Junior: Purple and Gold Final - St. John's 66, Philip Pocock (Miss) 65 - 3OT

Thanks to Resurrection junior coach Chris Aldworth for providing this update on the action over at Resurrection on Saturday:

St. John's 66, Philip Pocock 65 (3OT)

The St. John's Eagles pulled out a 66-65 triple overtime victory over the Philip Pocock Pirates to capture the 3rd annual Purple and Gold junior boys basketball tournament at Resurrection tonight.

Regulation time saw a spirited contest with the lead exchanging hands multiple times and never exceeding five points. The four quarters were not enough to separate the two clubs, in fact three extra periods of overtime were needed before the Green Eagles ended up victorious.

The first overtime saw the Eagles down one with six seconds to go. On the ensuing inbounds guard Tim Dawson took the ball the length of the court, managed to get a baseline shot off and was fouled as time expired. The shot actually scored but the foul was called on the ground and Dawson was sent to the line as both teams took to their benches. Dawson missed the front end of double bonus with no time on the clock and needed a clutch second free throw to send the game into its second OT period.

The second OT period saw the exact opposite as Phillip Pocock's Tyrell Holness was fouled at center as time expired following a botched Pocock inbounds attempt that resulted in a rugby scrum at center. He also rimmed out his first attempt but managed to sink his second to send the game into its third OT frame.

In the 3rd OT, both teams exchanged leads but it was St. John's who held a slim three point advantage with sixteen seconds left. The Pirates managed a contested layup at the buzzer as time expired but it was not enough as St. John's prevailed 66-65. Pocock's David Garcia finished with a game high 23 points and teammate Tyrell Holness added an additional 18 points. Not to be outdone Tim Dawson struck for 22 points to lead St. John's.

St. John's Tim Dawson and Cam Post were selected to the tournament allstar team as were Pocock's Tyrell Holness and defensive specialist Linas Wilkialis.

The Grand River Renegades captured the bronze medal with a 62-52 victory over Brantford North Park and London South defeated Brantford Collegiate 44-34 in the consolation final. Thia marks the 3rd time in three yeas a CWOSSA team has captured the Purple and Gold tournament title following championships by Cameron Heights last year and JF Ross the year before.