In the opening seeding round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded North Bay Ecole Secondaire Algonquin Barons edged the 11th-seeded Fort Erie Niagara Christian Community of Schools Navigators 50-46. The Navigators led 20-7, 27-26 and 39-38 at the quarters. Tanner Owca paced the Barons with 17 points. Ricky Dussault added 15 and Gabriel Rancourt 8, along with 8 boards. Joshua Dikau paced the Navigators with 14 points and 16 boards. Leo Cheng added 12 and Nonso Anyakwo 11. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded London District Christian Pioneers dumped the 16th-seeded Walkerton Raiders 50-38 after leading 14-10, 27-16 and 42-29 at the quarters. “It was scrappy. We started well, then we didn’t play well. Today I think we played two good quarters,” said Pioneers coach Jerry Roukema, whose squad was 3-for-16 from beyond the arc. “We played solid defence for most of the game and we made a basket when we really needed to make a basket, but overall we just didn’t shoot well and I think it was just jitters.” Taylor de Schiffert paced the Pioneers with 23. Shawn Brus added 11. J.D. West led the Raiders with 21. Colton Marois added 10. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Collingwood Pretty River Academy Predators nipped the 9th-seeded Toronto St. Patrick Catholic Patriots 63-60. St. Patrick led 18-17, 28-25 and 45-43 at the quarters. Sam Hirst paced the Predators with 36 points and 10 boards. Cole Thomson added 19. Mark Gahite led St. Patrick with 16. Gaethan Kitadi added 15. …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded Hammond St. Francis Xavier Falcons stunned the 8th-seeded Kapuskasing District Kolts 46-41 in overtime. The Kolts led 10-5 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 19 at the half. The Kolts led 25-24 after three quarters and the score was knotted at 30 after regulation. Christopher MacDonald paced St. Francis Xavier with 15. Justin Diederich added 10 and Blake Rennick 10. Chris Smith led the Colts with 17. Jackson Malenfant added 12. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Lasalle St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Wildcats stomped the 12th-seeded Toronto Runnymede Redmen 66-23 after leading 18-9, 32-11 and 53-16 at the quarters. Gianmario Luciani led the Wildcats with 22 points and 14 boards. Domenic Battistella added 13 and Vincenzo di Vito 13. Tevon Noble led the Redmen with 14. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers dumped the 15th-seeded Burlington Aldershot Lions 51-40. The Lions led 14-13 after one quarter. The Tigers led 24-20 at the half and 36-29 after three quarters. Nick Green paced the Tigers with 17. Justin Symonette added 10 and Cameron Sweetnam 8. Jacob Lindgren led the Lions with 12. Matthew Cooper added 11 and Filip Milutinovic 9. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Ottawa Ecole Secondaire Omer-Deslauriers Phoenix clubbed the 10th-seeded Renfrew Collegiate Raiders 65-35 after leading 17-14, 36-24 and 50-31 at the quarters. Alibasha Maidal paced the Phoenix with 19. John Annilysse added 17 and Jonathan Proulx 15. Jacob Crilly led the Raiders with 15. Joshua Hudson added 9. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Windsor Ecole Secondaire Catholique Lajeunesse Le Royal clipped the 13th-seeded Kenora St. Thomas Aquinas Saints 64-47. Aquinas led 12-9 after one quarter. Le Royal led 32-22 at the half and 44-33 after three quarters. Justin Graham paced Le Royal with 16. Hassan Farhat added 15 and Alex Rutayisire 10. Alex Gamboa led St. Thomas Aquinas with 16. Jacob Boutwell added 9.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… North Bay Ecole Secondaire Algonquin Barons crushed the 16th-seeded Walkerton Raiders 56-31 after leading 24-11, 36-16 and 46-23 at the quarters. Gabriel Rancourt led the Barons with 11. Ricky Dussault added 7. Coulton Fischer paced the Raiders with 7. The Raiders (coached by David West, assisted by Dan Rourke) also included Calvin Robinson, Carson Blodgett, Greg Simpson, Nelson Gayman, Callum Schaus, Colton Marois-Molson, Keenan Soers, Connor Critchfield, J.D. West, Josh Freer and Josh Jensen. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto St. Patrick Catholic Patriots dumped the 14th-seeded Hammond St. Francis Xavier Falcons 64-49. St. Francis Xavier led 10-8 after one quarter. St. Patrick led 33-21 at the half and 48-31 after three quarters. Gaethan Kitadi paced St. Patrick with 24 points and 13 boards. Mark Gahite added 13. Christopher MacDonald led St. Francis Xavier with 24. St. Francis Xavier (coached by David MacKinnon, assisted by Scott Stoqua), also included Nick Gauthier, Keith Lavictoire, Blake Rennick, Jonathan Fidaoui, Zachery Barber, Pat Crete, Ryan Long, Justin Diederich, David Clingen, James McDonald and Joe Mariutti. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers clipped the 12th-seeded Toronto Runnymede Redmen 54-41 after leading 13-8, 28-19 and 42-31 at the quarters. Nick Green paced the Tigers with 23 on 7-13 from beyond the arc. Geno Bullard added 9, along with 10 boards and 10 assists, while Cam Sweetnam scored 8. Nadder Abdelkadir paced the Redmen with 13. Tevon Noble added 10. The Redmen (coached by John Kalantzkos) also included Andre Abdul, Ebun Tomiwa, Yahye Musse, Salman Hersi, Travaun Brown-Henry, Mohamed Hazzan, Ibrahim Mohamed, Mustafe Mohamed, Tosin Tomiwa and Jahvoni Greaves. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Ottawa Ecole Secondaire Omer-Deslauriers Phoenix stomped the 13th-seeded Kenora St. Thomas Aquinas Saints 75-54 after leading 24-8, 40-23 and 57-37 at the quarters. Jean Jacques Ngandu paced the Phoenix with 19. John Annilysse added 17, along with 11 boards. Alex Gamboa led St. Thomas Aquinas with 28. Devon Luby added 9. St. Thomas Aquinas (coached by J. Pelaia, assisted by R. Amell, G. Brunton, W. Henry, K. Sundmark and A. Van Belleghem) also included Jacob Boutwell, Jarrod Sundmark, Ryan Landon, Tyson Beckerton, Noah Gilfix, Patrick Van Belleghem, Keaton Markham, Aaron Burgess, Storm Baker, Madison Meija, Kevin Schabler, Brent Muckle and Dalton James-Yeomans. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded London District Pioneers edged the 11th-seeded Fort Erie Niagara Christian Community of Schools Navigators 53-45 after leading 13-3, 26-15 and 38-29 at the quarters. Michael Haagsma paced the Pioneers with 14 points and 15 boards. Josh de Schiffert added 11 points and 10 boards. Joshua Dikau led the Navigators with 14. Leo Chang paced the Navigators with 17. Joshua Dikau added 14, along with 9 boards. The Navigators (coached by Shamus Bourdon, assisted by Elizabeth Giles and Anthony Haughton) also included Timothy Spadzinski, Novak Liu, Nonso Anyakwo, Jason Hsu, Benny Chu, Peter Tou, Aaron Tang, Benjamin Sin, Marco Wong, Jason Tse and Damilola Olabintan. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Collingwood Pretty River Academy Predators clubbed the 8th-seeded Kapuskasing District Kolts 47-25 after leading 8-6, 24-8 and 35-13 at the quarters. Sam Hirst paced the Predators with 14. Devon Thomson added 9. Tyler Swieca led the Kolts with 8. Jackson Malenfant added 7. The Kolts (coached by Norm Belanger, assisted by Matthew Wainwright and Karen Parenteau) also included Kyle Larochelle, Terrance Shadd, Chris Smith, Connor Lincez, Matthew Huot, Jacob Prokopick, Peter Robinson, Donovan Rocheleau and Maxime St-Amour. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Lasalle St. Thomas of Villanova Wildcats crushed the 15th-seeded Aldershot Lions 54-34 after leading 12-8, 33-13 and 44-16 at the quarters. Gianmarco Luciani paced the Wildcats with 18. Joshua Antonucci added 11 and Domenic Battistella 10, along with 10 boards. Matthew Cooper led Aldershot with 12. The Lions (coached by Nick Manojlovic, assisted by Jeff Boelhouwer, Jamie Bothwell and Robin Slack) also included Brett King, Prabhdeep Bahesha, Robert Ballantyne, Nathan Cooper, Josh Kenel, Connor Newcombe, James Rybicki, Ahmed Ahmed, Jacob Lindgren, Filip Milutinovic, Ryan Dinney, Jor Paler, Dylan Thayer, Cole Clementino, Zachary Morrison and Ryan Dunaway. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Renfrew Collegiate Raiders knocked off the 7th-seeded Windsor Ecole Secondaire Catholique Lajeunesse Le Royal 65-57. Le Royal led 19-15 after one quarter. The Raiders led 33-32 at the half and 44-39 after three quarters. Jacob Crilly paced the Raiders with 29. Gordon Gaddess added 10. Eric Tshituka led Le Royal with 21 points and 10 boards. Justin Ghanem added 19. Le Royal also included Ramzy Saka, Hassan Farhat, Joe-Pierre Ghanem, Alex Rutayisire, Ismail Abbas, Gassan Beydoun, Mike Meho and Mohanned Chafchak.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded North Bay Ecole Secondaire Algonquin Barons nipped the 9th-seeded Toronto St. Patrick Catholic Patriots 53-51 after leading 12-8, 25-22 and 37-32 at the quarters. Tanner Owca led the Barons with 14 points and 13 boards. Ricky Dussault added 14. Gaethan Kitadi and Mark Gahite each scored 17 to lead The Patriots (coached by Jason Grant, assisted by Andrew Peacock, Tony Savelli and Justin Slevin), which also included Roshane Dunkly, Rakeem Alleyne, Yohan Peiris, Anthony Buckman, Paolo Pioquinto and Zackery Anderson.
The 3rd-seeded Collingwood Pretty River Academy Predators edged the 6th-seeded London District Christian Pioneers 62-58. The Predators led 14-12 after one quarter and 31-30 at the half. The score was knotted at 45 after three quarters. The Pioneers led by six with 3.5 five minutes to play but collapsed down the stretch. “It was a game of spurts,” Pioneers coach Jerry Roukema said. “We started strong and they caught up. We’d go back in front and they’d catch up again. We had a couple of crucial turnovers down the stretch and then we had to foul and they made their free throws. But that’s as good as my team can play. When we started this back in November, we were thinking in the back of our minds that we could make it to OFSAA, but we weren’t really counting on being in the top eight. We got here with a bunch of kids who are mostly in Grade 10 or 11.” Cole Thomson led the Predators with 25. Sam Hirst added 22 and Connor Gulley 12, along with 10 boards. Shawn Brus and Taylor de Schiffert each scored 19 to pace the Pioneers (coached by Jerry Roukema, assisted by Jerome de Schiffert) who also included Christian Bartley, Jeremy Devries, Michael Haagsma, Cole Kelly, Eric Gofroth, Ryan Wesselson, Zac Kingma, Josh de Schiffert, Phil Kroesbergen and David Kraan.
The 5th-seeded St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers edged the 4th-seeded Ottawa Ecole Secondaire Omer-Deslauriers Phoenix 62-56 in overtime. The Phoenix led 16-14 after one quarter. The Tigers led 33-30 at the half. The score was knotted at 41 after three quarters and at 54 after regulation play. Geno Bullard fed Cam Sweetnam for a decisive backdoor layup in the extra session. “We’ve been trying it all season and it’s finally working out,” Sweetnam said. “Geno had a great game. The main thing was execution this time. All the little, small shots underneath, we made them, where during the season it was a constant battle to get those in. That’s probably the best game we’ve played all season. We’ve had a lot of close games, and I guess that was the experience showing. For a lot of us senior guys, it could have been our final game — and we didn’t want it to be. No way!” The Tigers trailed by seven early in the game, but kept battling back and there was never more than a four-point margin. With their size advantage, the Phenix effectively shut down Tigers scoring leader Nicky Green, holding him to eight points, well below his average of 15 a game, and held the edge in rebounds. Ridley countered by shooting 62.5% for the game. “We probably got four or five clutch shots from the whole starting lineup that got us the win,” Sweetnam said. And the execution of the game plan to perfection, head coach Walt Szpilewski said. “They played tremendous defence against a much bigger team and a very skilled team. Kudos to the kids — we’ve been up and down. Fortunately today, they were up and it took us to the semis. But I couldn’t be happier for the kids. Down the stretch, Geno carried the play and made the right decisions the whole game. All the kids contributed, and I couldn’t ask for more than what they did today.” Geno Bullard paced the Tigers with 20. Justin Symonette added 15. John Annilysse led the Phoenix with 15. Jonathan Proulx added 14. The Phoenix (coached by Alain Cadieux, assisted by Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie and Sonya Mazerolle) also included Anas Mifta-Idrissi, Amine Miftah-Idrissi, Miguil Miguil, Mahad Musse, Jonathan Mbayi, Abdoulaye Diallo, Jean Jacques Ngandu, Khader Miguil, Alibasha Maidal, Yazid Alaoui and Moustapa Wara.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Windsor Villanova Wildcats whipped the 10th-seeded Renfrew Collegiate Raiders 62-29 after leading 16-9, 33-19 and 49-29 at the quarters. Dominic Battistella led the Wildcats with 15 points and 13 boards. Gianmarco Luciani added 15 and 10, while David Monaco scored 15. Joshua Hudson paced the Raiders with 8. The Raiders (coached by Adam Noack, assisted by Craig Beattie and John Windle) also included Joel Corbin, Gordon Gaddess, Liam Beattie, Waqas Khurshid, Jacob Crilly, Chase Cotie, Connor Jamieson, T.C. Fraser, Cooper Brown, Abe Element, Bruce Cole and Mark Hibbins.
In the semis, the 5th-seeded St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers clipped the top-seeded North Bay Ecole Secondaire Algonquin Barons 55-42. The Barons led 11-9 after one quarter and 23-17 at the half. The Tigers led 41-30 after three quarters. Nick Green paced the Tigers with 17. Weston Saunders added 12 and Cameron Sweetnam 12. Tanner Owca led the Barons with 14. Ricky Dussault added 10.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Collingwood Pretty River Academy Predators nipped the 2nd-seeded Windsor Villanova Wildcats 33-32. The Wildcats led 11-4 after one quarter and 22-13 at the half. The Predators led 29-26 after three quarters. Cole Thomson paced the Predators with 11. Sam Hirst added 11. David Monaco led the Wildcats with 12. Vincenzo Di Vito added 10 and Domenic Battistella 4, along with 13 boards.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Windsor Villanova Wildcats clipped the top-seeded North Bay Ecole Secondaire Algonquin Barons 61-50 after leading 17-13, 32-21 and 48-33 at the quarters. Domenic Battistella paced the Wildcats with 17 points and 12 boards. Vincenzo di Vito added 16 and Gianmarco Luciani 14, along with 9 boards. Ricky Dussault led the Barons with 18. Tanner Owca added 16. The Barons (coached by Tim Lowe, assisted by Patrick Lalonde and Kerry Sullivan) also included Mathyeu Wimard, Anthony Foreshaw, Zac Moeltner, Mathew Blanchfield, Spencer Hunt, Connor Jones, Gabriel Rancourt, Nicholas Lecompte and Alex Fay.
In the final, the 3rd-seeded Collingwood Pretty River Academy Predators edged the 5th-seeded St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers 47-45 in overtime after leading 16-8, 32-21 and 34-30 at the quarters. Sam Hirst hit a desperation three-point shot at the end of regulation to force overtime, then hit two of his team’s three foul shots in the extra period to give the Collingwood private school its first OFSAA title. The Tigers earned their third silver medal in as many trips to the Ontario championship final. They’d battled back from a 13-point deficit early in the third quarter to lead in the final 30 seconds of the game. Weston Saunders hit a bank shot with 24.3 seconds to go and a foul made it 44-41, only to have the Predators tie it up on Hirst’s desperation shot. “For many of our players, this was their last game and we knew we didn’t want it to be a bad one,” the 6-1 Saunders said. “We wanted it to end on a good note, but they came out the better team in the end.” The Bahamas native hoped his three-point play would be enough, “but in basketball, anything can happen. He hit a nice three. He didn’t even see the basket, but it drained. That’s basketball. … We had a tough route. We had good teams to play and we thought the seeding was a little off, but we still made it to the final.” Tigers coach Walt Szpilewski, who has been to 11 OFSAA tournaments over the years and finished second seven times, said his team played its best basketball of the season. “That’s the best series of basketball we’ve played in a stretch. I don’t know what got inside the kids’ heads, but they put it together and we came up one foul shot short. I don’t know what more we can do, the poor kids. Then that kid drains a hope shot to tie it with no time left on the clock. It just wasn’t meant to be.” Predators coach Chris Fischer wasn’t overly surprised with Hirst’s effort. “He’s been doing that all year and last year. He had three of those last year. He was just clutch in the final. He gave us the overtime and we were able to pull out the win.” Fischer was surprised by the Tigers’ comeback. “That team is tenacious. They never give up and just keep pounding away. “Sam Hirst paced Pretty River with 21. Cole Thomson added 10. Weston Saunders led the Tigers with 18. Nick Green and Cameron Sweetnam each added 7.
The bronze medalist Lasalle St. Thomas of Villanova Wildcats: Gianmario Luciani; Domenic Battistella; Joshua Antonucci; David Monaco; Vincenzo di Vito; Richard Pilliteri; Roberto Provenzano; Patrick Minuti; Andrew Sarnese;
The silver medalist St. Catharines Ridley College Tigers: Nick Green; Justin Symonette; Cameron Sweetnam; Geno Bullard; Weston Saunders; Loren Chen; Felix Schluter; George Umeh; Jake Kelsey; Bryson Cook; Keir MacKay; Nicholas Green; Arturs Pavlovs; Michael Stafford; coach Walt Szpilewski; assistant D.C. Whitty; assistant R.G. Martinez
The champion Collingwood Pretty River Academy Predators: Sam Hirst; Cole Thomson; Devon Thomson; Connor Gulley; Tassilo Schmidt; Evan Kotler-Davison; Walker Scarrow; Nick Anderson; Ben Pratt; Robin Matchett; Hayden Westgate; Matthew Velanoff; coach Chris Fischer; assistant Katie Holmes