The tournament was to have been held in Sudbury but because of a teacher’s strike, it was shifted to Hamilton, with GHAC hosting. It allowed Burlington Nelson to gain a berth as runner-up to Burlington Notre Dame in the GHAC title bout. Nelson ended up winning its first OFSAA crown in three decades.
In the seeding round, held in Hamilton: …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords defeated the 15th-seeded Hamilton West Hill Warriors 72-42 as John Behie scored 17, Chris Keith 15 and Wade Currie 11. West Hill’s coach Andrew Moore had walked out on team early in season. Former player Shawn Green, who had been playing in the Philippines, took over but was ejected from the league late in the season and was forced to sit out the OFSAA opener. Assistants Sean Johnson and Spencer Marvin took over for tourney. Aahmed Bulaleh led West Hill with 12. Marlon Chalmers added 10. The Warriors had gained entry into the draw through invitation after the Toronto Laurier Blue Devils disqualified themselves a week before the tournament when coach Mike Quigley learned that 6-3 Dwight Taylor had not attended classes at an alternative school, which made him ineligible. The Blue Devils had beaten the Warriors in the city league finals. “We’re thrilled to be playing again but still in some shock that we got another chance,” said Ahmed Bulaleh, who scored 12, told the Toronto Star. “It would have been nice to come out on top but not everything is winning and the experience can go a long way. …It’s just too bad that we didn’t have more time to prepare and give (Nelson) a better challenge.” Marlon Chalmers added 10. West Hill led for only 32 seconds. The Lords led 52-30 after three quarters. Sir Wilfrid Laurier (coached by Quigley, assisted by Steve Martin and Jason Hyde) included Ritvik Raturi, Jamie Williams, Sheron Thompson, Jamino Sobers, Kevon Wilson, Dwight Taylor, Adrian Peters, Rejean Hall, Jason Cotterell, Chris Francis, Yemi Apanisile, Daniel Therrien and Marc Lopez. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish were down 15 but dropped the 16th-seeded London A.B. Lucas Vikings 68-65 as Rob Scully scored 28, including six from beyond the arc. John Marshall added 22. Scully told the Hamilton Spectator that “we came with our heads in the clouds. The coaches came in (at halftime) and said keep our heads up. We were only down 11 and we were playing really bad. So we had a chance.” Irish post Doug Jones said “the thing about our team is we’re a big family. We talk really well to each other. We’re all brothers.” David Radlovic led the Vikings with 26, including 6 treys. Vikings coach Ryan Bell said “we were trying to get him (Radlovic) in the post more. But he just felt tonight that’s (on the perimeter) where he could free himself up offensively.” …………………………………………………… The top-seeded North York Bathurst Heights Bears edged the 12th-seeded Barrie North Collegiate Institute Vikings 60-52, despite trailing 33-28 at the half. Andrew Carpenter paced the Bears with 19. Daniel Eves led the Vikings with 17. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons pounded the 18th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Mary’s Knights 78-35. The Barons opened with a 17-0 run. Jonathan Wyse led the Barons with 14. Matt Rivard led the Saints with 10. Chris Martin added 5. Knights coach Lou Mazzuca told the Sault Star that “Oakwood shot the ball very well and they got a lot of second chances against us.” …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Guelph Centennial Spartans v. the 14th-seeded Pickering Dunbarton Spartans. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Mississauga Lincoln Alexander Lynx edged the 9th-seeded Sarnia St. Christopher Cyclones 74-61 as Andrew Bent scored 19. David Hehn led the Cyclones with 28. …………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders nipped the 7th-seeded Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish 62-60 as Nenad Medic scored 26, Michael Kemp 11, Len Sauer 8, Jeremy Cross 6, Kevin Matthews 4, Dusty Bianchin 4 and Brad Rootes 2. Medic told the St. Catharines Standard that “I knew we’d beat them. I seriously think we can be contenders.” Marauders coach Tom Grantis said “I think we’re a good 15 points better than them and I was little disappointed they were seeded so high but that’s okay. … There’s a lot of kids who are talented because they play a lot of club ball. It’s not longer a seniors sport. Gone is the day when you had to work your way onto a team. Most of teams have grade 11 and grade 12 students and they’re not going to keep an OAC player who will just sit on the bench.” Garry Pierre led the Fighting Irish with 12. Ali Mahmoud added 10 and John Kulwartin 10 (also reported as 11). “We just didn’t play a great game” and missed several opportunities to force overtime or even win it, Irish coach Mike Rowley told the Ottawa Citizen. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Markham District H.S. Marauders crushed the 17th-seeded Kingston Holy Cross Crusaders 83-65 as Michael Tuck scored 19. Mark Szpyt led the Crusaders with 25. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Scarborough Jean Vanier Mavericks thumped the 11th-seeded Etobicoke Silverthorn Spartans 67-42 as Oliver Prince scored 17. Millidrag Milidrag paced the Spartans with 11.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The 16th-seeded London A.B. Lucas Vikings defeated the 18th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Mary’s Knights 52-31. The Vikings broke to a 16-2 lead and romped. Matt Rivard paced the Knights with 8. Chris Myers added 6. Saints coach Lou Mazzuca told the Sault Star that “we played poorly. … Maybe we weren’t ready mentally and we didn’t expect the level of competition we face. … We were making unforced erros and we couldn’t hit shots. The Knights (coached by Lou Mazzuca, Jim McLean and Don Muto) included Anthony Posteraro, Brad Sweezey, Adam Bortolussi, Justin Matjeka, Paul Merlino, Joel Apostolon, Matt Chambrione, Adam Zuccato, Jeff Little, Paul Delfre, Tony Boniferro and Adam Ross. …………………………………………………… The 17th-seeded Kingston Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the 15th-seeded Hamilton West Hill Warriors x-x.
In the third round: …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords whipped the 7th-seeded Ottawa St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish 81-59 as Chris Keith scored 24 and Wade Currie 19. The Irish were playing without big guns guard B.J. Charles, who broke his foot in the national capital playoffs, and centre John Kulwartin, who was unavailable to play because of a previous travel commitment. Gus Abou-Assaly paced St. Patrick’s with 18. Garry Pierre added 13. The Irish (coached by Mike Rowley, assisted by Tina St. Amour) also included Phil Wilson, Dahir Haji-Mohamed, Kyle Suite, Ali Mahmoud, Eddie Phillipe, Tosin Ajimati, Bou Chiv, Titus Guihede and Gary Pierre. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the 12th-seeded Barrie North Vikings 54-48 as Denver-born Rob Scully scored 22 and Todd Cooney 16. “It’s getting to be a pattern for me with one big game after another,” Scully told the Toronto Star. Ben Leroux led the Vikings with 21. The Vikings (coached by John Knapp and Brian Adduono) also included Daniel Eves, Mike Elsey, Mike Purdon, Phil Paul, Josh Knapp, Brandon Chang, Mike Do, Tyler Woychyshyn, Tyler Purdon, Mike LaSora and Gavin Manning. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Etobicoke Silverthorn Spartans stunned the 5th-seeded Markham District Marauders 54-51. The Marauders (coached by George Kraus, assisted by Gary Aldcorn) included Mike Tuck, Eugene Kotorobai, Chris Kraus, Jay Morrow, Ryan Kirkpatrick, Aron Brant, Geoff Dyer, Brandon Gay, Richard Belfer, Sergei Marjinian, Steve Caves and Ashton Evetts. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded North York Bathurst Heights Bears stomped the 16th-seeded London A.B. Lucas Vikings 67-47 as Denham Brown scored 21. Tyler Done led the Vikings with 23. The Vikings (coached by Ryan Bell, assisted by Steve Done and George Skutovich, also included Samjay Patel, Ryan Done, Chris Sura, Daron Leonard, Tyler James, Ved Milosevic, Adam Roberts, Danny Sucur, Wade Robinson, Mark Novak, David Radlovic, Ryan Grantham and Simon Zilm. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Scarborough Jean Vanier Mavericks dispatched the 17th-seeded Kingston Holy Cross Crusaders 63-42 as Oliver Prince scored 20. Colin Nagle led the Crusaders with 11. The Crusaders (coached by Stephanie Glancey, assisted by Bronek Korczynski and Deanah Shelley) also included Gavin Brown, Mark Szpyt, Josh Perry, John Lawless, Viet Tran, Mike Korcrzynski, Josh Nashed, John Kallo, Andrew McIntyre, Mat Perry and Chris Manion. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons whipped the 14th-seed Pickering Dunbarton Spartans 80-44 as Jamaal Fletcher scored 14. Mike Filinski led the Spartans with 14. The Spartans coached by Jeff Maharaj and Everton Clennon) also included Nathan Graham, Scott McKenzie, Kemar Munroe, Ryan Dow, Naftalie Johnson, Sachin Maharaj, Julian Volpe, Brian Richards and Noorez Rhemtulla. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Guelph Centennial Spartans dispatched the 9th-seeded Sarnia St. Christopher Cyclones 81-73 as Jon Popofski scored 22. David Hehn led the Cyclones with 23. The Cyclones (coached by Andy Toulouse) also included Taylor Brown, Russell Pettpiece, Sean Maheu, David Avellino, Doug Wright, Ben Pierce, Kurt Hartlein, Brent Siebert, Bryan Cole, John Larsen, Shanza Mohammed, Kevin Butler and Jordan George.…………………………………………………… The 13th-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders clipped the 10th-seeded Mississauga Lincoln M. Alexander Lynx 56-45 as Michael Kemp scored 23. The Marauders trailed 37-29 but Michael Kemp hit back-to-back treys to rally the troops to a 41-39 lead at 1:16 of the final quarter. Kemp told the Niagara Falls Review that it was just a great game. We have been playing good basketball.” Andrew Bent led the Lynx with 11. The Lynx (coaches Jonathan Graham, Mal Simms and Reno Miller, manager Brian Malcolm) also included Nye Miller, Carson Elliott, Roger Love, Ceyion King, Brian Smith, Dwayne Watts, Kevin Patterson, Chris Smith, Marlon Pompey, Andre Harrisingh and Shayne Walker. Graham said “this game was ours to win but we broke down … We did some really poor things.”
In the quarterfinals, the Burlington Nelson Lords defeated the 11th seeded Etobicoke Silverthorn Spartans 50-37 as Chris Keith scored 15 and Wade Currie 12. Jason Thorne scored 14 and Omar Miles 10 for Silverthorn. The Spartans (coached by Art Rudledge, assisted by Brian Huntley, Andrew Cook and Scott Mackenzie) also included Milidrag Milidrag, Matt Molitowsky, Nemanja Odzakovic, Mathias Adjei-Fofie, Andreas Adjei-Fofie, R.J. Izaard, Joshua David, Erik Schmidt, Saad Absiye, Jerry Sokoloski, Niketa Martin, Tudor Lupea and Stephen James.
The top-seeded and defending champion North York Bathurst Heights Bears pummeled the eighth-seeded Guelph Centennial Spartans 73-39 as Denham Brown scored 21 and Andrew Carpenter 18. Jon Popofski led Centennial with 19. The Spartans (coached by Jerry Auger, assisted by Paul Kane, Ian Smith and Dave Serbara) also included Jason Popofski, Kyle Popofski, Derek Spekkens, Jim Schorer, Andrew Dingwall, Stephen Coates, Andrew Karkoulas, Keith Beekharry, Taylor Petty, Dan Rosenbloom, Rob MacKenzie, Gregg Josias and Dean Woods.
The 6th-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the 3rd-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons 67-55 as Denver-born Rob Scully scored 23, Joey Martins 12, Graham Dow 9, John Marshall 7 and Jon Behie 4. Behie told the Hamilton Spectator that “it really hasn’t sunk in yet.” John Marshall said “we knew we were in for a dog fight tonight. (In earlier games), I don’t think we were as mentally prepared as for this one.” Notre Dame coach Chris Dooley said “I think overall our team play was better. Our team chemistry. We just moved the ball around and different people stepped up.” Phil Hahn led Oakwood with 13. The game was tied at 36 when Barons star Ben Katz injured in his right ankle and was forced to the sideline for eight minutes. “Katz is an unbelievable shooter and when he went out, it definitely gave us a boost,” Scully told the Toronto Star. “Our goal was to get the ball inside all game and they got into foul trouble trying to stop us.” The Fighting Irish ripped off a pair of 8-0 runs, pounding the ball low to Ottawa transfer student 6-8 John Marshall, who scored 7 and ripped down 14 boards during the stretch. “You don’t like to see a key player get hurt but overall, our team play was better,” said Irish coach Chris Dooley. “Scully was great but we just moved the ball around. Different people stepped up and we spread it around. But I think Katz going out was a big factor.” Todd Cooney added 14 for Notre Dame. “We lost it when (Katz) got hurt and the guys got psyched out by some questionable officiating,” said Oakwood coach Ernie MacMillan, whose Barons finished with a 36-10 record. The Barons (coached by MacMillan, assisted by D Glenn and A Brown) also included Jamal Fletcher, Phil Hahn, Andrew Coa, Robbie Cheung, Cali Braithwaite, Jamal Fletcher, Omar Mohamed, Greg McKoy, Everson Black, Nemanja Maric, Mario Maric, Jonathan Wyse and Curtis Farley.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Scarborough Jean Vanier Mavericks defeated the 13th-seeded Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders 40-35 as Keifer John scored 13, Oliver Prince 11 and Andrew Morris 10. The Mavericks led 10-2 early but the Marauders rallied to knot the score at 20 at the half on a trio from beyond the arc by Brad Rootes. The Marauders led 28-27 after three quarters but turnovers down the stretch proved their undoing. Nenad Medic led the Marauders with 13. Brad Rootes added 9, Michael Kemp 7, Dusty Bianchin 5 and Jeremy Cross 1. The Marauders (coached by Tom Grantis, assisted by Bill Rootes and Mike Cross) included Michael Teso, Len Sauer, Scotty Wilkes, Jeff Cowan, Jordan Bianchin, Milos Karadzic and Kevin Matthews. Grantis told the St. Catharines Standard that “we took number two to the wall. We set the tempo and it wasn’t what they wanted it to be. We were down three and if the breaks fall our way, if the ball goes in, we tie it and go into overtime and anything can happen.” Grantis told the Niagara Falls Review that “we’re happy we made it this far and gave them a good run.” Guard Mike Kemp said “our goal was just to see some good competition and play our best. We weren’t really expecting anything big.”
In the semi-finals, the 4th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords stunned the top-seeded North York Bathurst Heights Bears 54-48 as Chris Keith scored 20, Wade Currie 12 and Graham Dow 10. Denham Brown led Bathurst with 14. Andrew Carpenter added 13.
In the other semi, the 6th-seeded Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish upset the 2nd-seeded Scarborough Jean Vanier Mavericks 79-42 as Rob Scully scored 27, Joey Martins 19 and Todd Cooney 10. Oliver Prince led the Mavericks with 16.
In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded North York Bathurst Heights Bears defeated the 2nd-seeded Scarborough Jean Vanier Mavericks 57-55 on a last-second layup by Jason Knight. The Bears had trailed by 15 in the first half. The Mavericks (coaches Don Marchione and Obbie Celebra) included Oliver Prince, John Kiefer, Aaron Antrobus, Andrew Morris, Jermaine Douglas, Brian DaSilva, Manny Fernandez, Darren Amador, Keenan Gordon, Courtney Walters, Ferdy Houffant, Alvin Zerzola, Jermaine Douglas, Clayton Wright, Sean Flemmings, Nijah Duncan and Glenn Ting.
In the final, the Burlington Nelson Lords defeated the Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish 54-45 as Keith scored 18 and nabbed 16 boards, Graham Dow 15 and Jon Behie 8. Rob Scully led Notre Dame with 14. Chris Keith scored 10 points in the final quarter and grade 11 guard Graham Dow scored 14 in the second half as Nelson defeated Notre Dame for the 4th time in 5 starts during the season. Nelson trailed by six at the half, but Dow ripped off eight straight points in the third quarter to give Nelson the lead. Dow, Wade Currie and defensive specialist Blair Mearns contained Notre Dame’s Rob Scully to 14 points, well below his season average of 25. Frustrated, Scully committed a number of silly fouls and was forced to the bench late in the third quarter. Nelson promptly built a 44-35 lead with four minutes to play. Notre Dame ripped off a 7-1 run and Scully nailed a three to cut the margin to 45-42. But Keith hit a pair in the paint to put the nail in the coffin. Coach Bob Stacey turned to Dow in the second half to shut down Fighting Irish star Rob Scully. Dow responded, tossing in 14 of his 15 points and shutting down Scully. “Our goal all year was to get here but we weren’t happy with the sloppy first half and needed to change things,” Dow, who delayed a school rugby trip to New Zealand to play in the final, told the Toronto Star. “Scully is a great player and we knew that defence wins championships but the points also fell for me and my dad was here to see it,” said Dow. Notre Dame coach Chris Dooley said “they’re a very good team, had a great inside game and they just took it from us. But it was Dow who impressed me and hurt us with his composure in defending Scully really well.” The fierce rivalry between Halton Region schools turned in favour of Nelson when Dow started the third quarter with back-to-back buckets. Stacey said “Keith wore them down in the middle and Behie gave us some critical baskets but it was Dow that did the big job. I’ve always wanted an OFSAA gold and now the guys won me one.” Keith told the Hamilton Spectator that “they know everything we do. It’s so hard to play a team like that.” Dooley said “we were very evenly matched. They just took it from us and played 60 (sic) minutes of basketball.” Dow said “I think we just came out in the second with more heart. We just wanted it more. Everybody was tired so everybody tried as hard as they could.” John Marshall added 9 for the Fighting Irish.
The Lords captured their second title. But it took 30 years. They had entered the tournament as the fourth seed with a 35-6 record.
The bronze medalist North York Bathurst Heights Bears: Denham Brown; Andrew Carpenter; Jason Knight; Steve Taylor; Habeeb Bakare; Fabian James; Thomas Durban; Michael Linton; Allen Miller; Jaurel Preddie; Glenford John; Jerome Watson; coach Bob Maydo; assistant Andrew Vallejo; assistant Wilton Hall
The silver medalist Burlington Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Rob Scully; Joey Martins; Todd Cooney; Doug Jones; Boris Zadkovic; John Marshall; Andrew Agro; Paul Diez; Nick Cielsewicz; Justin Osei-Dwumoh; Ian Mullin; Mike Crabtree; coach Chris Dooley; assistant Mike Troska; assistant Patrick Mayne
The gold medalist Burlington Nelson Lords: Chris Keith; Jon Behie; Wade Currie; Graham Dow; Blair Mearns; Kyle Rothwell; Jim Robinson; Bob Fournier; Frances McMullen; Aaron Sidenburg; Devon Cornelius; Aamir Zafar; Fraser Dow; coach Bob Stacey; assistant John Simioni; assistant Dave Sidenburg; assistant Cam Leveque