Junior: Cameron Heights Tournament Field/Draw Announced

The annual Cameron Heights CI junior invitational is set to go this weekend in Kitchener (February 3rd & 4th) with an 8-team field participating.

The two tournament favourites, the host Gaels and the WCI Vikings, could potentially meet up in a rematch of their classic regular season WCSSAA battle ---- both teams have to win 2 games first, though, as they are on opposite sides of the draw.

Here is your schedule, which tips off at 2pm on Friday:

2:00pm - Resurrection (Kitchener) vs. Waterloo CI
3:30pm - Hillfield-Strathallan (Hamilton) vs. Holy Trinity (Simcoe)

5:00pm - Collingwood CVI vs. Bluevale (Waterloo)

6:30pm - St. Benedict (Cambridge) vs. Cameron Heights

Play then continues all day on Saturday, with the final slated for 7:30pm on Saturday evening.

News: OFSAA Rep Council to Vote on Installation of FIBA Rules

The rumours have been circling for some time, and now it looks as though a vote date has been scheduled with regards to the possible change for Ontario high schools to adopt FIBA rules.

Needless to say, it's a polarizing issue and I've already heard a few different opinions from area coaches.

Here's a quick glance at a few of the potential rule changes that would come with FIBA, for those of you who may not be familiar:

1. Addition of a shot clock (FIBA rules are 24 seconds, though extended to 30 seconds in most provinces including Quebec)

2. 8 seconds (vs. 10) in the backcourt

3. No "backcourt" during "frontcourt" throw-ins

4. Timeouts - only granted after a field goal against (getting scored upon) or at the next stoppage in play.  Requested via the scorer's table.

5.  Stoppage of Time - stopped during last 2:00 of 4th quarter after a successful field goal.

At any rate, it appears that in April of this year, OFSAA will be voting on the potential rule change, and we could see one of three options:

A)  Rules remain as they are (i.e. FIBA rules not installed)

B)  FIBA rules installed with shot-clocks

C)  FIBA rules installed without shot-clocks

If FIBA rules are implemented with shot-clocks, the earliest we would see that would be September, 2013 (to allow districts & associations the opportunity to purchase shot-clocks).  FIBA rules, if voted in, would still be implemented next season (i.e. starting in September 2012).

My View?

To get my bias out of the way, you're talking to a guy that grew up playing under the current ("federation") high school rules, so I won't sugar-coat that fact.  

Personally, I'd probably be in favour of things staying "as they are", but with that being said, I can see the merits of both systems.

Obviously, the benefit of switching to FIBA rules is consistency.  Kids would be playing under the same set of rules instead of, say, playing a high school game under one set of rules and then a "club game" under another.  Even the referees can sometimes get confused (they're human) --- in one recent game I saw, a ball was thrown into the backcourt on an inbounds play and whistled as a "backcourt violation" before it was overturned.

Meanwhile, CIS (Canadian University) basketball has adopted FIBA rules, so we would be preparing kids for the "next level", per se.

Canada Basketball was a big "driving force" starting a few years back in pushing for this change ---- and it's evident as part of their mission statement ("Leading a unified basketball community...").

Now, the shot clock.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think 24 seconds is a bit quick for the high school level (especially junior boys).  At that age, coaches are still developing/implementing core concepts (not to mention the fact that there are a ton of players who don't play "club" basketball).

Of course, the benefit to a shot clock --- any shot clock --- is that you avoid the potential pitfall of a "20-14" game in a championship final or some other "meaningful" contest.  Traditionalists would argue, though, that "it's part of the game", and that shot-clocks automatically provide an advantage to more athletic teams by disallowing such "stall" tactics.

The downside to a shot clock?  Nothing against our student volunteers, but I shudder to think about the number of times a shot-clock would be reset due to error during a basketball game (especially upon its first introduction).  

Of course, an additional volunteer (student or otherwise) would be required to run the shot clock. 

And then there's the cost factor --- these things aren't cheap, with $600ish (for a tabletop model) being discussed as among the "cheapest option" by OFSAA officials.  Portable and/or wall-mounted units would go for over $1000.  

So, you're talking about $50K plus if each CWOSSA school were to end up purchasing one --- or a potential logistical nightmare if only a few were purchased but had to be "transported" around.  In this period of economic uncertainty and reigning in budgets, there are certainly better ways to spend that money for students.  On the flip side, it is a "one shot deal" and once you have one, you have it until it needs to be repaired/replaced. 

Cost and operation are a big reason as to why only 8 states south of the border (California, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, North and South Dakota, Washington and Rhode Island) have implemented a shot clock.  

Anyways, I could ramble on, but I'll leave it to you to vote in the poll to the right and see which option CWOSSA players, fans and coaches would you be in favour of.  To make things more interesting, I'll add in a "couple other options":

A) No Changes (Rules Same As Currently Played)

B) No Changes to Current Rules, but Add 45-second Shot Clock

C) Switch to FIBA Rules; No Shot Clock

D) Switch to FIBA Rules; 24 or 30 second Shot Clock

E) Switch to FIBA Rules; 30 or 35+ second Shot Clock

District 8: League Finals To Be Hosted at University of Waterloo

A big game deserves a big stage.

With (again) two of the top five teams in CWOSSA, the District 8 league has announced that its league finals will be played at the University of Waterloo on Friday, February 17th.  As always, it will be a junior-senior doubleheader (6pm & 8pm are the projected game times).

The St. Mary's Eagles and Resurrection Phoenix are currently on a collision course to meet in the senior final for the third straight season (though we will see what the St. Benedict Saints have to say about it).

Only one D8 school moves on to AAAA CWOSSA.  Interestingly enough, last year's Eagles became the first team in CWOSSA history not to advance to OFSAA within 3 years of capturing a junior CWOSSA "AAAA" championship.  The Phoenix could fall in the same category this season.

From a historical trend, all CWOSSA "AAAA" junior champions have advanced to OFSAA within 3 years of their junior championship (i.e. when then grade 10s would be 5th year students). 

2002 (WCI) --- Qualified in 04/05

2003 (KCI) --- Qualified in 04/05/06

2004 (KCI) --- Qualified in 05/06

2005 (FHCI) --- Qualified in 2008

2006 (CCVI) --- Qualified in 07/08/09

2007 (JFR) --- Qualified in 2010

2008 (SMHS) --- ??

2009 (RCSS) --- ??

Mark's Mailbox: Top Ten "AAA" Teams

A reader sent me a note through asking me what my thoughts were on an updated version of the "top 10" AAA CWOSSA teams.

Here's a look my current "power ranking", with how things have changed since I last did this in December:

Senior AAA

1.  Centre Dufferin (3)

2.  North Park (1)

3.  Galt (6)

4.  Jacob Hespeler (2)

5.  Preston (4)

6.  WODSS (5)

7.  Huron Heights (7)

8.  St. James (8)

9.  Brantford CI (9)

10.  Holy Trinity (10)

.....and yes, I do realize that NPC lost a close one to Galt at the Saints Invitational.  This is based upon the "body of work", and NPC still has a few key wins under their belt to warrant a #2 ranking.  Centre Dufferin takes top spot with a couple of wins over "upper tier" D10 teams (CWDHS & Lourdes), but I'll be honest in stating that there is no clear favourite at this point of the season to take the AAA title and the OFSAA berth that goes with it!  It should be a great CWOSSA tournament in February, and one that I'll definitely be keeping an eye on.

Now, as for junior:

Junior AAA

1.  St. James (1)

2.  St. David (2)

3.  North Park (3)

4.  Galt CI (7)

5.  Huron Heights (4)

6.  Preston (6)

7.  Guelph CVI (5)

8.  Elmira DSS (NR)
9.  Brantford CI (8)

10 (tie).  Southwood SS (NR)

10 (tie).  West Hill (10)

...a little more clear cut, but still very interesting.  St. James won the St. David junior tournament (which had both St. David and Huron Heights participating).  Huron Heights has had a solid season, but (some players) shot themselves in the foot a bit by violating team rules and being suspended for a couple games --- one being a blowout loss to AAA rival Galt.

Right now, it looks as though your AAA champion will be from one of the "top 3" teams but both Galt (TJ Lall) and Huron Heights (Arshid Babury) have scorers that could get hot and change the dynamic of the CWOSSA tournament. 

Junior: Celtics, Eagles To Carry CWOSSA Banner at Kennedy All-Ontario Catholic

The St. David Celtics from Waterloo (CWOSSA #10) and the Brantford St. John's Eagles (CWOSSA #9) will be the two squads representing area hoops at this year's Kennedy All-Ontario Catholic Invitational (junior boys) Tournament in Hamilton next week.

This will mark the first time in several years that a couple of traditional entries, the St. Mary's Eagles and Resurrection Phoenix, will not participate.  The Eagles had the best local showing in recent memory, making the 2009 final before falling to Brampton D'Youville.  Rez lost in the semifinals to D'Youville that same year.

As always, the tournament is stacked with competitive teams from around the province, including D'Youville (Brampton), Father Goetz (Mississauga) and Holy Trinity (Oakville), who are all considered among the "top 5 or 6" junior teams in Ontario.

The Celtics will start their tournament against Brampton's St. Edmund Campion HS, who defeated the WCI Vikings 58-47 a couple of weeks ago on their home floor (in a game that was down to the wire before they pulled away late with free throws).  To be fair to Campion, however, they were missing 2 regular starters at that game.

The Green Eagles are in even tougher, with a first-round date against the aforementioned Panthers of D'Youville.

The 16-team tournament is bracketed format, with first round winners advancing and losers heading to the consolation side.  Teams play 2 games on Saturday (February 3rd), with consolation and championship semifinals and finals taking place on Sunday (February 4th).

Good Luck on Exams!

Good luck to all students out there who are writing exams over the upcoming few days!  With most leagues on a hiatus for another 10 days or so, we'll still be coming up with a few posts and other interesting tidbits that I've been working on here.

Of note, although league play doesn't really get back underway until the 6th/7th of February in most cases, there are a few tournaments to make note of next weekend.  So stay tuned for some previews and updates on those.

As always, any info can be sent through to mark @ cwossabasketball.com.  Cheers!

Junior: Phoenix Drop Tournament Title Game to Rams

The Resurrection Phoenix came up on the short end of a 54-41 decision to the St. Joseph's Rams of St. Thomas in the championship final of the Delhi German Home Classic Basketball Tournament Saturday evening.

The Rams, who are currently undefeated in the TVRAA Southeast Division (8-0) and outscoring their opponents by an average of 25 PPG, got off to a very quick start in this one, thanks to the fine play inside from forward Jake Becker, who pumped home 13 first-quarter points to help the Rams take a 17-10 lead after one.

Rez guard Thomas Hunter had a few nice drives and his aggressive play helped the Phoenix go in to halftime trailing by only five (25-20).  However, the Rams would maintain that "5-to-9" point advantage for the entire second half and were up 40-31 with about 3:00 to go when the Phoenix elected to play the "foul game" but could not get any closer than 8 points down the stretch.  The Rams, who struggled from the line most of the game (15-for-34 was the final tally) converted when it counted.

The result of the "foul game", though, was that a few players on both sides got to pad their stats as the final 3:00 saw nearly as many points scored (24) as during the first 13:00 of the second half (26).

Becker finished with 21 points (on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor) and 6 rebounds for the Rams, while Jake Kenny (14) and Matt Martyn (11) were also in double figures.  St. Joseph's scoring was rounded out by Kyler Fairbanks (6) and Jordan Cernanec (2).

Hunter finished with a team-high 13 points for Rez, while forward Mack Smith netted 10.  Other Phoenix players to hit the scoresheet included Mark Wylie (4), Ryan Vyrostko (4), Kirolos Milio (4), Jack Quirke (4) and Andrew Pickett (2).

The Phoenix, however, did pick up one "championship" on the weekend as Rez players Harjot Bains and Mack Smith took the tournament's "shooting competition", besting London Christian in the final.

Boxscore

RCSS      10-10-06-15 = 41

StJoe's    17-08-10-19 = 54

Resurrection

T. Hunter       6-15 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 2 Ast - 13 Pts.

M. Wylie       2-11 FG, 0-1 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 4 Pts.

R. Vyrostko   2-4 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 1 Ast - 4 Pts.

M. Smith        4-8 FG, 2-4 FT, 4 Reb, 1 Ast - 10 Pts.

A. Pickett       1-4 FG, 0-0 FT, 4 Reb, 1 Ast - 2 Pts.

-----------

H. Bains         0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

K. Milio         2-5 FG, 0-2 FT, 2 Reb, 1 Ast - 4 Pts.

J. Quirke        1-4 FG, 2-3 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 4 Pts.

S. Begy          0-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Field Goals:  18-51 (.353).  Free-Throws:  4-10 (.400).  Three-Point Goals:  1-13, .076 (T. Hunter 1-6, R. Vyrostko 0-1, K. Milio 0-1, J. Quirke 0-1, M. Wylie 0-4).

St. Joseph's

M. Martyn    2-8 FG, 7-12 FT, 5 Reb, 8 Ast - 11 Pts.

J. Kenny       5-10 FG, 4-5 FT, 7 Reb, 0 Ast - 14 Pts.

C. Willman    0-2 FG, 0-4 FT, 7 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.

K. Fairbanks 2-8 FG, 2-3 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 6 Pts.

J. Becker       9-11 FG, 2-10 FT, 6 Reb, 0 Ast - 21 Pts.

-----------

J. Cernanec    1-5 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 1 Ast - 2 Pts.

M. Goldsmith  0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

B. Sinclair       0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Field Goals:  19-44 (.432).  Free-Throws:  15-34 (.441).  Three-Point Goals:  1-8, .125 (J. Becker 1-1, C. Willman 0-1, M. Martyn 0-3, K. Fairbanks 0-3).

Junior: Crusaders Take Delhi Classic Consolation Title

The WODSS Crusaders took the consolation championship at the Delhi German Home Classic Basketball Tournament this past weekend, knocking off the host Delhi Raiders by a 46-24 final.

The game was close early, with the first quarter finishing in an 8-8 deadlock.  However, poor shooting the rest of the way by the Raiders (they finished around 20% for the contest from the floor) and turnovers proved to be their undoing.  In addition, WODSS paid special attention defensively (double and even triple teams at times) to the Raiders' big man, Rodney Boodram, and he was unable to get on track offensively until late in this one.

The result?  The Crusaders outscored Delhi 15-2 in the second quarter and 17-6 in the third to take command before coasting home to victory in the fourth.  The frustrations mounted towards the end for the Raiders, who took a couple of technical fouls late.

Garner Matthews, WODSS' top gun, played virtually the whole game and came away with a 14 point, 15 rebound performance to lead the Crusaders.  Teammate Nick Penner started 0-for-8 from the floor, but then hit 5 of his remaining 9 attempts to also finish in double figures with 10.  Justin Wagler added 7 more, while Michael Potworka had 6 each.  Rounding out the W-O scoring were points from Paul Schroeder (4), Mitch Davidson (2), Isaac Macdonald (2) and Josh McGrath (1).

Boodram finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds for the Raiders, while other Raiders to hit the scoresheet included Braeden Palinko (4), Mark Murray (3), and Brant Paulmert (2).

Despite the loss, there is a bright future ahead at Delhi with 9 of their 13 players only in grade nine this season.

Boxscore

WODSS      08-15-17-06 = 46

Delhi           08-02-06-08 = 24

WODSS

N. Penner        5-16 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 1 Ast - 10 Pts.

G. Matthews   6-12 FG, 0-0 FT, 15 Reb, 2 Ast - 14 Pts.

P. Schroeder   1-11 FG, 2-2 FT, 9 Reb, 5 Ast - 4 Pts.

M. Davidson   1-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 4 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.

J. Wagler        3-4 FG, 1-1 FT, 2 Reb, 1 Ast - 7 Pts.

----------

Schwartz'ber   0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

M. Potworka  3-5 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 6 Pts.

I. Macdonald  1-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.

D. Otterbien    0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.

J. McGrath     0-1 FG, 1-2 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 1 Pt.

J. Brown         0-0 FG, 0-4 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Field Goals:  20-55 (.363).  Free-Throws:  4-9 (.444).  Three-Point Goals:  2-8, .250 (G. Matthews 2-4, N. Penner 0-1, P. Schroeder 0-1, I. Macdonald 0-1, J. McGrath 0-1).

Delhi

B. Paulmert     1-8 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 1 Ast - 2 Pts.

N. Ingram      0-13 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.

B. Palinko       2-4 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 4 Pts.

E. Small          0-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

R. Boodram   6-13 FG, 3-7 FT, 9 Reb, 0 Ast - 15 Pts.

---------

M. Murray      1-4 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 3 Pts.

A. Daradics     0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

B. VanVliet     0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Field Goals:  10-49 (.204).  Free-Throws:  3-7 (.429).  Three-Point Goals:  1-14, .071 (M. Murray 1-3, B. Paulmert 0-1, R. Boodram 0-2, A. Daradics 0-2, N. Ingram 0-6).

D8 Midget Final: St. Benedict 26, Resurrection 19

Jamal "Cash" Hajo was money at crunch time for the St. Benedict Saints.

Hajo poured in 16 points, and made four free-throws in the final minute as the St. Benedict Saints captured their first D8 Midget Boys title since the league was re-started (back in 2007-08) on Thursday evening with a 26-19 victory over the Resurrection Phoenix.

I'm giving Hajo the nickname "Cash" as he called that out several times while shooting his game-icing free-throws.

The Saints and Phoenix, the top two teams in the midget league who split their season series, started slowly, with Resurrection actually taking a 9-3 lead following some good work inside by Nik Potvin and a three-pointer from David Sigmund.

However, Hajo came back the other way with some big baskets to give the Saints some confidence, and a 13-3 run over the remaining ten minutes of the first half gave SBCSS a 16-12 halftime edge.

Both teams struggled offensively in the second half, with the Saints maintaining their slim lead throughout.  The Saints led by 5 (22-17) with about 4:00 to go, and over the course of the next couple of minutes, Rez had numerous cracks from close range that just would not go down.

In fact, a missed Rez lay-up with 1:16 to go (and the score still 22-17) led to a Saint fast-break, where Hajo was fouled (intentionally) and "cashed" both of his free-throw attempts to put SBCSS up 24-17.

However, they weren't out of the woods just then, as Rez stole the inbounds pass and a Tyler Riehl jumper kept Rez alive (24-19).  A turnover off of the inbounds gave Rez another crack at it, but they could not convert and Hajo iced the game in the waning seconds from the line for St. Benedict.

Zach Soltis added 4 for St. Benedict, while Rez was led by Nik Potvin (8) and Tyler Riehl's 4.

Sidenote:  The midget league is played with two 20:00 "running time" halves, with the final 2:00 of each half as "stop time".  I had posted incorrect information yesterday, where I said the halves were 25:00 in length.

RCSS    12-07 = 19

SBCSS  16-10 = 26

RCSS

D. Sigmund      1-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 3 Pts.

K. Santolini      1-6 FG, 0-0 FT, 4 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.

T. Riehl            2-8 FG, 0-0 FT, 4 Reb, 0 Ast - 4 Pts.

N. Potvin         4-9 FG, 0-3 FT, 6 Reb, 1 Ast - 8 Pts.

N. Snider         0-7 FG, 0-0 FT, 7 Reb, 3 Ast - 0 Pts.

----------

P. Beaulieu       0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

L. Gomez         0-3 FG, 1-2 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 1 Pt.

M. Klapperbn  0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

N. Radic          0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

A. McNeil       0-3 FG, 1-2 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 1 Pt.

P. McLaughlin  0-0 FG, 0-2 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

C. Jolkowski    0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

M. Viau           0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Field Goals:  8-41 (.195).  Free-Throws:  2-9 (.222).  Three-Point Goals:  1-4, .250:  D. Sigmund 1-1, T. Riehl 0-1, P. Beaulieu 0-1, L. Gomez 0-1.

SBCSS

Z. Soltis           2-4 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 4 Pts.

Brandon S.      1-5 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.

J. Hajo           5-11 FG, 6-7 FT, 4 Reb, 0 Ast - 16 Pts.

Evan P.            1-4 FG, 0-5 FT, 2 Reb, 1 Ast - 2 Pts.

E. Dixon           0-1 FG, 0-2 FT, 5 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.

---------

R. Amade         0-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

G. Lachance     0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Chetan K.        0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Alex Z.             1-4 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.

Field Goals:  10-34 (.294).  Free-Throws:  6-12 (.500).  Three-Point Goals:  0-6, .000 (J. Hajo 0-1, E. Dixon 0-1, Chetan K. 0-2, Alex Z. 0-2).

Weekly CWOSSA "Top 10" - January 20th

Very interesting this week, with a lot of teams beating each other up over the past seven days.

Here's a look at what I see at this particular point in time:

CWOSSABasketball.com Senior Power Ranking

1.  Forest Heights - Kitchener (1)

2.  St. Mary's - Kitchener (2)
3.  JF Ross - Guelph (3)

4.  Waterloo CI - Waterloo (6)

5.  Resurrection - Kitchener (4)

6.  Cameron Heights - Kitchener (NR)

7.  Grand River - Kitchener (5)

8.  Lourdes - Guelph (T10)

9.  Centennial - Guelph (NR)

10.  Centre Dufferin - Shelburne (NR)

Honourable Mentions:  Jacob Hespeler - Cambridge, North Park - Brantford, Bluevale - Waterloo, St. Benedict - Cambridge, SJAM - Waterloo.

CWOSSABasketball.com Junior Power Ranking

1.  St. Mary's - Kitchener (2)

2.  Grand River - Kitchener (1)

3.  Cameron Heights - Kitchener (3)

4.  Waterloo CI - Waterloo (5)

5.  JF Ross - Guelph (4)

6.  Centre Wellington - Fergus (9)

7.  St. James - Guelph (6)

8.  Eastwood - Kitchener (7)

9.  St. John's - Brantford (8)

10.  St. David - Waterloo (NR)

Honourable Mentions:  SJAM - Waterloo, North Park - Brantford.

Brantford Expositor: Tough But Satisfying Win for SJC

Article By:  Darryl Smart

It may have been a long week for J.P. Yurcich and the St. John's College Green Eagles but it may have been the perfect way to finish off the senior boys' basketball regular season.

Especially since they'll have more than two weeks off.

Tim Dawson poured in 20 points, while Yurcich added 19, as the Green Eagles (8-2) finished the regular season with a 58-39 win over the Paris Panthers (3-7) Thursday at home.

"It's been a long week for us," Yurcich said. "It's been tough."

He said playing three games to close out the regular season before the exam break was difficult because of the highs and lows that came with each one.

After an emotional loss against the first-place North Park Collegiate Trojans Monday, they defeated the surging Assumption College Lions Tuesday before deposing of the Panthers Thursday.

"Monday's game was so emotional," Yurcich said. "It always is with North Park because it's one versus two. And then we had to get up to play Assumption right after which was tough to do.

And against the Panthers, mental and physical was evident early.

"Our second half was much better tonight," he said. "We've seemed to have a tough time getting started, but when we do, things start to click."

After the Panthers, who were riding a two-game winning streak, jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead, it took the Green Eagles almost six minutes before they finally got back on the scoreboard.

And once they did, there was no looking back.

During the last two minutes of the first quarter, the Green Eagles generated four Panthers' turnovers, resulting in a 11-9 lead after the first quarter.

"Our first half was slow but the guys picked it up," Yurcich said. "It was a good way to end the regular season, with the exception of a couple of guys getting banged up. But we'll have a couple of weeks off to heal and get ready for the playoffs."

With their 8-2 record, the Green Eagles and the Trojans earned a first-round bye, while Brantford Collegiate, Pauline Johnson Collegiate, Assumption and Paris will duke it out in the quarter-finals on Feb. 7.

Yurcich said during the exam break, his team will attempt to get as much court time as possible with shoot arounds.

The same goes for the Panthers, but with a different focus.

"We're going to work on running," Panthers' Taylor Shipp said. "We want to go four quarters, not like tonight.

"We stayed with them for three quarters," he said. "We were playing some of our best basketball of the year."

Shipp again was a presence down low for the Panthers and said the game had the feel of a playoff game. And that was evident by the ice bags on Green Eagles players bench and players getting emotional on the Panthers' bench.

"The first three quarters felt like it," Shipp, who had four points said. "It was a real physical game."

Jake Kelley led the Panthers with nine points, while Parker McIntyre had eight, while Andrew Kearley and Harji Gill added six each.

Thursday's Results

SENIOR

NPC (10-0) 40, ACS (3-7) 33. NPC: Logan Varga 13, Marcus Jones 11, Marcus Hamilton 9. ACS: Stefan Toic 18, Nick Burdett 9, Nolan Drong 5.

BCI (4-6) 44, PJC (2-8) 37 (2OT). BCI: Chris Gorski 15, Kolby Sakuluk 9, Ben Candy 7. PJC: Tyler Campbell 14, Dakotta Robinson 7, Dakota Brush 6.

JUNIOR

SJC (9-1) 70, Paris (0-10) 24. SJC: David Smith 15, Lukas Hager 12, Dylan Ryan 12. Paris: Ryan Campbell 14, Corey Boehmer 9.

NPC (9-1) 56, ACS (6-4) 44. NPC: Andrew Silla 14, Matt Minutillo 11, A.K. Rai 11. ACS: Alvaro Saluta 13, Mike King 8, Austin Tlustos 8.

BCI (4-6) 47, PJC (2-8) 30. BCI: Tristan Almas 17, Noel Bomberry 14, Jamaal Jones-Peters 6. PJC: Swapnil Sharma 9, DJ Johnson 9, Scott Sobczyck 5, Justin Appleby 5.

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D10: Thursday Results

Senior

Lourdes 67, Orangeville 49

OLOL:  Ben King 16, Max Raab 12

ODSS:  Justin Levesque 16

Centennial 60, CWDHS 59

CCVI:  Tarang Sharma 35, Erik Sterne 15

CW:  Gavin McNamara 14, Reid Goindi 14

JF Ross 82, Bishop Mac 42

JFR:  Mike Friesen 14, Shamlo Saeed 12

BMAC:  Jesse Kendall 15, Giordan Bennett 9

St. James 44, GCVI 38

STJ:  Ryan Morales 11, Nick Pelizzarri 8

GCVI:  Andrew Hood 17, Tyler Beaton 8

D10 Senior Standings

1.  JF Ross 11-1

2.  Lourdes 10-3

3.  CWDHS 9-3

4.  Centennial 8-4

5.  Bishop Mac 5-7

6.  St. James 4-8

7.  Orangeville 1-11

8.  GCVI 1-12

Junior

St. James 44, GCVI 33

STJ:  Joey Hasson 14, Quinn Feeney 9

GCVI:  Raymond Su 9, Ryles Whitaker 8

CWDHS 55, Centennial 39

CW:  Ashlar Young-Evans 9, Josh McEachern 8

CCVI:  Anugesh Balasubramaniam 10, Harnoor Samra 8

Lourdes 41, Orangeville 7

OLOL:  Craig Valeriote 12, Hayden Nichol 7

ODSS:  Davis Neal 3

JF Ross 69, Bishop Mac 53

JFR:  Tommy Yanchus 24, Greg Schwann 16

BMAC:  Michael Ganson 27, Aiden Fraser 7

D10 Junior Standings

1.  JF Ross 12-0

T2.  St. James 9-3

T2.  CWDHS 9-3

4.  Lourdes 6-7

T5.  Centennial 5-7

T5.  Bishop Mac 5-7

7.  GCVI 3-10

8.  Orangeville 0-12

WCSSAA Senior: Gaels top Renegades in Rematch

In a rematch of their classic game at the East Side Mario's tournament from last Friday, the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels again squeaked past the Grand River Renegades by a 64-61 final.

The Rens were actually down by 12 in the second half before a furious comeback attempt fell just short.

Vedran Dmitrovic led the Gaels with 27, while Jason Thompson added 15 including a nice "and-one" dunk off of a feed from Dmitrovic.  Filip Cvrkalj and Chuder Teny had 22 each for GRCI.

In other games on Thursday:

Forest Heights 61, Bluevale 34
My Pick:  FHCI by 12

No trouble for the Trojans who roll past BCI at home.  Javon Masters poured in 28 points, while Juwan Miller added 9 for FHCI.  Jeevan Sidhu was the lone Knights in double figures with 10, while Ian Farquaharson had 8 more for Bluevale.

SJAM 39, Eastwood 37

My Pick:  SJAM by 9

The 'Landers survived Eastwood (without the services of Ben Reyhani - ankle) on Thursday.......barely.  Nathaniel Ellis had 12 and Nebojsa Sarkanovic 10 to lead the way for SJAM, while Patric Pintea netted 12 and Sayyad Yeganehnia 11 for Eastwood.

WCI 69, WODSS 39

My Pick:  WCI by 11

Dani Elgadi had another solid effort, pouring in 22 points as the Vikes ran away from the Crusaders in this one.  Zach Totzke added 14, while Jesse Dodgson led the Crusaders with 15.

Huron Heights 59, Southwood 25

My Pick:  HHHS by 33

Darcy Jacobs had 16 and Nathaniel Ernst-Finnie 12 as Huron Heights grabbed a win to even up their record on the season.  Riley Clipper (12) and Zack Sauer (8) led the Sabres.

Jacob Hespeler 59, KCI 38

My Pick:  JHSS by 17

The Hawks moved into a tie for fourth place (with Galt - they do hold the head to head tiebreak) with this win on Thursday.  Jason Quiring had 18 and Javon Bryce 14 for JHSS; Pat Moses and Rollin Duncan had 7 each for the Raiders.

Galt 53, Preston 49

My Pick:  GCI by 12

The Ghosts get the big home win against Preston in what was a battle of 6-3 teams going in.  Jack Simmons had another strong effort, pouring in 26 points, while Scott Holton added 11 for GCI.  Wes Meertens had 19 and Nathan Walsh 9 for Preston.

Glenview Park 53, Elmira 25

My Pick:  GPSS by 29

The Panthers move into a tie with KCI for the final playoff position with this victory; Chris Thompson (16) and Erist Wame (11) paced GPSS on Thursday.  Brian Gruneberg and Angus Docherty had 7 each for the Lancers.

WCSSAA Senior Boys Standings

1.  Forest Heights 10-0**

T2.  Grand River 8-2*

T2.  WCI 8-2*

T4.  Jacob Hespeler 7-3*

T4.  Galt 7-3*

T6.  Preston 6-4*

T6.  Bluevale 6-4*

T8.  Cameron Hts 5-5

T8.  SJAM 5-5

T8.  Huron Hts 5-5

11.  WODSS 4-6

T12.  Glenview Park 3-7

T12.  KCI 3-7

---------------

14.  Eastwood 2-8

15.  Southwood 1-9

16.  Elmira 0-10

** - clinched first round bye

* - clinched playoff berth

WCSSAA Junior: Murray, Renegades Survive Cameron Comeback Bid

The Grand River Renegades nearly suffered one of the biggest fourth-quarter collapses in WCSSAA junior basketball history on Thursday afternoon.

The Rens took a 50-34 lead heading to the fourth quarter, but GRCI scored only 3 points during the first 6:15 of the final frame while CHCI put home 15 to cut things all the way down to a 53-49 lead.

A Nikola Farkic three-pointer with about :45 seconds to go, and another CHCI bucket down the stretch actually put the Gaels in front by 1 in the waning seconds.

With time ticking away, the Rens were able to get the ball to their grade 9 sensation, Jamal Murray, who hit a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to win the game 56-54 (and set off a raucous celebration by the visiting Renegades and their fans).

Murray pumped home a game-high 25 in the win.  Sasha Simic had 11 and Farkic 9 for the Gaels.

The win also essentially sets up a showdown for first-place on the final day of the season, provided neither the Renegades (against Elmira) or WCI (against JHSS) slip up in their first game after the exam break.  

Here are the rest of the scores from Thursday's action:

Forest Heights 43, Bluevale 36

The Trojans get past the Knights at home for an important victory that brings them back up to the .500 mark.  Elijah Callendar had 14 and Tim Gadjos 8 for FHCI; Jamal John netted 11 and Ray Lin 8 for the Knights.

Eastwood 45, SJAM 37

In probably the second most intriguing game on the Thursday schedule, the Rebels picked up a big win on the road at SJAM.  Ousmane Kromah poured in 16 and Tre Nicholson had 11 for the Rebs; Brett Parrott scored 13 and Nedim Hodzic had 10 for SJAM.

WCI 71, WODSS 28

No trouble for WCI in this one as they cruised past the Crusaders.  Bojan Vincic (12), Abdul Mohammed (10) and Mostafa Fattah (10) were all in double figures for the Vikes, while Garner Matthews had 11 and Nick Penner 8 for W-O.

Huron Heights 36, Southwood 32

Still without Arshid Babury, the Huskies were almost upset at home by Southwood --- but they were able to pull out the win.  A loss might have meant that the Huskies wouldn't even host a home playoff game, depending on how things play out the rest of the way.

KCI 52, Jacob Hespeler 37

The Raiders grabbed their 2nd win of the season and made things more interesting in the race for the final playoff positions.  Stefan Simic had 23 and Jelani McLean 10 for the Raiders, while Matt Quiring netted 17 and Ethan Rudd added 8 for the Hawks.

Galt 60, Preston 29

This win by Galt means that if they can get past Southwood (3-7) and Bluevale (2-8) in their last two games, they will lock up a first-round bye.  TJ Lall poured in 18 and Abraar Unia had 9 in this win; Tanner Derjugin scored 11 while Tyler Gibner added 7 for PHS.

Elmira 37, Glenview Park 27

The Lancers are at .500 after a win at home over the Panthers.  Callum Johnson had 10 and Scott Carere 8 in the win; Tyler Bell had a game-high 12 for Glenview with 9 more added by Tyrell Wolf.

WCSSAA Junior Standings

1.  Grand River 10-0**

2.  WCI 9-1*

T3.  Cameron Heights 8-2*

T3.  Galt 8-2*

-----

T5.  Eastwood 7-3*

T5.  Huron Heights 7-3*

7.  Preston 6-4*

T8.  Elmira 5-5*

T8.  Forest Heights 5-5*

T8.  SJAM 5-5*

11.  Southwood 3-7

T12.  Jacob Hespeler 2-8

T12.  Bluevale 2-8

T12.  KCI 2-8

-----

15.  WODSS 1-9

16.  Glenview Park 0-10

** - clinched first-round bye

* - clinched playoff berth

Alumni Alert: Johnson Struggles, but Bison Still Victorious Against Lehigh

Former CWOSSA standout Bryson Johnson, arguably one of the better shooters in college basketball, had a rough go of it in yesterday evening against Lehigh University (and Stefan Cvrkalj) but the Bison were able to still come through with an important 68-61 road win.

The victory keeps Bucknell at the top of the Patriot League (4-0) while Lehigh dropped to 2-2.

Johnson, who played 18 minutes, missed all 8 of his field goal attempts (all three-pointers) but did go 3-for-3 from the stripe to finish with 3 points.  He added 2 rebounds and 2 assists as well.

Cvrkalj, who has apperared in 18 of 20 Lehigh games this season as a freshman, did not record a stat in his 4 minutes of court time.

For the year, Johnson (a junior) is averaging 9.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 1.2 APG (27.6 minutes per game).

Cvrkalj is averaging 3.1 PPG, 0.6 RPG and 0.1 APG (7.5 minutes per game).