Mark's note: For the junior fans out there, we'll have the WCSSAA junior write up and boxscore tomorrow morning.
The SJAM Highlanders had been there each of the last three years.
The Cameron Heights Golden Gaels, meanwhile, hadn't been to a WCSSAA final in over a decade. In fact, Cameron Heights entered the contest not having won a WCSSAA Senior Boys' basketball title since 1986.
That 25 year streak is now history.
The Gaels showed some early jitters but regained their composure with an excellent third-quarter run that allowed them to take back a lead that SJAM had held since the early moments of the game; the Gaels would go on to win by a 58-48 final score.
To start this one off, it was SJAM that came out quickly. A tough driving layup by Edem Ame and a three-ball by Ben Reyhani gave the Highlanders the first 5 points of the contest before an Amjed Osman free throw would get the Gaels on the board.
The Gaels would trail for the entire first frame, but were brought back to life by their floor leader (Osman), who broke a couple of ankles late in the first quarter before finding Adnan Shah behind the line for a three-pointer that brought the Cameron faithful to their feet and ended the quarter 13-12 for SJAM.
SJAM's Reyhani got off to a hot start, and continued that in the second frame as he finished with 12 points in the first half. Edem Ame had a tough time getting going offensively, but did provide some key defensive plays including a monster block on Nem Simic late in the opening half.
SJAM would take a 27-22 lead at the half.
The Cameron Heights offense, which was in neutral for much of the first half shifted into high gear in the third.
Guard Vedran Dmitrovic had a layup, and then a steal and score shortly thereafter for 4 quick points that brought Cameron back within 1.
Then it started raining threes in downtown Kitchener.
Stefan Cucak hit two three-pointers, and Adnan Shah added another, and, in a brief couple of minutes, Cameron Heights had taken a 37-34 edge. With the momentum on their side, it looked like they might pull away, but SJAM hung with them through the waning moments of the third. In fact, a Jordan James to Theshawn Barry alley-oop layup (and foul) brought the game back even at 42-42 before Dmitrovic would drill a three-pointer just before the quarter buzzer to give the Gaels a three-point lead entering the fourth.
The fourth frame saw Cameron maintain a 5 to 6 point lead for the majority of the quarter, but that's not to say that the Highlanders didn't have their chances.
In fact, the 'Landers missed five consecutive free-throws (including the front end of a one-and-one) during a span where Cameron couldn't convert on their offensive trips, missing out on a glorious chance to cut into what was a 52-46 Cameron lead at the time.
SJAM would actually shoot better on the evening from behind the three-point arc (.357) than at the foul line (.333).
With just over 2:00 to go and the score still 52-46, Amjed Osman came up with a huge steal for Cameron while SJAM was in transition. SJAM started to play the "foul game" at that point in time, and got a quick glimmer of hope as Osman missed the front-end of the first one-and-one. A Theshawn Barry lay-in at the other end got things down to 4 (52-48).
Fortunately for the boisterous Cameron Heights fans in attendance, those were the last points that SJAM would score on the evening.
Although the Gaels weren't "lights out" from the free throw line during the stretch, they made more than they missed and did an excellent job on the defensive backboard as they would extend out to a 58-48 final.
Cameron's "Fab Five" -- their starting lineup -- accounted for all 58 points in this one. Adnan Shah led the way with 21 points, on 6 of 9 shooting (including 4-for-6 from three point range). Stefan Cucak and Vedran Dmitrovic were the other Gaels in double digits, as they chipped in 13 points each. Cameron's scoring was rounded out by Amjed Osman (6 points, 9 assists) and Nebojsa Djeric (5).
Reyhani had a relatively quiet second half for SJAM as he finished with a team-high 17 points. Theshawn Barry was also in double figures for the Highlanders with 10, while Edem Ame and Quinn Turner had 8 apiece. Connor Bradley would add 3 and Jordan James 2 to round out the SJAM scoring.
Both teams will advance to the CWOSSA "AAAA" championships in Kitchener this weekend. The Gaels, as WCSSAA #1, will be in a pool with D8 #1 (Resurrection) and D10 #2 (Centennial).
The Highlanders, meanwhile, will face off with JF Ross (D10 #1) and St. John's (D5 #1).
Boxscore
SJAM 13-14-15-06 = 48
CHCI 12-10-23-13 = 58
SJAM (48)
B. Reyhani 7-13 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 17 Pts.
E. Ame 3-11 FG, 2-4 FT, 11 Reb, 4 Ast - 8 Pts.
J. James 1-1 FG, 0-2 FT, 2 Reb, 1 Ast - 2 Pts.
T. Barry 4-10 FG, 1-3 FT, 5 Reb, 2 Ast - 10 Pts.
Q. Turner 4-8 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 1 Ast - 8 Pts.
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C. Bradley 1-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 1 Ast - 3 Pts.
G. Makres 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
S. Bacchus 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
Field Goals: 20-45 (.444). Free-Throws: 3-9 (.333). Three-Point Goals: 5-14, .357 (B. Reyhani 3-8, T. Barry 1-2, C. Bradley 1-2, E. Ame 0-2).
Cameron Heights (58)
A. Osman 2-5 FG, 2-4 FT, 4 Reb, 9 Ast - 6 Pts.
S. Cucak 5-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 2 Ast - 13 Pts.
V. Dmitrovic 5-10 FG, 1-2 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 13 Pts.
A. Shah 6-9 FG, 5-7 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 21 Pts.
N. Djeric 1-4 FG, 2-3 FT, 5 Reb, 1 Ast - 5 Pts.
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N. Simic 0-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
N. Jovanovic 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
Excellent coverage as always.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the odds are Cameron doesn't get out of pool play this weekend. By winning WCSSAA, it appears at least like they've drawn the tougher pool this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GSl9QoAqWI
ReplyDeletepost this on the page whenever you're free!