In the opening round, held in Windsor: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the 12th-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights 60-45. The score was knotted at 13 after one quarter. Eastern Commerce led 32-25 at the half and 48-34 after three quarters. Always Bigby paced the Saints with 25. Victor Raso led the Knights with 16. David Boyce added 12 and Jermaine Barr 11. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators the 16th-seeded Guelph Centennial Spartans 54-35 despite leaving five players at home for what principal Tim Yawney called “disciplinary reasons” as a result of a school incident. The Gators led 18-14, 26-18 and 49-30 at the quarters. Kamran Alvi led the Gators with 16. Adrian Achonwa led the Spartans with 13. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Scarborough Mother Teresa Titans crushed the 18th-seeded Unionville Milliken Mills Knights 80-47 after leading 20-17, 34-24 and 62-30 at the quarters. Ashton Khan led the Titans with 20. Onnex Blackwood added 11. Dexton Freemantle paced the Knights with 14. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Windsor Catholic Central Comets defeated the 14th-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Jaguars 71-60. The score was knotted at 14 after one quarter. Catholic Central led 38-30 at the half and 54-40 after three quarters. Matt Nuna paced the Comets with 17. Stason Golden added 15 and 8 boards. Tarrance Crawford scored 12 and nabbed six boards. Jacob Cusumano added 9. Tariq Stanley led the Blue Jaguars with 23. Andrew Dawson added 18. Incredibly sloppy with the ball, the Comets coughed it up 10 times in a strange first quarter and 27 times overall but still to pull out the win. But defensively, the Comets blocked five shots in the opening quarter, including the first four taken by the visiting Kerry Blues. “We were too hyped up,” Comets guard Tarrence Crawford told the Windsor Star. “It’s our first time at quad-A OFSAA and we were nervous.” Crawford had a rare four-point play in the first quarter and it was his conversion off a steal that knotted the score at 14 just before the buzzer. A long three by Stason Golden gave Catholic Central an eight-point bulge at half, 38-30 and as they started to create opposition turnovers with their own defensive pressure, the Comets extended their lead to 57-40 early in the fourth. “I guess we were a little nervous at the beginning,” veteran forward Matt Nuna said. “It’s everybody’s first experience at quad-A OFSAA and our shots weren’t falling at the beginning.” Nuna canned five treys. The Comets tried to kill off the final two minutes on the clock but the move was nearly fatal to them. They turned the ball over on their stall offence, allowing the Kerry Blues to get as close as six at 66-60 with a minute to play. “When we try to slow down that’s what happens,” Catholic Central coach Pete Cusumano said. “We play well when it’s up and down and we’re not thinking.” …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Waterloo Sir John A. Macdonald x tripped the 9th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars 58-46 after leading 19-14, 32-22 and 46-35 at the quarters. Taylor Allan paced Macdonald with 21. Justin Thomas added 15 and Keith Stinson 10. Norman Penola and Damone Donaldson each scored 13 to lead the Cougars. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Brampton St. Edmund Campion Bears edged the 13th-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 39-37. Notre Dame led 11-8 after one quarter. Campion led 19-16 at the half and 28-22 after three quarters. Tychon Carter led the Bears with 20. Cedric Kasongo paced the Fighting Irish with 13. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded London H.B. Beal Raiders clipped the Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints 52-39 after leading 12-11, 30-18 and 40-26 at the quarters. Enrico DiLoreto paced the Raiders with 16. Trent Roberts added 16. Travis Turnbull led the Saints with 20. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Scarborough West Hill Warriors dumped the 17th-seeded Innisfil Nantyr Shores Tritons 69-55 after leading 15-6, 27-22 and 46-34 at the quarters. 5-9 point guard Adrian Tomlinson missed his first three shots but then went on to score 42. Yet Tomlinson was still critical of his team’s play. “Forget the points for me, it was not a good game for the team. If we start our next game like we did in this one, it could be our last one. We were too sloppy, bad passing and missed shots – and I’m just as much to blame,” he told the Toronto Star. West Hill led 15-6 after an opening quarter that saw missed shots by both teams, sloppy passing and a dozen turnovers. “It was a very rusty start for us, which left the other team with opportunities,” said West Hill coach Nate Philippe. With the Warriors holding a 37-22 lead at halftime, the 18-year-old Tomlinson turned it on in the final two quarters, including six three-pointers, as West Hill went on a 20-0 second-half run, keeping the Tritons off the scoreboard for almost six minutes. Jelane Pryce, the Tritons top scorer with 19 points, clicked on a free throw with 5:33 left in the fourth quarter. But by then, West Hill had a 59-34 lead and still had its starting five in the game. Tritons coach Trevor Neale said after the game his team appeared overwhelmed in the final half. “To be honest, we didn’t expect to be within 40 or 50 points of them and our only hope was to try to limit their scoring,” said Neale. Jelane Pryce paced Nantyr Shores with 19. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Ajax Pickering Trojans dumped the 11th-seeded Ottawa Glebe Gryphons 60-44. The score was knotted at 12 after one quarter. Glebe led 26-22 at the half. Pickering led 43-36 after three quarters. Robert Gagliardi paced the Trojans with 21. Mackenzie Simpson paced the Gryphons with 20.
In the elimination second round: …………………………………………………… The 16th-seeded Guelph Centennial Spartans edged the 18th-seeded Unionville Milliken Mills Knights 67-65. Milliken Mills led 16-15 after one quarter and 34-31 at the half. Centennial led 53-38 after three quarters. Adrian Achonwa paced the Spartans with 24. Travin Cain added 12 and Robert House 11. Dexton Freemantle paced the Knights with 14. Jordan Martin added 13 and Brandon Heath 13. …………………………………………………… The 15th-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints defeated the 17th-seeded Innisfil Nantyr Shores Tritons 46-40. Nantyr Shores led 14-8 after one quarter. St. Anne led 18-14 at the half and 34-18 after three quarters. Mustafa Helal paced the Saints with 12. Travis Turnbull added 10 and Courtney Henry 10. Jelane Pryce led Nantyr Shores with 14. The Panthers, making their first appearance at OFSAA, also included Jevon Dixon, Ryan Craber, Zack Fernandez, Myles White, Calum Grenier, Kerel Pryce, Richie Williams, Jezmar McBean, Trystan Peyton and Jacob Smith. They were coached by Trevor Neale and Mike Cullen.
In the third round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints stomped the 16th-seeded Guelph Centennial Spartans 84-44 after leading 21-13, 47-20 and 67-34 at the quarters. Alwayne Bigby and Marvin Binney each scored 14 to pace the Saints. Brandon Sam-Hinton added 11, Wayne Bridge 11 and Kevin Kamba 10. Adrian Achonwa led the Spartans with 16. Jay Francis added 11. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Windsor Catholic Comets whipped the 10th-seeded Waterloo Sir John A. Macdonald x 106-83 after leading 28-12, 61-37 and 83-67 at the quarters. The Comets nailed 17 treys in the win. “I’ve never seen anything like that,” Catholic Central coach Pete Cusumano said. “We were shooting the lights out and it wasn’t just one guy.” Matt Nuna paced the Comets with 31, including 9 treys. Stason Golden added 21, Jacob Cusumano 15 and Chris Arcangel 13. Justin Tomas led Macdonald with 29. Taylor Allan added 19 and Keith Stinson 16. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish stunned the 4th-seeded London H.B. Beal Raiders 50-49. Beal led 14-13 after one quarter. Notre Dame led 27-21 at the half and 36-31 after three quarters. Cedric Kasongo paced the Fighting Irish with 14. Jonathan Mataya added 13 and Anto Raic 11. Adam Bondzi-Simpson paced the Raiders with 10. Notre Dame got a standout defensive turn from defensive specialist John Fitzgerald in the game against Beal. After Anto Raic scored off a screen with 18 seconds left to put the Irish back into the lead by one point, Fitzgerald went into the game and pilfered the ball to seal the win. “He stole the game for us. Like I said, the defence has been the story of this team all year,” Notre Dame coach Rao said. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Scarborough West Hill Warriors dispatched the 11th-seeded Ottawa Glebe Gryphons 70-60 after leading 23-11, 35-25 and 59-41 at the quarters. Adrian Tomlinson led the Warriors with 27. Devon Stedman led the Gryphons with 19. The Gryphons (coached by Alex Overwijk, assisted by Danny Naoufal) also included Osman Naaqvi, Mehdi Joseph, Rushton Fellows, Terence Thomas, Paton Lemieux, Mackenzie Simpson, Thomas Bracoo, Tom Armstrong, Curtis Gero, Jacinto Marques, Tyler Shirley, Chris Whitebean and J.F. Boos. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators clocked the 12th-seeded Hamilton St. Thomas More Knights 53-39 after leading 10-8, 19-13 and 36-23 at the quarters. Kemeish Edwards paced the Gators with 14. Kamran Alvi added 10 and Manny Sihota 10. Jermaine Barr led the Knights with 15. The Knights (coached by Stefano Giovannangeli) also included Victor Raso, David Boyce, Marcus St. Aubin, Italo Conciatori, Jon Gordon, Pat Iavarone, Justin Avery Gomes, Julius Chambers, Zach Angelini, Jurelle Hackett and Josh Sherriff. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans stomped the 14th-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Jaguars 97-42 after leading 36-13, 60-24 and 80-38 at the quarters. Onnex Blackwood led the Titans with 20. Ashton Khan added 15 and Jonathan Alexander 12. Eric Roth paced the Blue Jaguars with 11. The Blue Jaguars also included Chase Campbell, Derek Wiggan, Louis Polyzois. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars dumped the 7th-seeded Brampton St. Edmund Campion Bears 69-58. Campion led 15-12 after one quarter. Notre Dame led 31-22 at the half and 47-41 after three quarters. Damal Donaldson paced the Cougars with 36. Jordan Clennon led the Bears with 25. Tychon Carter added 15. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Ajax Pickering Trojans nipped the 15th-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints 47-46. St. Anne’s led 8-5, 25-18 and 34-33 at the quarters. Jonathan Tull paced the Trojans with 20. Rob Gagliardi added 10. Travis Turnbull led the Saints with 15. Jon Wilson added 14. The Saints (coached by Larry Loebach, assisted by Roger Mousseau and Rick St. Pierre) also included Mustafa Helal, Andrew Loebach, Sam Bhatia, Jordan Caron, Robert Small, Nevin Macleod, Blake Mikhail, Jimmy Hanna, Chris Anderi, Courtney Henry, Luka Celic, Anthony Derose and Eric Carducci.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints dumped the 8th-seeded Windsor Catholic Central Comets 53-37 after leading 12-5, 24-18 and 34-30 at the quarters. “They’re a team with incredible speed,” Comets forward Stason Golden told the Windsor Star. “It’s just ridiculous the speed they have so we were trying to slow them down.” Unable to score in transition, the Saints were forced into a half-court game which kept the Comets barking at their heels. It was 38-34 early in the fourth until Eastern went on a pivotal 10-0 run. “A lot of teams have tried to slow us down with a zone,” Eastern coach Roy Rana said. “It’s a good strategy.” Comets coach Pete Cusumano lamented his troops shooting. “It’s a little different shooting them against this team. They closed out real hard. They make it hard to shoot. They don’t give you good looks.” Sharmar Bennet paced the Saints with 13. Alwayne Bigby added 11. Stason Golden the Comets with 11. Matt Nuna added 9. The Comets (coached by Cusumano) also included Jacob Cusumano, Chris Arcangel, Mychal Mulder, Terrance Crawford, Brandon Taylor.
The 13th-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish stunned the 5th-seeded Scarborough West Hill Warriors 60-52. Notre Dame led 14-5 after one quarter and 25-24 at the half. The score was knotted at 40 after three quarters. Anto Raic led the Fighting Irish with 16. Jonathan Mataya added 12. Adrian Tomlinson paced the Warriors with 22. Alex Arthur added 12. “Once again, our defence came through, just as it has done all year,” Notre Dame coach Mike Rao said. “The accomplishment of this team is unmatched. Playing against teams from much-larger centres is a different world, but we’re here. We moved the ball well and were able to stay patient.” The Warriors also included Taylor Johnson, Michael Knight, Kevon Parchment.
The 3rd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans clipped the Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators 70-59 after leading 25-11, 44-29 and 55-41 at the quarters. Ashton Khan led the Titans with 24. Maurice Walker added 22. Kemish Edwards paced the Gators with 19. Peter Boateng and Kamran Alvi each added 10. The Gators (coached by Carlo Zoffranieri, assisted by Rob Buchanan) also included Manny Sahota, Akeem Gardner, Jose Perez-Garcia, Rainer Croft, Michael Marzan, Chris Oppong, Darryl Hall, Vik Sehgal, Faith Ekakitie and Dylan Periana.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Ajax Pickering Trojans stomped the 9th-seeded Ajax Notre Dame Cougars 62-39 after leading 16-10, 36-16 and 46-26 at the quarters. Kevin Thomas paced the Trojans with 13. Natiel McKenzie added 11. Norman Penola led the Cougars with 15. “(Pickering) did what they had to do, full marks to them,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Rao. “Anytime you keep a team like Pickering to six points in the final half, that says something for your defensive game. Our offence just couldn’t get the shots that we needed to pull it off.”
In the semis, the 3rd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans dumped the 2nd-seeded Ajax Pickering Trojans 60-44 after leading 19-9, 35-23 and 44-36 at the quarters. The Trojans closed to within six in final quarter when Titans post Maurice Walker got in foul trouble but the Mother Theresa had the answers in the form of a 16-8 run down the stretch. Jonathan Alexander paced the Titans with 22. Onnex Blackwood and Ryan Augustine each added 9. Kevin Thomas led the Trojans with 16. Jonathan Tull and Rob Gagliardi each added 8.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints whipped the 13th-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 70-43 after leading 13-12, 37-25 and 52-31 at the quarters. Jerome Brown paced the Saints with 20. Brandon Sam-Hinton added 12 and Alwayne Bigby 10. Jonathan Mataya led the Fighting Irish with 17. Anto Raic added 10.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Ajax Pickering Trojans nipped the 13th-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 38-36 on a bucket by Rob Gagliardi as time expired. The Trojans led 13-12, 32-21 and 34-29 at the quarters. Robert Gagliardi led the Trojans with 13. Jonathan Tull added 10. Cedric Kasongo paced the Fighting Irish with 17. “Not a pretty game or one of our best performances,” Gagliardi said. “We can still hold our heads high being the third best team in Ontario. Nothing shabby about that.” Pickering interim coach David Joseph, replacing suspended head coach Mike Gordensky, called a time out with just over one minute left in regulation time and the score tied at 36-36. “The plan was to hold on to the ball, stall and stay calm and then take it to the basket with seven seconds left,” said Joseph. “If we score, and we did, we win. If not, we go to overtime.” Gagliardi pulled the play off to perfection. The Trojans only scored 6 points in the final half. “Pretty ugly game,” Gagliardi said. “After you lose a semifinal, and this was our fifth game in three days, you really want to go home. I was really angry at losing the morning game, but I’ll take the medal now.” The Trojans were not allowed to have coach Mike Gordensky on the sidelines. Tournament convener Pete Cusumano had ruled that Gordensky was not permitted entry into the gym, the coaches meeting or even the tournament banquet. “It’s been tough,” Gordensky told the Windsor Star. “It’s very frustrating.” Gordensky has been banned by OFSAA from coaching for one year following an incident over the Christmas holidays in which he took 2 ineligible players with the team to a holiday tournament in South Carolina. “These kids are both good enough to get (NCAA) Division I scholarships but they’re not eligible to play here in Ontario,” Gordensky said. “I took them so they could play before some scouts. I didn’t hide the fact I used the two kids. I still don’t think I did anything wrong. I could understand it if I had physically assaulted a referee or my team was involved in a brawl.” His local association, the Lake Ontario Secondary Schools Association, suspended him for the remainder of the season for contravening the association’s constitution. Then, OFSAA stepped in and his team was suspended for a year. OFSAA executive director Doug Gellatly said the team was allowed to play in Windsor after its appeal was heard by a board of reference – sanctions. “They knew the rules going to the States,” Gellatly said. “There was a violation of rules and we followed our processes to determine what the sanctions should be against the team and the coach. The team was allowed to play but the coach was still suspended. I’m pleased with the way things were handled and that we have these processes in place to deal with these type of issues.” Pickering senior Jonathan Tull described the events of the last month as “a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs.” Playing without Gordensky on the bench “has been pretty hard,” said Tull, who is being recruited by University of Windsor coach Chris Oliver. “It’s taken a toll on us mentally.” Gordensky said the team was “definitely affected” when news arrived that they were banned from OFSAA while in the midst of their own league playoffs. “One of our best players didn’t want to come to practice. They were mopey and angry.” Gordensky said prior to this, he’s never had a run in with, or been sanctioned by OFSAA. “It makes you rethink why you do this,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s a lawsuit there or not but I’m definitely going to inquire.” The Fighting Irish also included Jonathan Mataya, Anto Raic, Tyler Warren, Adam Bondzi-Simpson, Grace Lokole, Antonio Carbone, Ryan Morwald, Anthony Coccagna, Arthur Nsenga, Daniel Bellinaso, Owen Demers, Matt Helmkay, John Fitzgerald, David Iudiciana and Marco Rodrigues.
In the final, top-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints edged the 3rd-seeded Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans 50-49 on a two-handed jam by Jerome Brown with 35 seconds remaining on the clock. It was the Saints fifth provincial title in eight years. Eastern Commerce coach Kevin Jeffers was ecstatic. “All I care about now is that we won. The fans … (figured) this would go to overtime, we didn’t want to have anything to do with that … “Jitters and pressure, even the best players have that — and it wasn’t easy against a team like Mother Teresa.” Leading scorer Shamar Bennet said “I love this. Never had this feeling of excitement in my life.” Mother Teresa coach Rich Gallacher said “it hurts to lose by one point, but it shows that we played well enough to win, too. Their zone defence gave us trouble early, then they got some huge rebounds, knocked down big shots and we didn’t.” Eastern Commerce led 18-16 after one quarter and 29-22 at the half. Mother Theresa led 40-37 after three quarters. The Saints missed 10 free throws in the final four minutes but still pulled out the win. Shamar Bennet paced the Saints with 16. Jerome Brown added 12 and Alwayne Bigby 10. Ryan Augustine led the Titans with 11. Ashton Khan added 10, Onnex Blackwood 10 and 6-9 post Maurice Walker 9, having gotten in early foul trouble.
The bronze medalist Ajax Pickering Trojans: Robert Gagliardi; Jonathan Tull; Kevin Thomas; Natiel McKenzie; Delroy Thomas; Rowan Bennett; Asher Tulloch-Lewis; Jevon Jacobs; Courtney Dawkins; Jamal Monplaisir; Ken Nkrumah; Bryan Bajikijaie; Kent Dwyer; Marley Patterson; Jerome Wynter; coach Mike Gordensky; assistant David Joseph
The silver medalist Scarborough Blessed Mother Teresa Titans: Ashton Khan; Onnex Blackwood; Jonathan Alexander; Maurice Walker; Ryan Augustine; Romaine Lawrence; Ancil Martin; Kadeem Knott; Jermaine Lightbody; Ritchie Kanza; Matthew Augustine; Jordan Lem; Dwayne Dawes; Alex Romano; coach Richard Gallacher
The gold medalist Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints: Alwayne Bigby; Marvin Binney; Brandon Sam-Hinton; Wayne Bridge; Kevin Kamba; Shamar Bennet; Jerome Brown; Kymar Kelly; Tristan Lewis-Vu; Franklin Gyamfi; Jake Hill; Cameron Robertson; Shakeem Carvey; coach Roy Rana; coach Kevin Jeffers; coach Shawn Henderson