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By Jeff Dertinger/Simcoe Reformer
They're big, they're athletic, and they know how to finish a game.
While everyone was focusing on the defending champs over in Waterford, another team has quietly put together an undefeated streak of their own in senior boys basketball -- the Valley Heights Bears.
In their closest game to date, the Bears overtook the visiting Holy Trinity Titans late and hung on for a 40-36 victory to improve their season record to 4-0 heading into the Christmas break.
Valley Heights had an incredibly slow start, scoring just nine points in the entire first half. Valley's big men inside -- Kyle Dewdney, Johann Jenkins and Justin Reddecopp -- were out-rebounding the Titans and blocking shots to keep it close, but the entire team was ice cold shooting, leading to an 18-9 score heading into the second.
The Bears found their stroke after the break, and slowly but surely clawed their way back into the game. They eventually tied the game and took the lead with 3:15 left to go and never looked back.
"That's pretty much been the story for us the entire year; we start off slow and then find our stride in the second half," said point guard Jay Knelsen, who led all scorers with 16 points. "Sometimes the guys get overexcited and make some mistakes, but if we just stay calm and execute, we're a tough team to beat."
Knelsen is the engine that drives the team, an experienced guard that dribbles and dishes with the best the Norfolk league has to offer. The rest of the team is made up of pure athletes. Even though they only had eight players in the rotation last night, stamina is never a concern with this squad.
While the Bears have struggled at the start of games, Holy Trinity's problem has been the finish. Now 1-3 on the year, the Titans had control of last night's contest from the very start until letting it slip away at the very end.
"We play good, we get leads, and then we just can't hang on," said forward Kevin Macdonald, who led his team with 10 points. "We need to get the whole team involved, instead of just a handful of us playing all the time. They (Valley) had a big team and pulled in some big rebounds, but I think we were just worn out at the end."
For the first three quarters, the Titans were models of efficiency. With point guard Josh Johnson leading the way, Holy Trinity's superior passing and ball control was the big difference. And even against Valley's superior height, Titans forwards Macdonald and Tom Demers weren't afraid to drive to the paint and bang for buckets.
The Titans know they're better than a 1-3 record, and will have to start earning more Ws after the break if they hope to make playoff s.
"There's no messing around anymore, everyone has to buckle down," Macdonald said. "We know what we need to do."
The Bears know where they stand. The boys in purple have defeated every team but one, and that's the one they'll have to go through if they hope to capture either a NSSAA or CWOSSA title.
"We're looking forward to playing Waterford, that's for sure," Knelsen said. "This is a completely different team from last year, that's all I can say."
In other senior boys action today:
* The Waterford Wolves also improved to 4-0 with a 62-37 win over Port Dover. The Wolves got a big lead early and got the whole bench involved from there. Mike Couperus led all scorers with 18, while Cody Mummery and Alex Smith each had nine for Port Dover.
* The Port Dover juniors won big against Waterford by a score of 56-14. Oli Carelton led the way with 17 points.
* The junior game in Delhi featured the visiting Simcoe Sabres earning a 52-50 victory over Delhi.
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