In the opening seeding round, held in Port Hope: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Hamilton Mere-Teresa Jaguars clocked the 16th-seeded West Toronto Warriors 72-43 after leading 21-16, 46-23 and 60-38 at the quarters. Beni Kangu led Mere-Teresa with 24. Kenan Etale added 13. Samir Ahmed paced the Warriors with 19. Remington Dixon added 11. Alain Grubac hit a 3 to open the game for Mere-Teresa. Kenan Etale followed that with another. It was 7-0 before West Toronto got on the board. Teams then exchanged threes. Two and a half minutes in and the score was 13-7 for the Jaguars. The teams traded hoops for the rest of the quarter. Samir Ahmed had 8 points for the Warriors in the stanza. Daniel McAllonan opened the scoring at the start of the 2nd for Mere-Teresa. Two minutes in, the Jaguars opened up an 11-point lead. The Jaguars pushed the ball very well and when shots were not falling, they commanded the offensive boards. There was no scoring for the first three minutes of the 3rd quarter. The Warriors point guard, Remington Dixon, picked up two quick fouls to earn three early. Coach Reid left him in the game and he picked up his fourth foul before the end of the quarter. The score see-sawed from there and the Jaguars maintained their 20-point lead. In the fourth quarter, Mere-Teresa maintained the lead despite going deep into their bench. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils edged the 11th-seeded Port Hope Trinity Catholic Bears 49-44 after leading 10-6 after one quarter and 21-17 at the half but trailing 36-28 after three quarters. Alex Beatty paced the Red Devils with 23. Duncan Robinson added 5. Rob Frame led TCS with 12. Sean Dimnik added 12. Woodstock scored the first 8 points of the game until TCS called a time out. They worked the ball well in their half-court offence and made the most of their opportunities. Rob Frame finally got the Bears on the board at the 5:30 mark. For the next three minutes both teams missed opportunities and the score remained 8-2 for the Red Devils. Jack Beatty led the way for Woodstock in the early going with 6 points. With a minute to go, TCS cut the lead to 10-4 on a nice pass from Quinn Flaherty to Dave Zmozinski. Jon Austin scored a nice hoop and foul to narrow the gap further. Sam Davies scored the first hoop of the second quarter and it was now a 2-pt. game. Austin then tied the game at 10 and Billy Lam gave TCS their first lead of the game immediately after. A trey and a foul shot by Beatty put Woodstock back in the lead 15-12. Mark Hazelger picked up his 3rd foul with 2.5 minutes to go in the half. The Red Devils extended their lead to 18-12 with 2 minutes to go but Billy Lam and Rob Frame hit back-to-back hoops to make it 18-17. The second half opened with a hoop by Rob Frame and Sean Dimnik then knotted the game at 21’s. Austin’s third foul followed by a Beatty trey gave the advantage back to the Red Devils. A 1-2-2 zone by Woodstock also gave the Bears some trouble. Dimnik got an offensive rebound and tied the score at 26. Frame’s trey shot with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter gave TCS the lead. At the quarter, Zmozinski hit a shot at the buzzer to give TCS a commanding lead at 36-28. Woodstock opened the 4th with two hoops to cut the lead to 4 points. Moose stole an inbounds to cut the lead to 2 but Dimnik gave the Bears a 38-34 lead. Alex Beatty hit a big three and it was a 2-point game with 4 minutes to go. Austin hit two free throws to make it 44-39 but Woodstock would not give up the fight. They cut the lead to 1 point with a minute and a half to go. Another big hoop and one by Matt Benner gave Woodstock a 46-44 lead with a minute to go. Beatty picked up his fourth foul on a charge to give the ball back to the Bears down two with 38 seconds to go. Moose then stole the ball for the Red Devils and it proved to turn the tide. Beatty then fouled out to give the Bears one more chance. Frame missed both free throws. Hazelberger made two big throws to seal the win. “We got up on them early, but once they made a few shots they got some confidence and the crowd really carried the momentum,” said Red Devils coach Chris Coyle. “We spread the floor, putting everyone in corners so we’d either drive or get a foul and we ended up drawing foul after foul. It was a fantastic basketball game. TCS had an outstanding effort. They were gutsy and played hard – man, I loved the way they played.” …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded Desbarats Central Algoma Huskies upset the 3rd-seeded Tecumseh Ecole Secondaire L’Essor Les Aigles 41-35. L’Essor led 11-9 after one quarter and 19-17 at the half. The Huskies led 28-26 after three quarters. Ryan Hurley paced Central Algoma with 13. Corey Myers added 10 and Seth Whitley 10. Rob Abello led L’Essor with 10. Shaun Byrne added 8. Both teams were cold shooting from the perimeter. They were equally unfortunate at the foul line. Both teams played tough man defence. L’Essor’s guards were very quick and managed a few scores off of steals. Otherwise, both teams relied on inside scoring through respectable post play. It was tight through the first half with Les Aigles holding a slight lead. In the 2nd half, L’Essor continued their shooting woes. They could not establish an inside presence and Central Algoma played tough man on the perimeter. At the same time, the Huskies did a good job on the boards and scored most of their points inside. Of note, Seth Whitley hit 5-6 free throws down the stretch. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto Crawford Adventist Omega clocked the 9th-seeded Cornwall Holy Trinity Falcons 83-56. The Omega led 16-14 after one quarter, trailed 31-25 at the half but led 55-40 after three quarters. Mark Perrin paced Adventist with 55. Aaron Manswell added 13. Andrew McAllister led the Falcons with 16. Tyler Martell added 15. In the first half, Crawford resorted to a 2-3 zone and used their athleticism to cause their opponents grief. However, they could not mount much of a threat on offence without a half court system. Instead, they relied on 3-point shooting by Mark Perrin. On the other hand, Holy Trinity used an effective inside out game and hit five treys. They also scored a couple of transition hoops to build a slight lead at half time. Everything changed in the 2nd half. The Omega went to a full-court press and caused havoc for Holy Trinity. The Falcons were not able to continue their inside presence. Perrin continued to be a one-man scoring machine and he certainly made the difference. Crawford Adventist pulled away in the third quarter, their full-court press causing fits for the Falcons. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers crushed the 15th-seeded Timmins O’Gorman Knights 66-30 after leading 19-2, 36-8 and 53-16 at the quarters. Joel Whitty paced the Tigers with 11. Justus Lammell and Nick Chilvers each added 8. Peter Vachon led O’Gorman with 10. Thomas Baby added 6. Joel Whitty scored off the tip for the Tigers. He scored the next four points as Ridley built a 6-0 lead. Ridley used a half-court trap effectively and pushed the ball for some easy looks. They extended the lead to 15-0 with 2.5 minutes left. O’Gorman had a few chances but did not score until the 1:50 mark. The Tigers had a commanding lead at the quarter. Ridley was able to go to their bench liberally in the 2nd frame and extended the lead. Peter Vachon had a nice hoop and one for the Knights to highlight their first half. Ridley’s bench picked up where they left off and extended their lead to as many as 32. Ridley showed great hustle, especially getting to the offensive boards. Nick Chilvers had an effective half with some excellent inside work. The Tigers motion offence created a number of good looks too. Thomas Baby and Peter Vachon seemed to be the only scoring threats for the Knights. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Fort Erie Niagara Christian Navigators clipped the 12th-seeded South River Almaguin Highlands Secondary Highlanders 56-40 after leading 14-13 at the quarter, trailing 24-21 at the half and leading 40-33 after three quarters. Jesse Fraser led the Navigators with 22. Elisha de Waard added 8. David Lawes led the Highlanders with 19. Lucas Dermott added 8. Elisha de Waard opened the scoring for Niagara one minute into the game. The teams traded baskets for the next two minutes. Almaguin worked to get the ball inside and Steve Allen’s hoop and one gave the Highlanders their first lead at 7-6. David Lawes had two hoops in a row on fast breaks to extend their lead. They handled the Navigators pressure well. Two hoops off their own pressure allowed Niagara to reclaim the lead at 12-11. Adam Warkentin scored the first hoop of the 2nd quarter. Niagara extended their lead to 8 points after Jesse Fraser hit a trey. Almaguin fought back with hoops by Schell, Dermott and a pair by Lawes. With 1 minute and a half to go in the half, the Highlanders took a 22-21 lead. The second half was a better offensive showing. Niagara and Almaguin pushed the ball well and it was an up and down affair. The Navigators had key treys by Jesse Fraser to take a 38-33 lead with 2 minutes left in the 3rd. At the end of the quarter, Niagara had a growing lead. Brody Brimacombe scored the first hoop of the 4th for the Highlanders to close the gap. But Niagara converted the next two as the lead climbed to 11 points. David Lawes hit a big three with 3:18 to go and lead was down to six. But Niagara made their foul shots down the stretch. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames defeated the 13th-seeded Kenora St. Thomas Aquinas Saints 62-43 after leading 12-8, 25-17 and 50-26 at the quarters. Lucas Freidmann led the Flames with 14. Tim Minkarious added 12. Dan Boutwell led St. Thomas Aquinas with 14. Mike Douglas added 13. Both teams featured sloppy play in the first half committing a number of turnovers on bad passing. St. Thomas Aquinas used their quickness to score their points, some in transition. On the other hand, Rockway used their size and inside game and particularly the play of Colton Hood to take a convincing lead into half time. Rockway set the tone in the 3rd quarter with strong defence. They forced countless turnovers that led to easy transition baskets. Colton Hood once again controlled the inside as Rockway doubled their lead. During the 4th quarter Dan Boutwell from St. Thomas stepped up and played very strong offensively but the deficit was too large. Aquinas coach Joe Pelaia still thought his team could have done better. “I give the boys credit for playing hard because we were battling from behind,” said Pelaia. It was 4-4 after three minutes of play and Rockway called a timeout, according to Pelaia. “We had a bit of a jump on them, but not after they came out (of the timeout).” Pelaia said his team was missing layups and a lot of shots from the floor. Rockway went to Colin Hood, who at 6-8 was strong inside until part way through the second quarter, according to Pelaia. Dan Boutwell, 6-6, and Mike Douglas, 6-5, were able to neutralize that strategy. They also led the Saints in scoring with 14 and 13 points respectively. Rockway led 12-8 after the first quarter and 25-17 at the half — a score that should have been a lot closer, according to Pelaia. “I think it would have been a different game if we had kept our composure,” Pelaia said, indicating the third quarter was what killed any chance for the Saints. They were outscored 25-9. “We came out flat,” said Pelaia. “It was pretty much like we wanted to give them the rest of the game.” Pelaia looked on the opener as “a good learning lesson.” …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Carleton Place Notre Dame Catholic Flames defeated the 10th-seeded Ottawa E.S. Deslauriers Phenix 59-52 after leading 18-9, 33-29 and 48-43 at the quarters. Sean Macdonald led Notre Dame with 12. Beau Stroud-Patton and Kyle Skerkowski each added 9. Issack-Amis Osman-Aden and Blaise Mukinayi Mwenze each scored 11 to pace the Phenix. Notre Dame controlled the offensive boards in the first frame. They also shot very well both inside and out to take a convincing lead. The half-court game did not suit Deslauriers and so, in the 2nd quarter, they switched to full-court pressure and this got them some easy hoops in transition. They also picked up a number of fouls and this slowed the pace of the game considerably. At the end of the 2nd quarter, the Flames switched to a 2-3 zone and this allowed them to keep a slim lead over the Phenix at the half. The second half was foul filled. Both teams played poor defence committing a number of hand check fouls. The key moment in the game happened with 7 minutes left when Hesham Suffian fouled out for the Phenix. Having lost their point guard, Deslauriers could not mount enough of a challenge. The Flames made many of their free throws down the stretch hung on for the win. The Phoenix’ offence stagnated after point guard Hesham Suffian fouled out midway through the second half. Sean Macdonald paced Notre Dame with 12. Issack-Amis Osman-Aden and Blais Mwenze each scored 11 to lead Deslauriers.
In the elimination second round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Hamilton Mere-Teresa Jaguars crushed the Port Hope Trinity Catholic Bears 53-31 after leading 15-0, 32-9 and 50-21 at the quarters. Jimmy Belanga paced the Jaguars with 13. Alain Grubac added 9. Jon Austin led TCS (coached by Courtney Crist) with 8. Billy Lam added 5 and Charles-Evens Peltrop 5. The Jaguars jumped out to a huge lead in the first quarter with excellent man defence in the half court, forcing TCS to the perimeter without many good looks. At the same time, Mere Teresa passed the ball well in their half court set and shot well. Although the Bears slowed the play down, they could not generate any offence in the first quarter. TCS finally found their feet in the 2nd frame and played the Jaguars even until half time. The difference was the four treys that Mere-Teresa hit. In the 2nd half, the Bears worked the ball more efficiently, outscoring Mere Teresa 22-21 in the half. The Bears also included Michael Coffin, David Knowles, Sean Dimnik, David Zmozynski, Robert Frame and Samuel Davies. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Tecumseh Ecole Secondaire L’Essor Les Aigles edged the 8th-seeded Toronto Crawford Adventist Omega despite trailing 18-14, 32-25 and 45-42 at the quarters. The teams traded hoops to start the game in a fast-paced affair. Aaron Manswell scored two hoops in transition as the Omega led 8-4 at the 5:20 mark of the opening stanza. L’Essor fought back with smart play to tie the game at 10 with 2:30 to go. Les Aigles held Mark Perrin in check by playing a triangle and one. However, the Omega big men picked up the slack to give them the lead after 8 minutes. Manswell had to go out with three fouls at 6:00 minutes to give les Aigles an opportunity. At that point, Crawford led 22-18. Then Perrin picked up an offensive foul (his third) but he stayed in the game. To Crawford’s credit, their subs played tough on defence. At the half way point in the quarter, Crawford had extended their lead to eight at 26-18. Perrin had a huge dunk off a turnover and then another as the lead grew to 12 pts. However, he picked up his 4th foul just before half time! With their star on the bench, the Omega used full court pressure to good effect but also shot well to open the 2nd half. L’Essor had many good looks inside but missed far too many of them. Manswell, back in the game, had a couple of big hoops. With 3:42 left in the 3rd, the score was 43-31. L’Essor went on a great run to cut the lead to 3 points. The Mere Teresa coach then put Perrin but in surprisingly and he picked up his fifth foul just before the end of the quarter. At 6:45, les Aigles took the lead 47-45. With 2:30 to go, and the score tied, Crawford stole the ball twice and built a 4-point lead. But L’Essor tied it up and then Rob Abello hit a trey to pull out the win. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Fort Erie Niagara Christian Navigators whipped the 15th-seeded Timmins O’Gorman Knights 61-33 after leading 21-12, 29-20 and 55-29 at the quarters. Adam Warkentin led the Navigators with 12. Jesse Fraser added 10. Peter Vanchon and Thomas Baby each scored 10 to pace the Knights. Fort Erie Niagara Christian jumped out to an 8-0 lead before O’Gorman recovered. Both teams played man-to-man defence and the Navigators had the better of the defensive play in the 1st quarter. In the second quarter, the Knights played better D but the play got a bit ragged. Fort Erie Niagara Christian used full-court pressure effectively in the quarter to take a nine-point lead into the half. Jesse Fraser led the Navigators with 8 points while Peter Vachon scored 10 for the Knights. In the 3rd quarter, Fort Erie Niagara Christian was relentless with pressure and they blew the game open. Both teams substituted liberally in the 4th and there was little offence. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames edged the 10th-seeded Ottawa Deslauriers Phenix 66-62 after leading 16-12, 30-14 and 46-28 at the quarters. Colton Hood paced the Flames with 20. Tim Minkarious added 14 and Lucas Born 14. Blaise Mukinayi Mwenze paced Deslauriers with 32. The Phoenix (coached by Etienne Jacquet, assisted by Marc Sarzin and managed by Josee Levesque) also included Hesham Sufian, Issack Osman, Issaq Habane, Eleyeh Hassan, Jimmy Ngandu, Boris Kakesse, Jonathan Elenge, Libane Ahmed, Fouad Haddad, Schadrak Bastien, Henry Ngalaho and Farley Pierre-Louis. The teams traded hoops to start the game. A trey by Tim Mankarious gave Rockway a 7-4 lead at the 6:00 minute mark. Another three by Mike Hardy extended the lead to 12-4 with four minutes to play in the opening stanza. Blaise Mwenze scored, at the mid-point of the quarter, and Hesham Suffian made a free throw to narrow the gap to five points. However, Colton Hood proved a real presence inside for the Flames. The Phenix big men got into some foul trouble early trying to handle him. Boris Kakesse hit a three at the buzzer to cut the lead to 4 pts. Rockway stepped up their defence in the 2nd to extend the lead to nine points with 5 minutes left in the half. Colton Hood had two hoops late as the lead climbed to 14 points with a minute left. Christian Galarraga hit a trey to open the scoring in the 2nd half for Rockway. By the 3:30 mark, the Flames had opened up a 20-point lead at 42 to 22. Blaise Mwenze hit a three to end the quarter. Deslauriers made a game of it in the 4th and cut the lead to six. Later, Mwenze’s trey made it 56-51 at 2:25. The Phenix launched 3’s with great success down the stretch to cut the lead to 63-62. Mwenze went to the line down two with 3.5 seconds to go. However, the Flames prevailed when he missed both throws. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils nipped the 16th-seeded West Toronto Warriors 65-64. The Red Devils trailed 16-15 after one quarter and 32-21 at the half but led 49-46 after three quarters. Jack Beatty paced Woodstock with 26. Remington Dixon led West Toronto with 31. Darryl Jeannis added 25. In a run and gun first half, there were five lead changes. Both teams launched threes and, between the two teams, converted eight of them in the first half. Jack Beatty had 8 points for the Red Devils and Remington Dixon had the same for the Warriors. In the second half, it was more of the same. Both teams continued to run and the guards shot well. Beatty had a terrific game for the Red Devils and Dixon and Jeannus were equal for the Warriors. Beatty hit a key three late. Jeannis had a chance to tie it with 2 seconds to go but missed the lay-in. “It was touch-and-go the whole way,” Red Devils coach Chris Coyle said. “We’re getting pretty comfortable coming down to the last two minutes. But (West Toronto) was not a 16 seed; they were a lot better than the team we played in our first game.” …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded Desbarats Central Algoma Huskies defeated the 9th-seeded Cornwall Holy Trinity Falcons 50-44. The Huskies trailed 13-11 after one quarter but led 19-16 at the half and 37-28 after three quarters. Ryan Hurley led Central Algoma with 16. Ethan Campbell added 14. Tyler Martell paced Holy Trinity with 17. Dave McConnell added 10 and Andrew McAllister 10. Tyler Martell scored the opening hoop for Holy Trinity at the 7:00 minute mark. Ryan Hurley countered off an inbounds play a minute later to tie it up. The Huskies took their first lead of the game at 4:30 on an entry pass to Ethan Campbell and upped the lead shortly after on another hoop by Hurley. Holy Trinity used a 2-3 zone pressuring the guards. The gambling was handled well by Central Algoma who used their posts effectively. At the quarter, Holy Trinity held a slight lead. Hurley tied the game at the 7-minute mark of the 2nd frame and his offensive rebound and hoop gave the Huskies the lead at 15-13. Central Algoma also used a 2-3 zone and did a great job of taking care of the defensive boards. The Falcons were cold shooting from the perimeter. Trinity point guard Dane Fitzpatrick picked up his third foul at 2:25 and went to the bench. Central Algoma switched to man with the same effect. The Falcons seemed hesitant in the half court on offence, which allowed the Huskies to lead at the half. Two quick hoops by Holy Trinity gave them back a 20-19 lead at the 6:30 mark of the 3rd. They held a slim lead until the 3-minute mark when Seth Whitley scored. The Huskies went on a run and earned a 31-25 lead when Hurley hit a trey. Central Algoma did a good job of attacking the Falcons zone and clearly won the quarter. The Falcons closed the gap slightly but another big hoop by Hurley got the lead back to 8 at the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Martell had a big 3 to cut the lead to three points at 2:50. He had a nice move to narrow it to on point but Campbell replied. McDonell’s trey tied it at 44 but Campbell gave the Huskies the lead with 44 seconds to go. McConell missed a 3 and Seth Whitley finished off the Falcons with two free throws. The Falcons were coached by Jack Chisholm, Paul McAllister and Brian Butlin. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded St. Catharines Ridley Tigers clocked the 12th-seeded South River Almaguin Highlands Secondary Highlanders 55-42 after leading 16-9, 38-18 and 45-29 at the quarters. Joel Whitty led Ridley with 23. Liam Wright added 11. David Lawes paced Almaguin with 20. Lucas Dermott added 15. Almaguin Highlands got off to a good start and hung in with Ridley for much of the 1st quarter. Both teams played man defence in the stanza. The Tigers went inside successfully to lead by 7 points after 8 minutes. In the 2nd quarter, the Highlanders switched to a zone defence and it proved a mistake. Ridley point guard Joel Whitty broke down the zone easily. The Tigers also put on full-court press with good effect and controlled the transition game well. They had a commanding lead at half time. Both teams switched to zone at the start of the half and there was little scoring. When Ridley switched to man, Almaguin made the most of it and closed the lead to single digits. The Highlanders got as close as eight but the Tigers pulled away at the end. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Kenora St. Thomas Aquinas Saints edged 7th-seeded Carleton Place Notre Dame Catholic 67-60 after leading 17-2, 32-23 and 50-44 at the quarters. Logan Meija led Aquinas with 17. Michael Douglas added 17. Beau Stroud-Patton led Notre Dame with 17. Phillip Bee added 15. St. Thomas Aquinas worked the ball inside to score the first two baskets of the game. They extended their lead to 7-0 at the 3-minute mark. Ryan Dela Rosa made two nice entry passes to Daniel Boutwell as the lead climbed to 11 to 0 with two minutes to go. Notre Dame finally got on the board at 1:20 on a hoop by Beau Stroud-Patton. However, the Flames were cold shooting from the perimeter and the Saints took care of the defensive boards. Dela Rosa’ hit a trey at the end of the quarter to give St. Thomas Aquinas a commanding lead. However, Notre Dame fought back and showed a bit more patience on offence. With 3 minutes to go in the half, the Saints led 26-13. Though they won the quarter, St. Thomas great start allowed them to prevail at the half. Notre Dame went on a bit of a run to start the 3rd. At the 5:45 mark, they closed the gap to 3 pts. They continued their better play and knotted the game at 40 with just under three minutes to go in the quarter. Two threes by Saints put them back in the lead, 46-42. Boutwell’s hoop at the buzzer gave St. Thomas Aquinas the lead by six. The teams got very physical in the 4th and the intensity was raised a notch. With 5 minutes to play, the Saints led by 4. They extended their lead on a trey by Michael Douglas. With 2:00 to go the score was 63-56 for the Saints. The Flames hit a three to cut the lead to 5 with 50 seconds left.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Hamilton Mere-Teresa Jaguars whipped the 3rd-seeded Tecumseh E.S. L’Essor Les Aigles 85-41 after leading 20-5, 49-18 and 65-24 at the quarters. Alain Grubac led Mere-Teresa with 15. Kenan Etale added 12. Xavier Jones led L’Essor with 13. Matt Hickson added 9. Mere Teresa scored first 45 seconds into the match. Both teams seemed a bit tight. The Jaguars pushed the ball well and moved the ball effectively in the half court. When Steve Mucowintore hit a trey at the 6:10 mark, the score was 8-0. Mere Teresa was relentless with their defence in both the full and half court. L’Essor finally scored at 4:45 on a basket by Jordan Bas. However, three quick hoops with full-court pressure took the lead to 14-2. With a minute left in the quarter, they extended the lead to 17 points and clearly had command of the contest. The Jaguars fast break was unstoppable as they continued to push with ball with great success. With 4:36 to go, the score was already out of reach at 31-11. It was more of the same down the stretch. Mere Teresa kept the pace up to start the 2nd half. They scored the first 8 points of the half. The game see-sawed for a bit as both teams substituted. At the quarter, the Jaguars led by 41. The 4th quarter became a run and gun fest as both teams thought a shot clock was in play. At the midway point in the final stanza, the score was 80-30.
The 6th-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils dumped the 14th-seeded Desbarats Central Algoma Huskies 50-33 after leading 16-4, 35-16 and 38-24 at the quarters. Jack Beatty led Woodstock with 18. Mark Hazelberger added 12. Ryan Hurley led Central Algoma with 11. Ethan Campbell added 6. There was no scoring early as the teams tested each other’s defences. Matt Benner opened the scoring but Ethan Campbell quickly replied at the 6-minute mark. WCI did great work in the half court and caused a number of turnovers with great pressure. They held a 12-point lead at the end of the quarter thanks to a trey by Duncan Robinson. Jack Beatty had 7 pts. for the Red Devils in the quarter. He scored the first hoop of the second but Colton King hit a 3 in response. Central Algoma cut the lead to 9 at 6:30. At 4:28, Seth Whitley picked up his 3rd foul and went to the bench for the remainder of the half. At that point, it was 26-13. WCI was able to command the boards without him in the game although Ryan Hurley did his best to stem the tide. His hoop and one at the 1:00 minute mark cut the lead to 30-18. A steal by Beatty and a hoop by Morgan Hart extended the lead at the half to 19 points. The 2nd half started out in a similar fashion to the start of the game as both teams had trouble getting the ball in the basket. In fact, only one point was scored in the first 4 minutes of the third quarter. At the end of the third quarter Ryan Hurley for the Huskies was the only contributor for his team, scoring 6 points. Morgan Hart scored 2 points and Matt Benner sunk one foul shot for Woodstock. At 6:43, the Huskies had reduced the lead to 12 points at 38-26. However, Beatty hit a 2 and a trey to extend the lead to 17 again. Mike Kivell had a big hoop and took a big charge at the midpoint of the quarter as the score grew to 47-28. Both teams traded hoops but Woodstock was too much for the Huskies. “The game was never in doubt, it seemed, which was great,” Red Devils coach Chris Coyle said. “Those close games we won (in the first two rounds) gave us come confidence. We had a good scouting report on (Central Algoma). We pounded our defence inside and doubled down and it befuddled them.”
The 4th-seeded Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames edged the 5th-seeded Fort Erie Niagara Christian Navigators 53-50 after leading 17-12, 31-26 and 40-38 at the quarters. Colton Hood led Rockway with 20. Tim Minkarious added 19. Graham Hogg led Fort Erie Niagara Christian with 11. Elisha de Waard added 10 and Jason Zhang 9. The game opened with a Niagara hoop by Jesse Fraser. Tim Minkarious replied with back to back hoops for Rockway. They led 4 to 2 at the five-minute mark. Colton Hood then scored for the Flames and it was clear that he would be hard to stop with a big size advantage. He scored 6 points in a row off passes over the top. At the 2:00 mark, it was 15 to 11 for Rockway. Fort Erie Niagara Christian’s pressure gave the Flames some grief and they ran the floor well when they got the chance. It was a contrast in two styles of play. At the quarter, Rockway held a five-point lead and they maintained it through to the half. At the start of the 2nd half, Rockway opened a 10-point lead after a hoop by Hood. The Navigators recovered and the teams traded hoops. Jesse Fraser then picked up two quick fouls and had to go to the bench. The team responded to their leader’s absence and cut the lead to 4 points at 3:20. A steal and a hoop by Brad Reinhardt made it a two-point game and they tied it shortly after that. The Flames got a hoop at the end of the frame to hold the narrowest of leads. Dean Warkentin’s trey at the start of the 4th gave Fort Erie Niagara Christian a brief lead. At 6:30, the Flames led 44-41 after a score by Hood. Jason Zhang’s 3-point play tied the game at 4:20. Niagara took their first lead at 48-47. Lucas Friedman gave Rockway the lead back with a 3 at 2:40. Adam Warkentin took a great charge to save another hoop. With 43 seconds left, the Flames led 52-48. Tim Minkarious made some big free throws but a bad foul by Lucas Friedman gave Warkentin 3 fouls shots with 2 seconds left. The Navigators (coach Shamus Bourdon) also included
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded St. Catharines Ridley Tigers clubbed the 13th-seeded Kenora St. Thomas Aquinas Saints 59-35. The score was knotted at 15 after one quarter. Ridley led 30-22 at the half and 43-27 after three quarters. Joel Whitty led Ridley with 17. Liam Wright added 14. Daniel Boutwell led Aquinas with 11. Byron Dela Rosa added 8. Ridley turned the ball over a couple of times as St. Thomas Aquinas built a 5-0 lead. Joel Whitty hit a three and another basket tied the game at 6:30. The game was knotted at 7’s with 5 minutes left in the quarter. The Saints scored three hoops to take a 14-9 lead. There was not much scoring in the rest of the quarter as both teams played very physically inside denying good opportunities. Early in the 2nd, Ridley’s pressure got to the Saints and the Tigers led 21-15 at the 6-minute mark. Two more steals and it was suddenly a 10-point advantage. Both Whitty and Kalindaga picked up their 3rd fouls at the midpoint of the quarter to give the Saints some hope. St. Thomas cut the lead to 6 points with 2 minutes in the half. It was back and forth for the rest of the remainder of the half. In the second half, Ridley took control early and led 37-24 at the half way point. Ridley then went into a delay game to work some time off the clock. They were patient and increased their lead in the process. In the 4th quarter, it was more of the same.
In the semis, the top-seeded Hamilton Mere-Teresa Jaguars stomped the 4th-seeded Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames 62-48. Rockway led 17-12 after one quarter. Mere-Teresa led 34-31 at the half and 45-40 after three quarters. Kenan Etale led the Jaguars with 20. Alain Grubac notched 22. Colton Hood scored 21 for Rockway. Lucas Friedman added 8. Rockway won the tip but Hood missed a bunny inside. Mere Teresa came down and hit two free throws to open the scoring. Dan Wismer replied for Rockway to even the score. The Jaguars went into their running game and established the tempo early on to take a 6-2 lead at the 6:40 mark. Mere Teresa’s half-court trap was terrific and the Flames felt the pressure. A basket by Lucas Friedman closed the gap to 8-6 at the 3:50 mark. Alain Grubac committed a foul on a trey and went to the bench with two early fouls. With 3 minutes in the quarter, it was 10-9 Jaguars. Rockway took their first lead on a 3 by Lucas Friedman at 1:50. Minkarious’ hoop on a break gave the Flames a five-point lead with a minute to go and they maintained it to the end of the quarter. Hood and Etale exchanged hoops to start the 2nd. With 4:30 to go, the Flames continued to lead 21-16. Alain Grubac’s trey gave Mere Teresa back the lead at 23 to 22 and he hit another. Hood responded with two hoops inside to tie it at 26 with 2:50 to go. It was back and forth for the remainder of the half. A baseline jumper by Jimmy Bilenga at the buzzer gave the Jaguars a three-point lead at the half. The second half opened with free throws by Steve Mucowintore. He made one of them and Alain Grubac’s score on a break pushed the lead to 6 points. Mere Teresa applied some full court pressure over the next couple of minutes but the Flames handled it well. Mike Hardy picked up his 3rd foul with 3:22 left but he stayed in the game. At that point, it was 43-37 for the Jaguars. A hoop by Friedman cut the lead to 43 to 40 with 2 minutes to go in the quarter. Etale’s hoop extended the lead to 5 at the end of 3 quarters. To open the 4th, Hardy picked up his 4th foul and Grubac made both free throws. Minkarious then made a 3 to reduce it to a 4-point game. A steal and a hoop by Grubac and a 3 by Kangu extended the lead to 9 pts with 6:20 to go in the game. They pushed it 11 before Rockway called a timeout. Etale made his second in a row and with 4:20 left, the score was 58-45. Mere Teresa then went to the delay offence to close out the win. A steal and a layup by Alain Grubac and a three by Beni Kangu allowed the Jaguars to pull away with 6:20 to go in the game. They pushed it 11 and cruised to the victory. The Jaguars trailed 17-12 after the first quarter but led 34-31 at the half and 45-40 after three quarters. “We just wore them down,” Vaillancourt told the Hamilton Spectator. “They couldn’t match our fast break.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers defeated the 6th-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils 62-53. Woodstock led 20-19 after one quarter and 32-30 at the half. Ridley led 42-39 after three quarters. Joel Whitty led Ridley with 27. Liam Wright added 11. Marc Hazelberger paced Woodstock with 23. Jack Beatty added 12. Ridley won the tip but Woodstock stole the ball and Beatty hit a trey to open the scoring. Dillon Pizale replied for the Tiger’s first score but Moose quickly scored for the Red Devils. Joel Whitty hit a trey to tie the game at five with 6:10 to go. Whitty hit another 3 to give Ridley its first lead at 8-6. Liam Wright had one of his own and it was 11-6 with 5 minutes left. Moose had two big hoops for Woodstock to keep it close. It was 13-10 at the half way mark of the first. A hoop by Mike Kivell cut the lead to 16 to 14 with 2:40 to go. Whitty hit yet another 3 at 2:00 to push the lead to five. A missed call on a kicked ball and a layup by Beatty gave Woodstock the lead at the quarter. Moose made two free throws to start the second quarter. He had an inside hoop shortly thereafter as the lead grew to 3 at the five-minute mark. Kivell made it a five-point lead before Whitty hit a 3 with 3:00 to go in the half. Kivell came back with one of his own and Kalindaga scored on the break. It was 32-30 for the Red Devils with 2 minutes left in the half and that is the way it stayed. In the second half, it was a lot of back and forth with a number of lead changes. With a minute and a half to go in the quarter, Amos had a big hoop to give the Tigers a one-point lead. At the end of three quarters, Ridley held a slight lead. The teams traded hoops to open the final quarter. Both squads made the most of their opportunities; the Tigers stayed ahead barely. At the 6:20 mark, it was 46-44. Wright’s 3 extended the lead to 4 with 4 minutes to go. Kalindaga picked up his 4th foul and Moose made two throws. With 3:55 to go, it was 51-49. Whitty then hit a huge trey with 2 minutes to go to give the Tigers a five-point lead. Moose got called for a charge to turn the ball over and Ridley went into their delay offence. Beatty fouled out as Ridley went to the line.
In the bronze medal match, the 4th-seeded Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames dumped the 6th-seeded Woodstock Collegiate Red Devils 48-42 after leading 25-21 at the half. Dan Wismer and Colton Hood each scored 13 for Rockway. Jack Beatty led Woodstock with 14. Mike Kivell added 10. The game started with good intensity and strong defence on both ends of the court. Rockway played in your face man to man while Woodstock formed a tight zone. The play was physical but the players had problems converting from the free throw line. Neither team had much success offensively; the score was tied at 7 a piece at the end of the quarter. The battle continued in the second quarter. Both teams were fighting to get inside baskets and unfortunately this led to fouls. Colton Hood was forced to take a seat with more than three minutes to go in the half because he had three fouls. This did not slow Rockway’s momentum and by the end of the half they were up by four points. The third quarter saw more of the same; hard physical basketball at both ends of the court. Both teams had some big three pointers scored by Tim Minkarious (Rockway) and Jack Beatty (WCI). Woodstock was not ready to throw in the towel. Hard takes to the hoop by player like Mike Kivell brought the score back to a tie. Rockway had to wait four minutes before they could put some points up on the board. The teams traded baskets and went to the foul line in the final minutes as Woodstock tried to bring down Rockway. But in the end, it wasn’t enough. “For a lot of guys, this was their last year,” said Rockway coach Bernie Burnett, who may lose his entire starting lineup to graduation this spring. “They just put it all out on the table.” Dan Wismer and Colton Hood each had 13 points. “It’s pretty emotional,” said Burnett. “It was a great year. It’s wonderful to go out on a winning note. This is fabulous bunch of guys.”
In the final, the top-seeded Hamilton Mere-Teresa Jaguars defeated the St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers 54-44. Ridley led 13-7 after one quarter and 21-20 at the half. The Jaguars led 41-29 after three quarters. Kenan Etale paced Mere-Teresa with 17. Alain Grubac added 11. Joel Whitty paced Ridley with 18. Liam Wright added 9. The Jaguars trailed 13-7 after the first quarter and 21-20 at the half but turned it on in the third to salt away the victory. “They had a strategy to hold the ball and keep it away from us on offence, so that we couldn’t score,” Jaguars coach Martin Vaillancourt told the Hamilton Spectator. “We dislodged a couple of balls, stole some others and scored some points. Then we kept our composure, made our foul shots and ended up winning the game. I’m very proud of this team. All of them from the seniors to our freshmen.” Kenan Etale, who was in foul trouble early, led the Jaguars attack with 17 points. Alain Grubac added 11. “We only missed one or two foul shots down the stretch and that was key,” said Vaillancourt. “They started fouling us with more than three minutes left in the game.”
The bronze medalist Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames: Lucas Freidmann; Tim Minkarious; Colton Hood; Lucas Born; Christian Galarraga; Dan Wismer; Mike Hardy; Dan Wismer;
The silver medalist St. Catharines Ridley Tigers: Joel Whitty; Justus Lammel; Nick Chilvers; Liam Wright; Dillon Pizale; Steveland Brown-Darrell; Brett Cardas; Ted Chen; Amos Kalindaga; Andrew Mahn; Lucas Querengesser; coach David Whitty; assistant John Dakin; assistant Walt Szpilewski; manager Adam Hutt; manager Scott Cummings; manager David Devine
The gold medalist Hamilton Academie Catholique Mere-Teresa Jaguars: Daniel McAlonan; Daniel Batarseh; Steve Mucowintore; Alain Grubac; Marc Musungai; Beni Kangu; Jimmy Bilenga; Kenan Etale; Elvis Momat; Philippe Charbonneau; Brenden Springer; Kevin Amisso; Glody Madymba; Jesse Duguay; coach Martin Vaillancourt; assistant Vincent Charbonneau; assistant Dwayne Washington; assistant Bobby Croft;