In the opening seeding round, held in Goderich and Brantford: …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Sarnia St. Clair Colts defeated the 9th-seeded Toronto Emery Eagles 58-57 as Chad Pereira scored 18. Nicholas Obeng led Emery with 18. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Brantford Assumption Lions dumped 16th-seeded Etobicoke Father Redmond 80-60 as Mike Emmett scored 21 on seven treys. Mackenzie Milmine added 18 on four treys, Dan Keresturi 10, Eamon Irish 8, Kent Hill 8 and Jesse Macdonald 8. The Lions hit 14 treys and led 22-10, 40-28 and 55-40 at the quarters. Lions coach Brian Jonker told the Brantford Expositor that “I thought we did a really good job of sharing the ball. We had 14 assists and 28 field goals. That’s our season high on assists and we shot the ball well. Fourteen threes is a lot of threes.” Jonker added that Emmett “in the last three weeks has found his rhythm. It makes a big difference, especially with our lack of size. We have to have an outside presence.” Dave Akelaitis led Father Redmond with 30. Mark Akelatis added 10 and Chandler Morey 10. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Huntsville Hoyas nipped the 13th-seeded Orleans St. Matthew Tigers 79-77 as Erich Leidums scored 21, Kevin Barker 19, Phil Mathies 12, Jon Baker 11 and Wes Stayer 10. Kevin O’Hearn paced the Tigers with 19. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords defeated the 14th-seeded Etobicoke Martingrove Bears 71-51 as Rory Tufford scored 26 and Dustin Sirois 20. Justin Stepanowicz led Martingrove with 11. Rian Cromwell added 10. “We hadn’t played a game for a week and we were a bit rusty,” Lords coach Corey Trodd told the Hamilton Spectator. “We really settled in nicely in the second half. They were not a bad team and did a lot of things well athletically.” The Lords led 36-28 at the half. The Bears rallied to within 42-39 before the Lords took command. “Because we are able to play guys, it was just a matter of time until we found the right combination and got things going offensively,” said Trodd. “Their only momentum was their eight or nine-point run and once we weathered that storm, we were set.” …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Niagara Falls St. Paul Patriots whipped the 12th-seeded Kingston CVI Blues 67-43 as Kenny Colosimo scored 24. Romain Landu paced Kingston with 13. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded London Westminster Wildcats edged the 11th-seeded Whitby Father Leo Austin Wildcats 67-63 as Moe Fares scored 30. Kimon George led Father Leo Austin with 18. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators edged the 10th-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers 53-51 as Cox, Samuels and Nunes each scored 10. Bolan and Macrae paced Lasalle with 13 apiece. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Peterborough Raiders whacked 15th-seeded Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs 59-39 as Greg Surmacz scored 24 and Tom Boginski 15. Derek Thorne paced the Mustangs with 10. Ian Boos added 9, Craig Point 6 and Dave Hill 6. Mustangs coach Bob Boos told the Brantford Expositor that the Patriots are “in your face and they’re quick. That’s the type of team we have trouble with. … We made them earn that victory. At one point, in the third quarter, it was a nine-point game and I thought we were still in it but it didn’t happen.”
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Niagara Falls St. Paul Patriots crushed the Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs 70-47 as Cardusso scored 24 and Ken Colosimo 20. Derek Thorne paced the Mustangs with 12. Dave Hill added 10, Colin Dodgson 5, Todd Gibbons 5 and Craig Point 4. Mustangs coach Bob Boos told the Brantford Expositor that “they were intense and they played well. Our shots just didn’t drop and we just couldn’t contain (Colossimo and Cardusso). The Mustangs (coached by Boos) also included Ian Boss, Mike Wale, Geordie Collins, James Brown, Nathan Giancola and Rob Skelcher. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Brantford Assumption Lions defeated the 11th-seeded Whitby Father Leo Austin Wildcats 67-58 as Kent Hill scored 20, Jesse MacDonald 12, Mike Emmett 11 and Mackenzie Milmine 10. Kimon George led Father Leo Austin with 20. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers dumped the 7th-seeded Huntsville Hoyas 59-46 as Matt Stevens scored 19. Phil Mathies paced Huntsville with 19. Wes Stayer added 8, Jonathan Baker 6 and Rob Bellis 6. The Hoyas (coached by George Hoo) also included Erich Leidrums, Kevin Barker, Jarred Hoo, Josh Keen, Jamie Yeo. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Sarnia St. Clair Colts defeated the 14th-seeded Etobicoke Martingrove Bears 55-42 as Jason Milliquet scored 17. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Peterborough Raiders dumped the 12th-seeded Kingston CVI Blues 67-55 as Greg Surmacz scored 21. Dave Bleaker paced Kingston with 21. The Blues (coached by Sam Miller, assisted by John Bleeker) also included Romanin Landu, Mike Slater, Andrew Edwards, Andrew Wallen, Anthony Brookes, Josh Edwards, Adrian Parkes. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded London Westminster Wildcats dumped 16th-seeded Etobicoke Father Redmond 72-58 as Omar Abdul-Karim scored 16. Dave Akelatis led Father Redmond with 25. Father Richmond also included Mark Akelatis, Chandler Morey. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic Gators defeated the Orleans St. Matthew Tigers 75-61. The Tigers shifted to a full-court press and forced a raft of turnovers as they rallied from the deep hole but fell “slightly short of closing out the comeback,” said coach Jason Wren. Eric Galas and Kevin O’Hearn each scored 18 for St. Matthew. The Tigers (coached by Jason Wren) also included Jan Arp, Phil Assidao, Rob Hurtubise, Mark Iezzi, Ryan Lauzon, Peter Lavictoire, Arrom McFarlane, Mark Neumann, Chris Reid and Adam Stern. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Toronto Emery Eagles defeated the 8th-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords 57-44 as Andre Wilkens scored 13. Dustin Sirios paced Nelson with 16. The Lords (coach Corey Trodd) also inlcued Rorry Tufford, Braden Gravelle.
In the quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Sarnia St. Clair Colts defeated the 6th-seeded Brantford Assumption Lions 59-39 as Jason Milliquet scored 16, Chris Hart 13 and Chad Periera 12. Tyler Broda led Assumption with 8. Mackenzie Milmine added 6, Dan Keresturi 6, Kent Hill 5, Mike Emmett 4, Jesse MacDonald 6, Craig Weir 2, Shawn (Ian?) Klingenberg 2 and Corey Nicholas 2. The Colts led 18-9, 36-21 and 49-29 at the quarters, while Colt Rusty Hockstra dominated the boards. Lions coach Brian Jonker told the Brantford Expositor that the Colts are “a really good team. They have nice (players). The shoot the ball extremely well. They’re physically very strong. They’re unuself and patient on offence.” Milmine said “they were good. They were older and stronger. We always thought that if we got down like that, we’d somehow get back but were too good of a team, too strong.” The Lions (coached by Brian Jonker, assistant Danny Jonker, manager Brody Jonker) also included Tyler Grantham, Willy Buchholtz, Eamon Irish, Shaye McIntyre and Ben Sylvester.
The 9th-seeded Toronto Emery Eagles stunned the top-seeded London Westminster Wildcats 51-39 as Nicholas Obeng scored 14. Omar Abdul-Karim paced Westminster with 19.
The 2nd-seeded Niagara Falls St. Paul Patriots defeated the 10th-seeded Sudbury Lasalle Lancers 64-57 as Chris Conduso scored 20, including six from beyond the arc. Matt Stevens paced LaSalle with 17. “This is just unbelievable,” Conduso told the Sault Star. “We’re going to the final four of the OFSAA championships and we’re not done yet. We’re striving for the gold medal. One more win (today) and we’re in that game. Playing for a gold medal is something really special and everyone on this team wants it.” St. Paul took an eight-point lead at the half and got three straight treys from Conduso, Kenny Colosimo and Chris Parillo to expand their lead to 18. The Lancers never drew closer than seven. Colosimo added 19 points for the Patriots and Parillo 13. Lancers coach Mitch Lalonde said St. Paul’s shooters were simply too hot. “We fell behind early and they had a good game plan. Then we started playing but we were behind by 20 and those kids were hitting threes from all over the place. They were hitting their shots and we weren’t. We knew they could shoot, but they were shooting blind.” The Lancers (coached by Lalonde) also included Brady Boland, Michel Malette, Terrance McDonald, Geoff MacRae.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Peterborough Raiders edged the 4th-seeded Brampton St. Marguerite D’Youville Gators 65-58 as Greg Surmacz scored 43. Jose Araujo paced D’Youville with 32.
In the semi-finals, the 3rd-seeded Sarnia St. Claire Colts defeated the 2nd-seeded Niagara Falls St. Paul Patriots 66-50 as Chris Hart scored 18. Chris Conduso paced St. Paul with 20.
In the other semi, the 9th-seeded Toronto Emery Eagles defeated the 5th-seeded Peterborough Raiders 55-48 as Nicholas Obeng scored 14. Greg Surmacz paced Peterborough with 21.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Niagara Falls St. Paul Patriots edged the 5th-seeded Peterborough Raiders 48-47 as Kenny Colosimo scored 15 and Chris Parillo 10. Colosimo hit the winning trey with 2.4 seconds to play to cap a rally from an 11-point, fourth quarter deficit. Colosimo told the Niagara Falls Review that “I was hoping to get into the championship match but we wanted a medal. We wanted third. We played with a lot of heart and lot of intensity. We were down by a lot but we started closing the gap and in my head, I said: ‘we can come back’. … They missed that free throw and they had no timeouts left with 30 seconds, so it just went from there. … Nothing was dropping for us. We just kept our heads up and kept it together.” The Patriots killed the clock for the final minute before Colosimo’s winning trey.” Patriots coach Frank Capretta said “we got a little dose of our own medicine. We ran into a team that shot the ball extremely well, which is unusual for them. They’re very athletic and physical and they take the ball to the net, but all of a sudden they come out and hit three straight threes.” Greg Surmacz paced Peterborough with 26. Tom Boginski added 10. Surmacz said “it’s tough. Two years in a row we made it to the final four and finished fourth. It’s disappointing. We played a tough game but I don’t think we executed well and now, we’re right back to that bottom of the emotions.” The Raiders led 29-23 at the half. The Raiders (coached by Dave Goulding, assisted by Tyler Smith, Dan Meyer and Stacey Goulding) also included Jeff Bolton, Chris White, Jamie Tudhope, Isaac Jones, Tom Boginski, Kevin Williams, Joshiah Warren, Gabe Hulsman, Nick Beamish, Elliot Dagenais, Ryan Mandsley, Pat Caddigan and Brogan Wilson.
In the final, the 9th-seeded Toronto Emery Eagles edged the 3rd-seeded Sarnia St. Claire Colts 48-46 as Nicholas Obeng scored 14, Shervin Henry 10 and David Collins 9. The Colts led 14-8 after one quarter after notching a late 9-0 run. But Colt Jason Milliquet promptly picked his second foul (as the refs apparently mixed up players) and then collected his third, a blocking foul, early in the second quarter, forcing coach Pete Kaija to send him to the bench. Still the Colts led 28-19 at the half and 41-35 after three quarters. Emery rallied and took a 46-43 lead on a Shervin Henry trey with a minute to play. Nicholas Obeng added two free throws before Colt Brent Matthews trimmed the lead with a trey with 44 seconds to play and then regained possession of the ball. But Emery, with only four fouls in the half, twice fouled to run down the clock and a late Colt shot misfired. Eagles coach Bob Maydo told the Brantford Expositor that “we might be the only team in the history of OFSAA to lose the first game and come back and win the championship. I think that first game have helped us.” Kaija said “we just couldn’t hit a shot in the second half. Wide open looks that we usually hit and we just couldn’t knock them down. That hasn’t happened to us all year.” Maydo resurrected a program that just three years earlier did not field a team. The Eagles finished (23-12) on the campaign. Chris Hart paced St. Clair with 16.
The bronze medalist Niagara Falls St. Paul Patriots: Chris Candusso; Kenny Colosimo; Chris Parillo; Billy Jones; Anthony DeMezio; Nick McLeod; Vince Zitanzo; Giancarlo Rapanaro; Sean MacDonald; Ricky Maggiolo; Angelo Altomare; Tony Kubisewsky; Geoff Diston; Logan Ciparone; Greg Lavalle; coach Frank Capretta; assistant Jeff Thistlewaite; assistant Sergio Borghesi
The silver medalist Sarnia St. Clair Colts: Chris Hart; Jason Milliquet; Chad Pereira; Rusty Hoekstra; Rob Oravec; Rob Nickel; Brent Matthews;
The gold medalist Toronto Emery Eagles: Nicholas Obeng; Andre Wilkins; David Collins; Shervin Henry; Eugene Paul; coach Bob Maydo