Such was the case for the St. Mary's Eagles, who have been my top "AAAA" CWOSSA team essentially all season. However, (arguably) the Eagles best player, Chris Clouthier, injured his knee playing pick-up basketball earlier in the week and was unavailable for the entire CWOSSA tournament.
The Forest Heights Trojans, meanwhile, were at the top of their game on Saturday night, taking advantage of their depleted counterparts.
The Trojans outscored the ice-cold Eagles 19-6 in the first quarter, and would go on to take a 23-6 lead in the second before St. Mary's rebounded slightly to close the half down 11 points (29-18). The Trojans' superstar guard, Juwan Miller, nearly outscored the entire St. Mary's team in the first half as he put up 17 points in that 16 minute span.
One of the keys for the Trojans defensively was their interior post defense. They were able to cause numerous SMHS turnovers off of post entries, and, in some instances, take those the other way for layups.
One of the keys for the Trojans defensively was their interior post defense. They were able to cause numerous SMHS turnovers off of post entries, and, in some instances, take those the other way for layups.
The Eagles' offensive struggles - slash - Forest Heights' solid defense continued in the third, as SMHS went scoreless for the first four minutes of the frame. They would, however, hit two consecutive "and ones" near the end of the frame to head to the fourth down by a manageable single-digit deficit (39-30).
However, St. Mary's chances of a comeback took a huge hit when grade 9 forward Mike Blumel, their offensive star on this night, fouled out with just under 6:00 to play. The Eagles wouldn't quit, and would cut things to 52-44 and 1:30 to play, but Miller would ice things for the Trojans at the line down the stretch.
Miller finished his final junior game in style, with a double-double (35 points, 11 rebounds). He also added 5 assists. The Eagles were unable to contain him from slashing to the basket, and as many other FHCI opponents this year have found out, if you don't at least slow him down, you have no shot of beating Forest Heights.
The Trojans also received 10 points from Omar Aidaruse, 8 from Ian Anderson, 3 from Jack Taylor, and 2 from Elijah Callendar.
Blumel led the Eagles with 15 points, while Avery Sutton was also in double figures with 13. It was a rough night for SMHS guard Tyler Hergott, as he had 7 points but shot just 2-for-17 from the floor.
The Eagles also received points from Jeremy Cresswell (6), Telloy Simon (5) and Nathan Riley (1).
The CWOSSA title was the Trojans' first since 2005. They also prevented the Eagles from picking up their second title in the last four years, and ended the D8's run of three consecutive CWOSSA titles (St. Mary's 2008, Resurrection 2009 & 2010).
This also marked the third consecutive year that the WCSSAA #1 and D8 #1 teams (who are both in "Pool A") met in the finals. It was the second consecutive year that the winning team lost by double digits in pool play but would rebound in the finals for the victory. In pool play, the Eagles took out the Trojans 64-46 while in last year's CWOSSA tournament, WCI beat Resurrection 57-38 before the Phoenix rebounded for a 42-39 win in the finals.
Congratulations, Trojans!
Congratulations, Trojans!
Boxscore
SMHS 06-12-12-17 = 47
FHCI 19-10-10-19 = 58
St. Mary's (47)
E. Duong 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
A. Sutton 4-9 FG, 5-7 FT, 6 Reb, 2 Ast - 13 Pts.
T. Hergott 2-17 FG, 3-3 FT, 0 Reb, 2 Ast - 7 Pts.
M. Blumel 6-11 FG, 3-4 FT, 7 Reb, 0 Ast - 15 Pts.
J. Cresswell 1-3 FG, 4-6 FT, 8 Reb, 0 Ast - 6 Pts.
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T. Simon 2-5 FG, 0-0 FT, 6 Reb, 0 Ast - 5 Pts.
N. Riley 0-1 FG, 1-2 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 1 Pt.
Field Goals: 15-46 (.326). Free-Throws: 16-22 (.727). Three-Point Goals: 1-6, .167 (T. Simon 1-2, A. Sutton 0-1, N. Riley 0-1, T. Hergott 0-2).
Forest Heights (58)
J. Taylor 1-6 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 3 Pts.
O. Aidaruse 4-10 FG, 1-4 FT, 4 Reb, 0 Ast - 10 Pts.
I. Anderson 4-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 1 Ast - 8 Pts.
J. Miller 11-17 FG, 13-20 FT, 11 Reb, 5 Ast - 35 Pts.
E. Callandar 1-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 6 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
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J. Kamara 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.
F. Barucija 0-4 FG, 0-2 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
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