The Record: Phoenix Power Past Eagles in Hoops

Article Retrieved From: http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/642094

By: Mark Bryson

KITCHENER — The Resurrection Phoenix refused to go away.

Despite trailing the St. Mary's Eagles for the majority of their showdown at the Rez gym on Wednesday, the Phoenix managed to find that extra gear when it mattered most. In the end, it was enough for a 56-51 victory that moved Rez into a first-place tie with St. Mary's atop the District 8 senior boys basketball standings.

Just like that, the Phoenix (3-1) served notice they are a team to be taken seriously.

"I think so. I hope so. We should be," said Phoenix co-captain Mike Tyler when asked if the win gave his squad instant credibility.

"It was a good game. A lot of people wrote us off at the start but we stuck to it. A lot of guys stepped up and it was a good character win."

Andrew Mwangi had 10 points to lead the balanced Phoenix attack which also received nine-point efforts from Mike Pereira and Brandon Lee.

Alex Thompson and Isaac Lance both had 11 for the Eagles (3-1), while Ben Bankazo and Demar Thompson added 10 each.

The Phoenix showed plenty of character in fighting back. They trailed by nine points (22-13) before closing the gap to 28-26 at halftime. They also trailed by 10 in the second half (38-28).

In fact, after a brief lead at 2-0, the next time the Phoenix would lead was when Ryan Herron converted a three-point play from the foul line to make it 50-49. The Eagles would take the lead again on their next trip down the court but that would be the last time they scored as Rez closed it out with a three-point play by Jeff Rodrigues.

A key moment in the comeback came on what amounted to a five-point play. As John Moi nailed a three-point shot for Rez, the Eagles committed a foul underneath the basket and Rez regained possession. Mwangi quickly converted the inbound pass to make it a fast five.

Eagles coach Jason Hergott was disappointed with his team's performance, particularly in the first half.

"Guys were wide open and not passed to and we didn't execute. We were terrible on the boards in the first half," said Hergott.

"It's just one loss though and we definitely have the calendar marked for the return date (Jan. 20), so it's all good. The Rez battle is what we live for here."

With Monsignor Doyle's surprising win over defending champion St. David on Monday, a number of teams could be in the hunt for the D8 title. The Celtics handed the Phoenix a two-point loss last week.

"It shows we have teams that are going to compete with each other and you've got to step on the court prepared to play every night," said Rez coach Matt Kras.