In the opening round, held in Brantford: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Guelph St. James Lions defeated the 11th-seeded Mississauga Westwood Wildcats 68-53 as James Gillingham scored 24, Mike King 14 and Chris Scott 11. The Lions led 42-25 at the half. Lion Darren Veira told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we usually score more than that, but we did a good job defensively.” Lions coach Mick Sharpe said “that was not our best game offensively. In fact, I would say we were horrible based on the number of shots we missed. But we stopped them from getting close to the basket and played the kind of great defence I’m not sure they had seen before.” Dwayne Jones led the Wildcats with 15. …………………………………………………… The host Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles edged the 13th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords 71-67 as J.S. Esposito scored 13 (also reported as 29). Esposito hit two free throws with 2.8 seconds to play to ice the win. The Green Eagles led 24-9 after one quarter but Lord Blair Means shut down Esposito as Nelson rallied to within 38-35 at the half. The Lords oped the second half with a 6-0 run but David Quinlan countered with a pair of treys for the Green Eagles. Nelson rallied down the stretch to a 67-66 lead but Quinlan hit two free throws with 49.3 seconds to play. Danny Johnson added a free throw with 9.8 seconds to play and then Esposito hit the insurance points. Esposito told the Brantford Expositor that “last night we had a foul shooting contest and I made 40 in a row. That’s what you practice your foul shots for.” Green Eagles coach Tim O’Neail said “it’s OFSAA so you can expect some tough games in every round. … We seemed to lose our momentum. We got off to a nice start and into a nice flow. I knew they’d be tough even though they were the 13th-seed. Their coach Bob Stacey is very good. He always gets the most out of his players.” Wade Currie led the Lords with 18. The Lords were invited to the draw after the Oshawa champ declined to travel to Brantford. As a GHAC rep had won OFSAA in 1998, the association was given a second entry. Lords coach Bob Stacey told the Hamilton Spectator that “I give our boys credit for taking it overboards. We were tight and I guess that’s just part of our youth.” …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints clipped the 15th-seeded Kingston Bayridge Blazers 53-37 as Andre Noel scored 17, Darell Phillips 13 and Ola Matti 11. Mike Stevenson led the Blazers with 14. Commerce led 36-33 at the half. Mike Stevenson led Bayridge with 14. Dave Dempster added 7. “We got worn down in the fourth quarter and had to foul intentionally down the stretch,” Bayridge coach Doug Fraser told the Kingston Whig-Standard. “It ended up being a 16-point ball game but really, it was more like a six-point game. I thought we played a good game.” …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Windsor W.F. Herman Green Griffins defeated the 16th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Basil Saints 70-31. Herman led 30-13 at the half. Cortez Borders paced Herman with 14. O.J. Atogwe added 13 and Steve Ademolu 9. Steve Booth paced St. Basil with 8. Dave Culina added 6 and Matt Pavoni 6. Saints coach Lou Mazzuca told the Sault Star that “we couldn’t break their pressure, otherwise we could have played with them. We were nervous, very tight. We missed some layups early and we didn’t react well to their pressure. Our defence was alright but the turned the ball over too much and they scored in transition.” …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels stomped the 12th-seeded London A.B. Lucas Vikings 94-54 as Lloyd Cockett scored 16 and Mihai Raducanu 14. Gaels coach Gedminas Dzemionas told the Hamilton Spectator that “I’m pretty happy with the intensity we came out with. I think our kids were focused. When you get ahead like that, sometimes you lose that focus.” The Gaels led 19-2 early and 52-22 at the half. Tim Shanks led the Vikings with 15. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded North York Bathurst Heights Bears clipped the 9th-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders 58-49 as Liviti Clarke scored 18 and Jason Edwards 13. Mike Lobinjo paced the Blue Raiders with 16. Jeff Cruz added 13. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish clubbed the 10th-seeded Scarborough Winston Churchill Collegiate Bulldogs 65-52 as David Lutaaya scored 20, John Kulwartin 13 and B.J. Charles 11. Joseph Johnathon (also reported as Johnathon Joseph) led the Bulldogs with 19. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Ancaster Royals dumped the 14th-seeded Newmarket Huron Heights Warriors 65-51 as Jon Vermeer scored 16 and Eli Carlone 12. Dave Frey led the Warriors with 15. Trevor Robinson added 14.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Guelph St. James Lions defeated the 16th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Basil Saints 66-38 as Mike King scored 19, James Gillingham 15 and Chris Scott 10. Anthony Gagnon led St. Basil with 23 on seven treys. Dave Culina added 10. Saints coach Lou Mazzuca told the Sault Star that “they were just quicker and bigger and we had a hard time handling them. Down here, it’s more intense basketball. Defensively, they have really quick feet and they really took away our inside game with their height.” The Saints (coached by Mazzuca) also included Steve Booth, Tim Walker, Matt Pavoni, Zack Dunster, Anthony Gagnon. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels whipped the 15th-seeded Kingston Bayridge Blazers 93-54 as Phil Martin scored 19, John Maga 13 and Mike Lawton 11. “We were outmatched. Cathedral is an excellent ball club, big, tough and they can shoot,” Blazers coach Doug Fraser told the Kingston Whig-Standard. “Our kids played well, though. They never quit.” Dave Dempster led the Blazers with 17. Mike Stevenson added 14. The Blazers (coached by Doug Fraser and Bob Freeman) also included Ryan McLean, Scott Bradshaw, Sheldon Weekes, Mike Stevenson, Matt Young. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Windsor W.F. Herman Green Griffins defeated the 11th-seeded Mississauga Westwood Wildcats 70-60 in overtime as Cortez Borders scored 22, O.J. Atogwe 22 and Baltimore Talbot 16. Dwayne Jones led the Wildcats with 19. Kevin Williams added 18. The Wildcats led 52-42 at the half. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Ancaster Royals thrashed the 9th-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders 78-44 as Eli Carlone scored 20, Jon Vermeer 15, Scott McLeod 11, Justin Dickens 11 and Tom McChesney 10. The Royals led 30-5 after one quarter and 43-13 at the half. Royals coach Bob Wynne told the Hamilton Spectator that “this was a good game for us.” Blue Raiders coaches Greg Paolini and Jeff Zownir had sat seniors David McQuaid, Thomas Grochmal, Mike Labinjo and Beau Younker for the first half, for breaking curfew. “It was a blatant disrespect for our basketball program and we dealt with it in a severe manner,” Paolini told the Toronto Star. “The integrity of St. Michael’s College is paramount, so we decided the action taken was necessary. This is the most difficult move I’ve had to make as a teacher and a coach in 13 years but we need to be responsible citizens. The kids knew the rules and there are no excuses.” The Raiders scored 5 in the first quarter and only 13 in the half. McQuaid said “we went to a restaurant and the car we were in, coincidentally, stalled as well … We missed curfew by 45 minutes but the coaches wouldn’t accept that.” Younker added that “coaches have their principles and as players we’re supposed to obey them. We made a mistake and it was a bad one.” Jeff Cruz led the Blue Raiders with 16. Beau Younker added 13. The Blue Raiders (coached by Jeff Zownir) also included Paul Ricketts, Tommy Grochmal, Lou Lawrence, Colin Chan, Tom Bielecki, Jeremy Lin, Kip Watts, Malcolm McKinnon and Antonio Del Riccio. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish thrashed the 13th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords 69-57 as John Kulwartin scored 17, B.J. Charles 14, Dion Williams 13 and C.J. Anderson 12. Irish coach Barry Bregman told the Ottawa Citizen that his troops started slowly but “woke up at halftime” and quickly put the game out of reach. Wade Currie paced the Lords with 14. Joe Heale added 14. The Lords (coached by Bob Stacey) also included Blair Means. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles nipped the 10th-seeded Scarborough Winston Churchill Bulldogs 52-51 as Ron Moura scored 19, J.S. Esposito 15 and David Quinlan 8. Moura hit two free throws to give the Green Eagles a 52-49 lead with 1:14 to play. Bulldogs Jan Joseph and Chris Gulam notched buckets to trim the lead but the Green Eagles inbounded the ball to Esposito, who was fouled with 8 seconds to play. He missed the free throw but St. John’s defence prevented the Bulldogs from getting nothing but a midcourt bomb at the buzzer, which they missed. Green Eagles coach Tim O’Neail told the Brantford Expositor that Bulldog Joseph Jonathon “was Moura’s check. He outscored him 19-7 and got as many rebounds. He was the difference.” Ghulam paced the Bulldogs (coached by Manny Moura) with 14. O’Neil Watson added 13 and Mike York 10. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints dispatched the 12th-seeded London A.B. Lucas Vikings 70-64 as Andre Noel scored 41 and Akanni Fredenck 13. David Campbell led the Vikings with 18. David Radlovic added 16 and Tim Shanks 13. The Vikings also included Ryan Done. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded North York Bathurst Heights Bears defeated the 14th-seeded Newmarket Huron Heights Secondary Warriors 63-58 as Liviti Clarke scored 19 and Andrew Carpenter 10. Joseph Jamal led the Warriors with 24. Trevor Robinson added 19. The Warriors also included Mark Griffiths.
In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded North York Bathurst Heights Bears defeated the 6th-seeded Windsor W.F. Herman Green Griffins 47-41. The Bears held the Gryphons to just four points in the final quarter as they pulled out the win. Bears coach Bob Maydo told the Brantford Expositor that “we’re ugly, but we’re winning.” Green Griffins coach Jeff Gaudette said “there was just no intensity in the game. Both teams were drained from their games in the afternoon. It’s a rigorous marathon.” He added that having to play two games in a day is “torture.” The Bears led 34-33 at the half and it was tight until the final quarter when Herman went cold. They rallied to within 39-38 with 30 seconds to play but Bathurst Heights iced it at the line. “They did a good job adjusting at halftime. They closed down the passing lanes. They’re a very quick team.” Jason Edwards led the Bears with 17. Baltimore Haynes-Talbot led Herman with 18. O.J. Atogwe added 11. The Green Griffins led 22-21 at the half. The Bears led 34-29 after three quarters. The Griffins (coached by Jeff Gaudette) also included Cortez Borders, Ryan Peters, Chad Peters, Chris Burnett, Travis Price, Dan Lumley, Andrew Brown, Ricardo Tate, Wayne Bennett and Drew Washington.
The top-seeded Guelph St. James Lions defeated the 8th-seeded Ancaster Royals 66-56 as James Gillingham scored 21, Mike King 18 and Chris Scott 12. The Lions took commanded with a 12-0 run, while hitting 5-9 from the arc in the third quarter. The Lions led 18-8 after one quarter and 26-25 at the half. The Royals rallied to within 57-53 down the stretch but Lion Chris Scott came off the bench to hit several critical treys before the Lions iced it at the line. Scott told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “there’s no question James (Gillingham), Darren (Veira) and Mike (King) are our scoring leaders but when other teams start double-teaming them defensively, it usually I can open low.” Lions coach Mick Sharpe told the Brantford Expositor that “I’m really proud of our guys. They did great stuff when they had to.” The Lions led 16-8, 26-25 and 46-34 at the quarters, having capitalized on a 12-0 third quarter run as the Royals began coughing up the ball. Jon Vermeer led Ancaster with 22, including three treys in the final quarter but it was too little, too late. Tom McChesney added 14. The Royals (coached by Bob Wynne, assisted by Al McDougall) also included Eli Corlone, Justin Dickens, Scott McLeod, Randle Falco, Chris Sims, Dan Meyer, Brad Joudrie, Andrew Halliday, Jeff McIsaac, Chris Bondarenko, Elliot Cooper and Ben Johnson. Wynne told the Hamilton Spectator that “basically we played well and played hard. … We left everything we had on the floor.”
The 2nd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels defeated the 7th-seeded Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles 94-83 as Lloyd Crockett scored 24, Reggie Akrong 14, Simon Jones 12, Mihai Raducanu 9 and Phil Martin 9. The Gaels led 25-13 after one quarter and 46-30 at the half. Gaels coach Gedminas Dzemionas told the Hamilton Spectator that “they did a good job breaking down our full-court press. I knew they were a good team. Those kids worked hard.” John Scott Esposito led the Green Eagles with 14. David Quinlan added 14. Green Eagles coach Tim O’Neail told the Brantford Expositor that “we knew we’d need a super effort. We got the effort but we weren’t making our shots. They got us down early and we had to scramble a bit.” The Green Eagles (coached by Tim O’Neail) also included Danny Johnson, Ron Mourra, Kyle Rousseau, David Firth, Shaun Goulbourne.
In the last quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish defeated the 5th-seeded Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints 60-57 as David Lutaaya scored 26, Dion Williams 13 and B.J. Charles 12. Irish assistant coach Mike Rowley told the Ottawa Citizen the squad’s defence pressure proved the difference in the contest. “We were on the top of our game defensively. We really shut them down and took away the lanes.” The Irish trailed 32-30 at half-time but exploded with an 18-8 run in the third quarter before a late Eastern Commerce rally was stymied. Rowley added that Irish are playing well enough to win the crown. “If we continue with the same kind of defensive pressure and if we can execute offensively, we can beat anybody here.” Andre Noel led Commerce with 21. The Saints (coached by Desmond Rowley) also included Chris Otorro (who was ineligible for OFSAA), Cordell Jeanty, Gary Gaynor, Ola Matti, Darrel Phillips, Akanni Fredenck.
In the semis, the top-seeded Guelph St. James Lions defeated the Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish 63-41 as Chris Scott scored 18, James Gillingham 15 and Mike King 15. The Irish were overwhelmed by the size and experience of St. James guard James Gillingham and centre Mike King, both of whom played on the provincial juvenile team, Irish coach Barry Bregman told the Ottawa Citizen. “The boys were emotionally drained. … We ran out of gas.” St. James quickly took a double-digit lead and although the Irish were able to twice cut the margin to six, “they answered right back. They’ve just had a little more experience than we did,” Bregman said. John Kulwartin paced the Irish with 18 (also reported as 10). David Lutaaya added 13.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels defeated the North York Bathurst Heights Bears 75-65. Diminutive Gaels guard Lloyd Cockett scored 49 points, including 19-19 from the line. Mihai Raducanu added 12. Liviti Clarke paced the Bears with 18.
In the bronze medal match, the North York Bathurst Heights Bears defeated the Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish 69-63. The Bears took advantage of their speed and offensive rebounding to take a 17-13 lead after the quarter. Playing without four players who were ineligible by provincial rules, the Bears increased their lead to 11 by halftime. They appeared headed for a route before a 9-0 Fighting Irish run cut the lead to four with 2:48 to play. “It was close and our mental lapses hurt but we were still coming off the earlier game with Cathedral,” said Ricardo Thomas. “No one thought we’d get this far but our defensive game kept us in and we came out with a medal and lots of pride. Andrew Carpenter and Denham Brown each scored 12 for Bathurst Heights. Liviti Clarke added 11. David Lutaaya scored 22 for St. Patrick’s. John Kulwartin added 11. “We could have had (the win) but we were outrebounded and Bathurst got some key second chances,” said St. Patrick’s coach Barry Bregman. “This was for bragging rights. Two athletic teams going at each other. But it was a great experience and, with one of the youngest teams in Ontario, we established our program and still left with our heads up and a fourth-place finish.” The match was also a prelude to the 2000 championship, which featured a virtually identical result. The Irish (coached by Bregman, assisted by Mike Rowley) also included B.J. Charles, John Kulwartin, Dion Williams, Jose Flores, C.J. Anderson, Edilson Silva, Gus Abou-Assaly, Richard Bowes, Alain Visamar, Bou Chiv, Wayne McIntyre, Jose Flores and David Lutaaya.
In the gold medal match, the Guelph St. James Lions defeated the 2nd-seeded Hamilton Cathedral Gaels 83-59. The Lions trailed for a mere eight seconds as Mike King scored 27 and used his 6-7 frame to dominate the boards. The Gaels were handicapped when 6-9 post Mihai Raducanu was forced to the bench just minutes into the game with a flu. For King, the win was emotional as he had to return to Guelph on Thursday to make funeral arrangements for his aunt, who died from cancer. She was the guardian for him and his younger brother Kevin. “This was my last game and I wanted to have fun and go out on a winning note,” King told the Toronto Star. “Playing made me feel at ease.” St. James scored at will, building quarter leads of 24-21, 36-28 and 54-38. “We knew we had the best defensive team in Ontario but these kids put on a show,” said St. James coach Mick Sharpe. Sharpe told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we lost six seniors from our team of last year (OFSAA bronze) but we still thought we had some potential to be a quality group and they were. … That’s what great group of kids is all about. It’s about doing what needs to be done and responding to the challenges that come up.” Sharpe told the Brantford Expositor that King “is extraordinary. He dominates the games. He dominated offensive and he dominated defensively. I think he blocked nine shots tonight. Michael King is the best player in Canada. I think that argument was decided tonight. They didn’t have an answer for him.” When King was double-teamed, the Lions’ supporting cast kicked in with 9 treys – 4 by Darren Veira, who scored 20. Chris Scott added 8. Veira had a hand in all the points as the Lions took a 16-8 lead after one quarter, including setting up Michael Rafter for a trey. Chris Scott dominated the boards, while James Gillingham scored 10 in the third quarter while King was on the bench in foul trouble. Sharp said “this team plays amazing team defence.” King said “it’s just defence and intensity … We come to play against those guys and our defence leads to everything. Lloyd Cockett led the Gaels with 17. Simon Jones added 14 and Phil Martin 11. “They had God on their side,” Cathedral rookie coach Gedis Dzemionas told the Toronto Star. “I knew they were good, but they dominated, shot 75 per cent in the first half and everything was going St. James way.” Dziemian told the Expositor that “it hurt not having Mihai. He’s really the heart of the team.” Dzemionas told the Hamilton Spectator that “they had God on their side … I think were affected by Mihai not playing. He’s 15 points a game and he’s the heart of our team.”
The bronze medalist North York Bathurst Heights Bears: Denham Brown; Andrew Carpenter; Jason Edwards; Ricardo Thomas; Liviti Clarke; Jason Knight; Junior Jeffery
The silver medalist Hamilton Cathedral Gaels: Lloyd Cockett; Mihai Raducanu; Phil Martin; Simon Jones; Leigh Taylor; Brian Jeremie; Mike Lawton; Matt Erdman; Reggie Akrong; John Maga; coach Gedminas Dzemionas
The gold medalist Guelph St. James Lions: Mike King; James Gillingham; Chris Scott; Darren Viera; Chris Scott; Mike Rafter; John Melehes; Ryan Keleher; coach Mick Sharpe