Simcoe Reformer: Big D is the Key

Article By:  Jacob Robinson

As flurries filled the sky outside of Simcoe Composite, inside the school's gym, the Holy Trinity Titans experienced a snowball effect of missed shots and strong Sabres defence.

A low scoring first quarter between the top two NSSAA senior boys basketball teams provided only 11 points in total -- just three to the Titans.

For the rest of the half, Holy Trinity got its share of decent looks, yet there just seemed to be a lid on the basket. At the other end, the Sabres built up a lead of seven at the half and though the advantage shrunk to as little as two, the home side's 7-2 run to begin the fourth helped them stay undefeated with a 45-34 victory.

Even after four quarters, the Sabres were looking at their effort in the first that spurred them to victory.

"That was big because you don't want them to be on a shooting streak and get hot right away, it was good to limit them," said Sabres sharpshooter Tommy Tran

"Our defence, we shut them down a lot in the beginning and Kevin (Allemang) and Connor (Pettersen) kept on pushing the ball and Kevin had a lot of jumpers that gave us a run when they came close."

Allemang scored a game high nine points overall and Pettersen poured in eight on his birthday. Seven Simcoe players registered at least three points, giving them a great chance to grab the No. 1 playoff spot with a record of 5-0.

"We had to beat them by 12 to get first, so that's what we wanted at first, and once we knew 12 points was going to be hard we said, 'Let's just get this win."' explained Titans point guard Josh Johnson. "We started going a little bit and then it just fell off ."

As mentioned, the Titans closed the gap late in the third once thanks to three pointers from Johnson and Jake Walton. The club's ice cold shooting returned soon after though, as they scored just five in the fourth quarter.

"Usually we start off good in our games -- you see (Johnson) hit the lay-up and we can get it rolling and get some chemistry," noted Titans forward Andrew Mattan, who had seven points. "But it just seemed like we were stalling the whole game. None of us -- me, Kevin (McDonald), Josh -- even (Walton), no one could step up and get a roll going."

The Sabres take on Valley Heights Thursday, then Port Dover in a scheduled game next Tuesday and again two days later in a rescheduled bout. All teams will take a break for exams and then return to action in February for the final two games of the year before playoffs. For the Sabres, the next five contests are about keeping their current pace.

"We focus on maintaining first place and home court, and playing each game like we can," said Tran.

At 4-2, the Titans haven't lost to anyone but the Sabres. At this point, Johnson and his teammates are just hoping to get another crack at their crosstown rivals, which would likely be for all the Tostitos.

"We never hit our shots against SCS, we always start flat," said Johnson. "We've just got to get off to a strong start the next time we play them -- hopefully in the finals."

Johnson paced the Titans with nine points, while Simcoe's David Tiechroeb also scored nine.

In the junior contest, the undefeated Sabres eked out a three-point win versus the Titans.

Other Basketball scores:
* The Valley Heights Bears senior boys team won 50-38 over the Waterford Wolves. Jay Knelsen topped all scorers with 19. Aaron Hall and Michael Yu each scored 11 for Waterford.

* Rick Knelsen had 17 as the Bears junior squad fell to the junior Wolves 60-32. Justin Nadrofsky had 17 points and Dakkota Robinson scored 12 for WDHS.

* The Delhi Raiders seniors improved their record to 4-2 with a 49-39 victory over Port Dover. Justin Lichach led DDSS by scoring 12 points.

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