac Falcons dumped the 11th-seeded Waterloo CI Vikings 53-31 as Stu Turnbull scored 21 and Zachary Bell 9. Mike Roeder led the Vikings with 10. Gavin Horne and Khalfan each added 7. Falcon defenders Dee Stirling and Craig Smith shut down Waterloo posts 6-6 Gavin Horne and 6-10 Jaan Montgomery. “I tried to stay in front and just keep him to the inside and make sure he didn’t get position on me,” Stirling told the Kingston Whig-Standard. “Not many teams in the province can shut Jaan down,” Vikings coach Steve Maloney told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record. “They did a good job fronting our guys and we had a tough time getting the ball into him. … They are just physically stronger than we are at this point. They just wore us down. They are one of the top teams in this tournament.”
In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels defeated the Mississauga Father Michael Goetz Gators 84-79 as Jermaine Dunkley scored 32 and Joe Polizzi 16. Jonathan Tyndale and Isaac Kuon each notched 21 for the Gators. Tut Ruach added 20. The Gaels blanketed Ruach and repeated broke the Gators press for runout layups. “He’s a tremendous player,” Gaels coach Mark Daly told the Hamilton Spectator. “You have to control him.” Dunkley said “I had to step it up. This is my last year and I didn’t want it to end tonight. After it was tied at halftime, we all knew we had to step it up.” The Gators led 23-16 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 39 at the half. Daly said “I’m really proud of this team. They’ve been good all year. They’ve won three straight basketball titles in Hamilton, the toughest league around. We have depth, we’re tall, fast, can shoot and we’ve shown a lot of poise this week.” The Gators led 23-16 after one quarter. The Score was knotted at 49 at the half. The Gaels led 75-68 after three quarters. The Gators (coached by Ray Kulig) also included Jesse Sandiford, Trystan Campbell, Jonathan Grant-Hood, Ayham Al-Dajane, Darren Brown, Greg Wojt, Ted Owusu and Haris Ahmad.
The Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the 14th-seeded Pickering St. Mary Monarchs 59-45 as Ronnie Williams scored 14 and Tristan Blackwood 13. Nathan Thomas led the Monarchs with 16. The Monarchs led 15-9 after one quarter. The Saints led 29-22 at the half and 40-32 after three quarters.
The 2nd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans defeated the 9th-seeded Brampton Notre Dame Knights 84-70 as Papa Oppong scored 20 and Justin Dennis 19. Daviau Rodney led Notre Dame with 20. Jordan Rose added 17. The Titans led 16-13, 35-33 and 59-54 at the quarters.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Kingston Frontenac Falcons defeated the 4th-seeded Rexdale Father Henry Carr Crusaders 44-37 as Rob Saunders scored 18 and Stu Turnbull 15. Kerchel Carter led Father Henry Carr with 17. Kimarly Daley added 8. “We shut down some really potent players for Henry Carr. It was just a high-packed-pressure game,” Falcons assistant James Wallace told the Kingston Whig-Standard. “What makes these guys special is they set their goals high,” Falcons’ coach Suche James told the Guelph Mercury. “They’ve won the AAA (in 2003), now they want the AAAA. We do come out, though not as much as I’d like, to play these (Toronto) teams and understand what it takes to beat them. There’s no intimidation factor with these guys.” Frontenac led 18-8 after one quarter and by three at the half and then held Carr to four points in the third quarter. “We must have missed 10 or 11 makeable layups and that’s the ball game there,” said Carr coach Paul Melnick. “Those are the killer points. You can’t do that against a team that plays defence like they do. They play a tremendous game defensively. “I told our guys we didn’t lose to a crappy team. That’s a heck of a good team, I expect them to give Eastern Commerce a run.”
In the semifinals, the 3rd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels defeated 2nd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans 63-54 as Jermaine Dunkley scored 16, Joe Polizzi 15, Victor Flynn 13, Yannik N’Kindu 10 and Romeo Walker 9. Papa Oppong led Mother Theresa with 16. Dave Mills added 11, Jadwey Hemmings 10, Jumol Mullings 7, Justin Dennis 6 and Cedric Carter 3.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the 5th-seeded Kingston Frontenac Falcons 59-41 as Tyrone Mattison scored 15, Tristan Blackwood 10, Ronnie Williams 8, Learie Duncan 4, Reynold Walters 4 and Earl Green 1. Stu Turnbull paced the Falcons with 14. Chris Smith added 11, Rob Saunders 9, Zachary Bell 3, and Dedrick Sterling 2. The Falcons quickly fell behind by 10 and were never able to overcome the double-digit deficit. “We defended the man and we outrebounded Eastern Commerce and that doesn’t happen too much,” Frontenac coach Suche James told the Kingston Whig-Standard. “Their coach said it’s the best defence he has ever seen in Canadian [high school] basketball. That’s quite a compliment. “If we had knocked down a couple of open looks or made a few more from the line, it would have been quite a finish.” Eastern Commerce led 10-4 after one quarter and 25-15 at the half.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Kingston Frontenac Falcons nipped the 2nd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Theresa Titans 56-55 in overtime as Stu Turnbull scored 17, Rob Saunders 16, Craig Smith 15, Zachary Bell 5 and Dedrick Sterling 1. Mother Theresa took an early 16-5 lead as reserve Justin Dennis hit a pair of treys and a jumper. But after getting hammered by Jadwey Hemmings, Falcon star Stu Turnbull went to work, hitting a trio of treys and feeding Rob Saunders for a layup during a 17-4 run that gave Frontenac a 24-22 lead at the half. The score remained close until the final buzzer. Turnbull hit a pair from the line to give Frontenac a 48-45 lead with 18 seconds to play. But Hemmings countered with a putback rebound and a free throw with 7.3 seconds remaining to force overtime. Papa Oppong drilled a trey to give Mother Theresa a 53-50 lead early in overtime. Craig Smith countered with a pair from the line to trim the margin to one before Dave Mills hit a bucket to give Mother Theresa a 55-52 lead. Saunders countered with two buckets in the paint to give Frontenac a 56-55 lead and then the Falcons blocked Dave Mills last second shot to pull out the win. Papa Oppong led Mother Theresa with 16. Dave Mills added 10, Justin Dennis 10, Jumol Mullings 8 and Jadwey Hemmings 9. The Titans (coached by Richard Gallacher, assisted by Kirt McNeilly) also included Milton Laidley, Obinna Nwogu, Milton Laidley, Cedric Carter, Craig Nelson, Sheldon Addison, Adrian Bent, Andre Bell, Bruce James, Chris Hyatt, Larry Francis, Asare Kester and Sherwin Emmanuel.
In the final, the top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the 3rd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels 74-66 as Ronnie Williams scored 19, Learie Duncan 15, Tyrone Mattison 12, Keder Ahmed 9, Tristan Blackwood 9, Reynold Walters 6 and Vitas Naudzuinas 3. Jermaine Dunkley paced the Gaels with 16. Bryan Furtado added 13, Victor Flynn 12, Joe Polizzi 12, Yannik N’kindu 6 and Romeo Walker 4. Mattison scored nine in the final quarter. The Gaels Jermaine Dunkley attacked with the penetration dribble and dish, typically to centre Joe Polizzi as Cathedral build at 21-16 lead after a quarter. They extended their lead to 29-17 on a steal and open layup by guard Victor Fynn and then 34-24 on a trey by Bryan Furtado. But two steals by Commerce leading to a Learie Duncan layup and a Keder Ahmed bucket trimmed the margin to 36-35 at the half. Fynn and Furtado nailed treys as Cathedral moved back ahead 46-37 early in the second half. But Commerce guards Ahmed and Mattison hit treys and Reynold Walters added a hoop to rally the Saints to within 49-48 after three-quarters. Cathedral’s foul trouble and Commerce’s dominance of the boards proved the difference in the final frame. Ronnie Williams hit a jumper to give Eastern its first lead with 5 minutes remaining, 57-56. Learie Duncan’s basket and a foul, with Williams rebounding the missed free-throw and putting it back up, made it a five-point lead before the Saints iced it at the line. The Saints rallied with full-court pressure. Gaels coach Mark Daly told the Hamilton Spectator that “these guys were exhausted. This is a really tough tournament. “They were going on adrenalin. Joe (Polizzi) and Jermaine (Dunkley) left everything on the court. … It’s the first time we’ve been the absolute underdog. That’s good. We wanted to play Eastern Commerce. They’re an excellent team. Their back court of Tristan Blackwood and Ronnie Williams is outstanding. … We had trouble with them man-to-man so we went to the 2-3 zone and forced them to shoot. They’re a good shooting team but shooting under pressure may have got to them. They had to hit their shots because we’d be there for the first rebound.” Williams told the Guelph Mercury that “our team thrives under pressure. We were confident because we know that on any given night a different player can step up for us. … We got a big boost off our bench. That was the difference.” Daly said the Saints “turned it up a notch” in the final quarter. “We gave them our best shot. We weren’t afraid and we took it to them. But they’re a great basketball team. … We had three guys out there playing with four fouls. We didn’t get any breaks.” The Saints went to the line 32 times, and the Gaels 12. Saints’ coach Roy Rana said he wasn’t concerned about heading into the final quarter trailing. “That’s been our M.O. all year long. Our kids are mentally tough and they rose to the occasion.”
The bronze medalist Kingston Frontenac Falcons: Stu Turnbull; Craig Smith; Rob Saunders; Zachary Bell; Dedrick Sterling; Justin Wallace; Dee Stirling; Dan Steele; Mitch Leger; Chris Wright; Dan Adams; Dean Steele; Shane Petitt; Steve Crozier; coach Suche James; assistant James Wallace; assistant Bruce Black
The silver medalist Hamilton Cathedral Gaels: Victor Flynn; Jermaine Dunkley; Yannick N’Kindu; Bryan Furtado; Daniel Williams; Romeo Walker; Joe Polizzi; Justin Dick; Jesse Beaulac; Rai-Sean Greenidge; Brandon Lukasik; Vaughn Williams; Joe Ssemanda; Robert Smith; David Portillo; Zaj Khumalo; coach Mark Daly; assistant Brian Daly; assistant Darrell Hicks
The gold medalist Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints: Ronnie Williams; Andrew Cunningham; Learie Duncan; Reynolds Walters; Tyrone Mattison; Earl Green; Tristan Blackwood; Keder Ahmed; Vitas Naudzuinas; Monty Hardware; Cameron John; Kris Montague; Kedar Ahmed; coach Roy Rana; assistant Kevin Jeffers