In the opening round, held in Windsor: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders clubbed the 11th-seeded Hamilton Sir Allan MacNab Lions 70-53 after leading 33-9, 42-23 and 53-37 at the quarters. “To score 33 points in the first quarter is a nice way to start,’’ Blue Raiders coach Jeff Zownir told the Toronto Sun. “As coaches, you want the same intensity level throughout the game, but with kids they sometimes look at the scoreboard a little bit. MacNab has a good team and we are playing against the top competition in the province. There’s always a concern being it’s the first game of the tournament and how the kids are going to react. Rustiness was a concern. It was a morning game and you never know with kids, but I thought they did a great job in being focused. We stuck to our game plan and we got the jump on them.” Lions coach Dwayne Washington said his troops were undone by a coaching miscue in that he told them not to help on defence. “It was on me. Overscouting. We’ve been playing help defence all season and my guys were uncomfortable (in the early stages against St. Mike’s).” Isaac Atta paced the Blue Raiders with 17. Nelson Kaputo added 16. Shaivonte Gilgeous-Alexander led the Lions with 17. …………………………………………………… The 16th-seeded Windsor Holy Names Knights stunned the 6th-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints 55-54 as Isiah Familia hit a bomb from well beyond the arc at the buzzer. “I didn’t have any confidence when I released it,’’ Familia told the Toronto Sun. “I didn’t think it was going in. My teammate knew, and I have to give glory to God on that one. … It’s one of those shots you dream of from the time you’re a little kid. You go to sleep dreaming of hitting those shots. I dreamed about those shots all the time. To make one is hard to put into words. I’ve never had a game-winning shot and I’ve been playing for 11 years. It’s great to hit it on this stage against a great Eastern Commerce team. I was at a loss for words. All I saw was everyone running at me. It was just a blur, a great moment for our team, a great moment in my basketball career, especially against a great team such as Eastern Commerce, a very scrappy team. To get this win in the city of Windsor makes it sweeter.” Alston Gayle noted that “we were the underdogs going in and we had nothing to lose. We just played hard. The key was our composure. As a team we stayed together, we didn’t get down on each other. I’ve been in these situations before during my career, but this is by far the biggest win in my high school career. We knew Eastern Commerce and how big a program in Toronto it’s been, the many OFSAA titles. It’s why this win is so big for us.” The Knights led 18-14 after one quarter. The Saints led 27-26 at the half and 41-39 after three quarters. Isaiah Familia paced the Knights with 19. Narcisse Ambanza led the Saints with 21. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Etobicoke Father Henry Carr Crusaders whacked the 18th-seeded Ottawa Glebe Gryphons 79-42 after leading 21-17 after one quarter 32-26 at the half. The Crusaders dominated in transition, while Carlo Dubria kept bombing from beyond the arc and Shamar Bailey-Decoteau controlled the glass. “Our sloppy play was keeping them in the game and that’s what I told our kids,’’ coach Paul Melnik told the Toronto Sun. “I’d say we had 15 turnovers by halftime. I told them to eliminate their turnovers and stop the silly fouls. Let the game come to you, just settle down.” …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Waterloo Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders whipped the 14th-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints 66-48. The Highlanders led 15-11 after one quarter and 51-39 after three quarters. Simon Petrov and Nedim Hodzic each scored 21 to pace the Highlanders. Brett Parrott added 20. Anthony Zrvnar led the Saints with 12. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Thornhill Vaughan Voyageurs clipped the 9th-seeded Kitchener St. Mary’s Eagles 69-54. The Eagles led 30-26 at the half. The Voyageurs led 45-38 after three quarters. Kordeiro James paced the Voyageurs with 21. Tesloth Simon led Eagles with 20. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite d’Youville Panthers clubbed the 13th-seeded Toronto St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary Panthers 68-47 after leading 18-17 after one quarter and 46-39 at the half. Keshon Montague led d’Youville with 18. John Nwosu led John Paul II with 19. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons defeated the 15th-seeded London H.B. Beal Raiders 50-42 after leading 14-9, 29-28 and 37-32 at the quarters. Steven Rahwire led the Barons with 18. James Jackson paced the Raiders with 16. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Pickering Pine Ridge Pumas clocked the 17th-seeded Barrie Innisdale Invaders 70-51 after leading 44-29 at the half. Spencer Thomas paced the Pumas with 20. Nevill Provo added 16. Julian Walker led the Invaders with 14. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Brampton St. Edmund Campion Bears dispatched the 12th-seeded Milton Bishop P.F. Reding Royals 66-54 after leading 14-11, 33-21 and 46-31 at the quarters. “They (Campion) play a very aggressive game and we started turning over the ball and making an easy offence for them,” Royals coach Alana Juzenas told the Milton Canadian. “We didn’t want to use our youth as a crutch this season, but we did have only one Grade 12 player and he was hurt. And playing back-to-back games against eventual medalists was tough. This experience will help us (next season).” Dylon Gregory paced the Bears with 19. Christopher Bennett added 14. Christian David paced the Royals with 22. Jordan Brathwaite added 16.
In the second round …………………………………………………… The 15th-seeded London H.B. Beal Raiders defeated the 17th-seeded Barrie Innisdale Invaders 50-36? The Invaders (coached by Don Rodney and Jeff Toole) included Dotun Aketep, Justice Archer, Harold Domingo, Tyler Havlicek, Trae Kelly, Nick Klein, Daniel Martyn, Dylan Martyn, Eric Mayo, Bryan Rodriguez, Fairchild Tiriboyi and Julian Walker. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints dispatched the 18th-seeded Ottawa Glebe Gryphons 72-61. The Gryphons (coached by Dave Malowski and Alex Overwijk) included Omar Abdel Karim, Khalid Ali, James Paul Bonifacio, Ahmed Ellafeh, Antony Flores, Jameson Fraser, Eric Giannini, Owen Gray, Ali Khairi, Charles-Adrian Lessard, Joseph Mader, Zakaryaa Meguader, Shamar Phillips-Williams, Balsha Vukovic, Joseph Walters-Davis and Troy Webster.
In the third round: …………………………………………………… The 16th-seeded Windsor Holy Names Knights clipped the 11th-seeded Hamilton Sir Allan MacNab Lions 71-62 after leading 40-35 at the half. The Lions (coached by Dwayne Washington, assisted by Mark Bieksa, Tom Fisher and Kenold Knight) include Denzell Albers-Wallace, Justin Andrew, Khaleem Bennett, Isaiah Bujdoso, Kevaughn Ellis, Caswell Falconer, Aaron Gibson, Shaivonte Gilgeous-Alexander, Matthew Grace, Nathan Hare, Sam Jenkins, Devlin Jovetic, Mehraj Kazi, Brandon Kenyon, Zachary Mayers, Antoine Vernon and Rueadale Williams. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Etobicoke Father Henry Carr Crusaders clipped the 14th-seeded Belle River St. Anne Catholic Saints 63-45. The Saints (coached by Andy Kiss, Roger Mousseau and Ivan Zrvnar) included Blake Ondricko, Matt Broderick, Dalton Boyle, Sergio Rodriguez, Ryan Kiss, Ryan McManus, Daniel Gore, Andrew Anderi, Anthony Zrvnar, Samar Nanuan and Mitchell Zimmerman. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite d’Youville Panthers whipped the 9th-seeded Kitchener St. Mary’s Eagles 67-38. The Eagles (coached by Jason Hergott) included Heanok Abara, Minas Abara, Adham Eleeda, Jermaine Lyle, David Nguyen, Rocky Nguyen, Barnaba Niel, Edward Omari, Nathan Riley, Tesloth Simon, Thijien Simon, Jamari Stephenson and Tyrick Thompson. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Brampton St. Edmund Campion Bears clipped the 15th-seeded London H.B. Beal Raiders 66-52. The Raiders (coached by Danny Carducci, George Grabowski, Ian McConnell, Andre Meyer and Chrisovalantis Variatzas) included Hadi Akle, Josh Dinh, Abel Emun, Tyler Green, Rakeem Henry, Miguel Iglesias, James Jackson, Jon Jongkuch, Brandon McGlone, Franck Nagakoutou and Tyreese Phouttharath. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders stomped the 6th-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints 71-49. The Saints (coached by Kevin Jeffers, assisted by Sean Henderson, Gyasi Moffett, Lou Sialtsis and Nigel Tan) included Narcisse Ambanza, Dwight Dixon, Kadre Gray, Trevor Hutton, Delon Jemmott, Jason McDonald, Gula Osman, Jawad Sami, Khosheem Simpson and Josis Thomas. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Waterloo Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders nipped the 10th-seeded Thornhill Vaughan Voyageurs 55-53 as Nedim Hodzic hit the winner with five seconds to play. Hodzic finished with 25 points and 10 boards. Simon Petrov added 16 points, 6 boards and 5 assists. The Voyageurs led 21-8 after one quarter and 32-25 at the half. The Highlanders led 46-43 after three quarters. The Voyageurs (coached by John Glezakos, Gus Gymnopoulos, Shandon Mootoosamy, Claude Nembhard, Ryan Nembhard and Amar Ramkisoon) included Chris Barrett, Kordeiro James, Wazir Latiff, Aaron Mata, Fowzi Mohamoud, Isaiah Moseley, Andrew Nembhard, Jake Ohana, Oshane Taylor-Douglas, Joseph Thomas, Malik Tucker and Rijien Villoria. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons defeated the 13th-seeded Toronto St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary Panthers 66-55. The Barons led 32-20 at the half and 52-34 after three quarters. The Panthers (coached by Jill Forester, Steve Gazmin, Donald Lindo and Melanie MacLean, and managed by Joshua Fernandes and Justin Manatad) included Artemio Ace Jr. Cabuslay, Qwasie Clarke, Darren Danquah, Christian Jasper David, Maurice Francis, Dante Gonzales, Mikael Israel, Gabriel Monton, Andre Neagle, John Nwosu, Jeremy Ponce, Brandon Ramirez, Arish Ranjit Bradley and Junior Repancol. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Pickering Pine Ridge Pumas stomped the 12th-seeded Milton Bishop P.F. Reding Royals 77-50. The Royals (coached by Alan Juzenas, assisted by Shane Bascoe and Jason Evelyn) included Jordan Brathwaite, Christian David, Waell Khalife, Alvin Lazaro, Manny Lewis, Kobe Lopez, Tyrique Moe, Xavier Ochu, Ivan Prusina, Pablo Villa, Tristan Walker and Payne Wood.
In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Etobicoke Father Henry Carr Crusaders smacked the 16th-seeded Windsor Holy Names Knights 63-48. Carr used its size advantage and solid perimeter shooting to force the Knights out of their 2-3 zone. Carlo Dubria and John Akende nailed treys as the Crusaders took command. Dubria told the Toronto Sun that “when I hit the first one, I knew I was there, I was feeling it. Once I saw the cotton go down, I had to take the second one as well. The key for us was to be patient, run our plays, see what was there. Our whole plan was to feed the bigs. Once they stopped the bigs, the ball started to come out and the flow started going. Everybody underestimated that team. They were the underdogs and they play hard because of that motivation.” The Knights (coached by Kyle Kane, assisted by Len Kane, Jimmy Lenhart and Cole Parent) included Khoder Ahmad, Isiah Byrd, Gregory Ebanks, Andre Familia, Isaiah Familia, Alston Gayle, Marc Lo Mascolo, Nicholas Mihalo, Michael Okoko, Noah Pio, Mathew Shabow, Ahad Shah and Ahmad Shah.
The 2nd-seeded Brampton St. Edmund Campion Bears dispatched the 7th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite d’Youville Panthers 57-52 after leading 29-21 at the half. “This is big,’’ Christopher Bennett told the Toronto Sun. “As a fifth-year senior, it’s a special moment knowing that potentially you could go home with a gold, silver, bronze or copper. This is an honour. Not many people get this opportunity in life.” Midway through the final quarter, Bear guard Marcus Anderson fouled out and Panther Damian Prehay began attacking off the dribble as d’Youville rallied within a bucket. But the Panthers missed a trey in the final minute that would have knotted the score. “We have good discipline and we showed a lot of composure,’’ said Bennett, who paced the Bears with 19. The Panthers (coached by Aaron Assante, Shane Donaldson, Nassier Wharton, Adrian Young, David Zeni and Carlo Zoffranieri) included Korede Adegboye, Norville Clayton, Ovie Eyamaro, Christien Gould, Abad Kenneth, Desmond Kwabiah, Jordan Lyons, Keshon Montague, Emmanuel Nketiah, Kevin Ofori, Damiann Prehay, Luis Puente-Mustelier and Brendan Samlal.
The top-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders dumped the 8th-seeded Waterloo Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders 69-43. The Blue Raiders led 32-24 at the half and broke the game open with a 13-0 run to start the second half. Nedim Hodzic paced the Highlanders with 14 points and 11 boards. Justin Hardy added 10, and Simon Petrov scored 10 and nabbed 9 boards. The Highlanders (coached by Steve Maloney, Sandy Millar, Stephen Peng and Dan White) also included Samatar Abukar, Iqbal Amin, Amarbir Bansal, Devon Gallivan, Caleb Grant, Karan Heer, Pavneet Kapoor, Miki Maslenjak, Nicolas Milosevic, Brett Parrott, Thraveen Perera, Jan Willem Scheele, Nino Spasik and Biellal Vedut.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Pickering Pine Ridge Pumas defeated the 4th-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons 53-48. The Barons (coached by Tony Miller, assisted by Norm Clarke, Oniel Kamaka and Dave McDonald) included Dequan Cascart, Modou Ceesay, Alexander Comanita, Ontoy Duff, Calvin Epistola, Galio Fortunato, Jevon Jerimiah, Alex Mensaih, Dominique Nanton, Tyrell Obrien, Steven Rahwire and D’wan Williams.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Brampton St. Edmund Campion Bears whipped the 3rd-seeded Etobicoke Father Henry Carr Crusaders 70-53. The Crusaders led 20-18 after one quarter. The Bears led 35-32 at the half. The Crusaders led 43-42 after three quarters. “It’s overwhelming,’’ Bears grade nine point guard Joel Brown told the Toronto Sun. “I never knew I’d be able to play with the seniors, but then going to OFSAA, that’s a team goal everyone has throughout Ontario. And to be in a championship game on a big stage like this, it means a lot. Not a lot of people have a chance to make it this far.” Dylon Gregory paced the Bears with 25. Devonte Daniels added 15, C.J. Bennett 11 and Brown 11.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders stomped the 5th-seeded Pickering Pine Ridge Pumas 93-66. The Blue Raiders led 27-17 after one quarter.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Pickering Pine Ridge Pumas edged the 3rd-seeded Etobicoke Father Henry Carr Crusaders 56-53 to win the school’s first OFSAA medal. Point guard Jordan Henry repeated broke down the Crusaders off the dribble. The Crusaders broke to an early 10-pont lead but Henry rallied the Pumas, repeatedly drawing fouls. He nailed a series of free throws down the stretch to ice the win. Pumas assistant coach Trish Biffin told Durhamregion.com that “we just wanted to get a medal. Of course, gold would have been nice, but any medal we were happy with. We joked that we were history makers. We also weren’t predicted to be there, so we said we were bracket busters. A lot of people didn’t predict us to get that far. We knew we had enough talent to get there. We knew from day one. It was nice to prove a lot of people wrong. We didn’t understand how people didn’t expect us to be there. The guys did what they needed to on the court and earned it. Jordan Henry did an interview after one of the games. The first thing he said, they asked ‘You guys were down, how did you come back’? He said ‘This team is really like a family, so we knew we had each other’s backs and we just kept going to work’. It’s not just us, it’s the kids who are saying it too. “We try to take care of each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re a starter or come off the bench, everyone is part of the group.” The Crusaders led 22-12 after one quarter. The Crusaders (coached by Paul Melnik, assisted by Leon Archer, Rono Miller, Travis Noel, Mark Poyser, Dave Renaud and Dave Sherwood) included John Akende, Shamar Bailey-Decoteau, Marcus Bonnick, Shae Brown, Lamar Copeland, Carlo Dubria, Trejaun Fearon, Mithun Jaisankar, Ben Kwawukumey, Kyle Lefave, Mychael Paulo, Tristan Sadler, Rayshawn Smith, Tristan Thompson and Imani Whilby-Taylor.
In the final, the top-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders clubbed the 2nd-seeded Brampton St. Edmund Campion Bears 79-59 after leading 42-27 at the half and 63-37 after three quarters. The Blue Raiders zone defence stymied the Bears, while their perimeter shooting, particularly that of Nikola Paradina, buried Campion hopes. The Blue Raiders finished (48-1) on the season, including (38-0) against Canadian competition, while Campion finished (41-6). Danillo Djuricic led the Blue Raiders with 14 points and 6 boards. Devonte Daniels paced the Bears with 16 points and 7 boards. Joel Brown added 15. Campion coach Omar Miles told North Pole Hoops “man, they’re just really freakin’ good. Once they get in that zone…first it was an 8-point lead, then 12, then 16 and we couldn’t stop them.”
The bronze medalist Pickering Pine Ridge Pumas: Tristian Berry; Tyreek Brown; Khizar Chaudhry; Joel Dash; Yanick Hannibal; Jordan Henry; Devante Nunes; Darnelle Peddie; Mustafa Prince; Nevell Provo; Jahvorn Saunders; Spencers Thomas; Kristos Vagenas; Chase Vassell; Daniel Wright; coach Cam Nekkers; assistant Craig Andrews; assistant Adam Biffin; assistant Patricia Biffin; assistant Robert Clement; assistant Melissa Conroy; assistant Gina Sotiriou
The silver medalist Brampton St. Edmund Campion Bears: Michael Agyemang; Rexford Agyemang; Marcus Anderson; Christopher Bennett; Joel Brown; Elijah Charles; Jovon Cox; Devonte Daniels; Dylon Gregory; Quinton Hamilton; Daylin Lee; Ethan Nelles; Ethan Santos; Kavaughn Touzalin; coach Tyrone Bonas; coach Omar Miles; coach Neil Nacita
The gold medalist Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders: Jahmal Abbey-Wright; Isaac Atta; Marcus Carr; Danilo Djuricic; Parker Joyce; Kaion Julien-Grant; Nelson Kaputo; Kobey Ketavong; Anthony Nusca; Nikola Paradina; D’Andre Ramsden; Marcus Yurchuk; coach Jeff Zownir; assistant Nunzio Corrente; assistant Daniel Lumsden; assistant Branko Samsa
After the season, OFSAA eliminated the Quad-A division.