Weekend Results

Head over to my Twitter Page, @CWOSSABBall, where I'll be providing the scores/results from this weekend's busy action.

We'll have recaps up later on, so for now, that's the best bet!

CWOSSA Top 20: Senior Boys "Preseason Ranking"

It's time.

The end of November and beginning of December means that league play is set to begin --- or, if you're in the D10 league, you're already two regular season games deep.

That, combined with some preseason tournaments, mean that we're beginning to have an idea about some of the top teams in the CWOSSA region.

This year is unique in that when I started to do my preseason ranking, I started with a "top 10", as usual.  However, parity seems to be the name of the game in CWOSSA basketball this season.  Many "double digit" ranked teams have quality players and teams, and can certainly upset those that are ranked higher (some already have, in fact!).

In other words, it's probably the closest that a "17th ranked team" has been to a "5th ranked team" in the past 5 years that I've been doing this blog.

It should make for some exciting games this season!

As for the ranking, there's a couple factors that I'm using when I make my preseason rankings.  Among them:

• Starters/Key Players Returning; % of Scoring Offense Returning (combined with performance from a season ago - obviously, a top-ranked team from last year returning a large chunk of their team will be favoured to have similar success this year).
• Key Junior Players Moving Up - not as big a factor the point above, several teams will see an influx of very strong junior talent which will immediately improve their competitiveness.
• Early Season Exhibition/Tournament Results - especially intra-CWOSSA games, as those provide a "benchmark".
• Other Factors.  For instance - transfer players.

Without further ado, let's get right to it:

1.  St. Mary's Eagles (Kitchener)
The Eagles, last year's AAAA champions, return probably about 90% of their scoring offense from a season ago, led by Tesloth Simon, Tyrick Thompson, Jermaine Lyle, Jermaine Stephenson, and Nathan Riley.  Add in several key juniors (Adham Eleeda, Minas Abara and co.) from the CWOSSA junior squad, and you have a team that should again be heavily favoured to make some noise.

Of course, after years of flying under the radar (provincially speaking), the Eagles are now getting a lot of notice and publicity.  It will be interesting to see how they fare as the "hunted" instead of the "hunters".

2.  SJAM Highlanders (Waterloo)
The Highlanders have a bit of everything, including size (Nedim Hodzic + Brett Parrott) and guard play (grade eleven Simon Petrov).  A decent junior crew also moves up to senior, led by their leading scorer, Justin Hardy.

Based on how good they've looked early on, I'll give the 'Landers the slight edge over Cameron Heights for 2nd spot in the CWOSSA rankings. 

3.  Cameron Heights Golden Gaels (Kitchener)
The Gaels return the greater majority of their scoring offense from a season ago (CWOSSA finalists / OFSAA AAAA qualifier) --- including many of their key starters (Sasha Simic, Nik Farkic, Ivan Cucak, Jackie Do).  They had a solid performance at the Pinky Lewis tournament (semifinalists), and also took home the Resurrection tournament last weekend with a 3-1 record (losing to Resurrection without Cucak).

They don't look like the most athletic bunch, but they're deceptive.  Attendance at a CHCI game will usually guarantee you a couple of "YouTube worthy" dunks or blocks!  

4.  Grand River Renegades (Kitchener)
The Rens lose Mike Moser award winner Chuder Teny, but there's still a lot of talent left over in East Kitchener.  Several returning starters (David Bajic, Miro Iliev, Murtada Khamis) and two key starters from last year's WCSSAA finalist junior roster (Aleks Cvrkalj, Jake Zuzan) should keep them up there with the other contenders in the WCSSAA league.

5.  St. James Lions (Guelph)
St. Mary's wasn't the only school to sweep a CWOSSA championship last year, as the Lions took honours in the "AAA" ranks for both junior & senior -- that core group of juniors all move up to the senior ranks.  Among returnees, Joey Hasson is off to a great start, putting up 29 in their league win over JF Ross.  The Lions also were victorious in all 3 games at their home tourney last weekend.

6.  Assumption Lions (Brantford)
The Assumption Lions lost a play-in game last year to JF Ross for the right to play CWOSSA games on their floor.  This year, the D5 AAAA representative will be an automatic qualifier, and the Lions should actually be in a position to make some noise, given that they return all 5 starters from last year's championship team, led by scoring sensation Andre Toic.

That said, there may be a bit of a slow start and some speed bumps given that the majority of the team also plays for the school's football team, which just finished its season.

7.  North Park Trojans (Brantford)
Winners of the Brantford Tipoff Classic, the Trojans have a bunch of talent back from last year's team, including guard Matt Minutillo (who scored 20+ and 30+ this past weekend) and 6'8" big man Brandon John, who played senior last year while in grade nine.

Look for NPC to be very competitive within their league and one of the favourites to make some noise in the "AAA" CWOSSA classification.

8.  Eastwood Rebels (Kitchener)
Eastwood, making an appearance in the Heinbuch this year, is undersized but makes up for it with athleticism, and I can certainly see them giving some of the top WCSSAA teams some trouble in the playoffs (much like this core group did in the junior ranks several years ago).

Experience is in abundance, with 5th years Ousmane Kromah, Izzy Nemeth, and Sydney Stewart.  Big man Cham Ujullu, who improved tremendously throughout last season (becoming a WCSSAA all-star in the process), will be huge in determining ECI's fortunes.

9.  JF Ross Royals (Guelph)
Despite losing a couple key players in Kristian Vande Kemp and Ryan Stulp, the Royals should again be very competitive in the D10 circuit.  Tommy Yanchus and Andrew Folkerson should provide the bulk of the scoring options for the Royals, who had a close loss to CHCI and a 2-point win over Resurrection last weekend.
 
10.  St. Benedict Saints (Cambridge)
For a team that struggled last year at the senior level, immediate help has arrived in the form of one of the top two junior squads in the CWOSSA region a season ago.

Zubair Seyed, Justin Malernich, Alex Douglas and co. will dramatically bolster an SBCSS squad that finished 4th in the D8 loop last year. 


11.  Bishop Macdonell Celtics (Guelph)
Off to a 2-0 start in league play, it's clear that the Celtics could (and probably should) certainly be ranked higher.  I'll put them in the #11 spot with a huge asterisk, as I want to see a couple more games from them before passing judgement.

They did lose several key players from a season ago, including leading scorer Jesse Kendall (UNB) and Owen Brombal.  That said, a core group of grade 10s that played up on the senior team last year are back, led by Chris Poloniato, Evan Hosker and Jake Chaput.  That means that the Celts should be challenging for a D10 (and CWOSSA) title again.

12.  Resurrection Phoenix (Kitchener)
Despite losing 4 starters, and much of their scoring offense from a season ago (Patric McGlynn & Jake Gilbert), the Phoenix do return D8 all-star Korbil Gany and have a solid crop of juniors moving up from my #3 ranked CWOSSA junior squad.

Guards Ali Rashid, Jake Rush, G/F Muyang Iluya and F Jordan Kenning (who grew to 6'7" over the summer) should all play an impact for the Phoenix.  Expect some early growing pains, as this group adjusts to senior basketball, but the talent is there to pull some upsets at the same time.

13.  Forest Heights Trojans (Kitchener)
The Trojans certainly impressed me at the Resurrection tournament last weekend, and definitely have the roster capable of making some noise in WCSSAA this year.  Jalen Nong, Rakesh Arjun, Manraj Jugpal and Amir Meftuh form a solid nucleus with some upset potential.

14.  Waterloo CI Vikings (Waterloo)
Fresh off a tournament victory at the CWDHS tournament (defeating the host Falcons by 7 in the final), the Vikes are another one of those teams that has a couple key returnees combined with several solid juniors coming up (most notably Aaron Grubb, one of the top guards in junior basketball).

Look for the well-coached, disciplined Viking team to again be in the mix come playoff time.

15.  Centennial Spartans (Guelph)
Mark Shinouda, Andy Ly, and Chris Jin are back for a Spartan team that had a disappointing 4-10 season last year in D10 play.  However, early returns are certainly promising, including a win yesterday over Lourdes. 

16.  Galt Ghosts (Cambridge)
Any time you have arguably the best scorer in CWOSSA on your team, you'll always be competitive.  That's certainly the case with the Galt Ghosts, who have superstar TJ Lall back in the mix for his 5th and final season at the castle.

Look for the Ghosts to be among those WCSSAA teams that qualify for "AAA" CWOSSA.

17.  Lourdes Crusaders (Guelph)
Despite losing Kevin Roche, several key returnees --- most notably Craig Valeriote and David Khayipangi --- should keep the Crusaders in the thick of the D10 race.

Another school that had an extended football season, and perhaps that has shown in their two early games, both league losses (albeit to arguably 2 of the top D10 teams).  Time will tell with this bunch, but I expect them to improve as the season progresses.

18.  CWDHS Falcons (Fergus)
The Falcons finished second in their home tournament (7 point loss to WCI) and are 1-1 in league play to this point.  They return the bulk of their scoring offense from a season ago, including James Scott, Ty Uhrig, and Sam Goindi, among others.

19.  St. John's Green Eagles (Brantford)
Projected to finish 3rd in the D5 standings is unfamiliar territory for the Green Eagles, but a balanced roster and good coaching will keep them in games with the ability to pull upsets over some of the higher ranked teams that may overlook them.  Early-season results (including a big loss to rival NPC) mean that I'll be a bit cautious with their early season ranking, but this is another team that could move up over time.

20.  KCI Raiders (Kitchener)
The Raiders should again be solidly in the mix for a CWOSSA "AAA" berth, led by one of WCSSAA's top scorers (and first-team all-star last year) Stefan Simic.  They suffered a 68-49 loss last week to #5 St. James in tournament play, but you can never discount a team led by Coach White.  

Heinbuch Preview: CWOSSA Teams

2013 Champs:  Oakwood CI

Another year, another nice field assembled for the 31st annual Heinbuch Classic, which is in Waterloo this year.

First-round games will go tomorrow at RIM Park, which is a great facility to showcase this tournament.  Those of us who remember the 2006 OFSAA Boys' Basketball tournament (or OBA events at the facility) can attest to it being a great facility to host these sort of events --- especially the ease to go back and forth between games.

It's now been 15 years since CWOSSA last tasted victory at the event (1999), when Brantford Assumption won the second of two consecutive crowns for CWOSSA schools at the Heinbuch (St. James won in 1998).

Here's a look at this year's CWOSSA contingent, including where I see them potentially finishing (albeit with a bit of my CWOSSA bias clearly shining through!).  As an FYI, your "division" is based upon the result of your first two games (WW = Gold; WL = Silver; LW = Bronze; LL = Consolation):

St. Mary's (Kitchener)
The Eagles, who reached the final at last year's event, return all 5 key contributors from last year's roster and about 90%+ of their scoring offense --- in addition to a strong contingent of junior players coming up the pipeline from their "AAAA" CWOSSA championship club.

There was a lot of hype surrounding SMHS in the preseason, being given a #1 national ranking by NorthPoleHoops.com, before the Eagles went 0-2 at the FHC Early Bird.  To be fair, the Eagles couldn't start practices until November 1st, only a few days before the event, whereas the Toronto-area schools had been practicing for some time.

In other words, I still have the Eagles as my #1 CWOSSA ranked team heading into the season, BUT they do have a very difficult first-round game against a disciplined Burlington Nelson team, which could be difficult.  Of course, being the "home team" might help.

Prediction:  Gold Division

Cameron Heights (Kitchener)
Court Heinbuch, for who this tournament is named, was a coach at Cameron Heights.  This may be one of the best opportunities in years for the Gaels to make some noise at a tournament named for one of their coaching greats.

St. Patrick's from Ottawa, silver medalists at this past year's "AAA" OFSAA, are the Gaels' first-round opponents.  St. Pat's is 3-3 on the year to this point, with those losses coming against tough opposition. 

There's a potential for a Cameron Heights - St. Mary's semifinal, should both teams advance that far.  What a game that would be --- here's hoping it can happen.

Prediction:  Gold Division

SJAM Highlanders (Waterloo)
The 'Landers, like both of the teams mentioned above, return the greater majority of their starting lineup and scoring offense from a season ago.

The first-round has them in an intra-CWOSSA match-up with North Park, which I'll pick the 'Landers to win.  Assuming they get past that, a tough second round game against (most likely) Welland Notre Dame would await.

Prediction:  Silver Division

North Park Trojans (Brantford)
Fresh off a big tournament win at home against St. John's, the Trojans are off to a solid start to their campaign, and should be improved over a season ago, with Matt Minutillo and 6'8" Brandon John leading the way.

With three CWOSSA teams in the top bracket, we'll get to see how the Trojans relate to the other CWOSSA contingent quite quickly.  I like them to win at least one of their first two games.

Prediction:  Bronze Division

Grand River (Kitchener)
The Rens have probably the toughest first round match-up, having to go up against the tournament's top seed, the Oakwood Barons.

Of course, Grand River basketball fans will remember RIM Park as the site where they came so close to pulling (arguably) one of the biggest upsets in OFSAA basketball history.  It will be interesting to see if GRCI can capture some of that "RIM Park magic" in this one. 

Regardless, with several scoring options (Miro Iliev, Murtada Khamis, David Bajic) I see the Rens hitting the win column at some point over the weekend.

Prediction:  Bronze Division

Eastwood (Kitchener)
The Rebels are making a trip back to the Heinbuch after being absent for quite some time --- I can't recall the last time, in fact, but I'd suggest it was probably in the 90s, or the latter part of the last decade during the Boyd Vassell era. 

This year's version of the Rebels returns four starters from a year ago --- Cham Ujullu, Sydney Stewart, Ousmane Kromah and Izzy Nemeth.  They aren't the biggest team in the tournament, but they can make up for it with athleticism.

Tough first-round match-up for the Rebs against Welland Notre Dame, and what should be a very interesting second-round tilt against a CWOSSA team (either SJAM or NPC).

Prediction:  Consolation Division

Waterloo CI (Waterloo)
The Vikings are the K-W school that has made the most historical Heinbuch appearances, and they'll be making another one this season.

Unfortunately for them, they're seeded in a tough draw, with a first-round game against Hamilton MacNab followed up by a second-round game against CHCI or Ottawa St. Patrick's.

The Vikes showed some good things in winning the CWDHS tournament this past weekend, so we'll see if that confidence can carry over to the Heinbuch and result in a win or two.

Prediction:  Consolation Division

All-Star MVP Photos

Junior:  Jama Bin-Edward (RCSS) & Grace Drewry (BMAC)

Senior:  Maddy Darling (JFR) & Celia McGlynn (RCSS)

D8 & D10 Girls' All-Star Photos

Thanks very much to Coach Aldworth from All-Star Game Host Resurrection CSS for these photos:

D8 Seniors

D10 Seniors

D10 Juniors

D8 Juniors

Including team shots, there were 600+ photos taken during yesterday's event.  The link to the high-resolution photos is here; please feel free to download and share.

D8 & D10 Split All-Star Doubleheader

The annual "D8 vs. D10" All-Star games took place yesterday at Resurrection CSS in Kitchener, and they ended up with the districts splitting wins in the two games.

To tip-off the doubleheader, the D8 Junior All-Stars, backed by 5 members of the CWOSSA "AAAA" champion Resurrection Phoenix, won over the D10 Juniors by a 44-26 final score.

Rez's Jama-Bin Edward verged on triple-double territory, finishing with 9 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots.

Grace Drewry from Bishop Macdonell had 6 points and was the D10's game MVP. 

In the senior game, D10 used a 9-0 run on a trifecta of three-pointers to take a 9-point lead at halftime, only to see the D8 seniors rally and tie the game at 48-48 in the fourth quarter.

A 7-0 late D10 run helped put the game away en route to a 56-51 final score.

Maddy Darling had 16 points to lead the D10 and all-scorers, while Celia McGlynn of Resurrection had 10 points for the D8 all-stars.

Both Darling & McGlynn were named as their respective district's MVP.

Senior Boys: Cameron Heights Tournament Draw

The Cameron Heights' Golden Gaels will host their 11th annual Senior Boys' tournament this coming weekend.

The tournament is usually hosted on the same weekend as the Heinbuch, meaning if the Gaels are participating in that event (like they are this year), they aren't in this one (or have a "B" team participating).

This year's draw is as follows:

Friday
9am:  Galt CI vs. Preston
10:30am:  Centennial vs. FE Madill (Wingham)

Noon:  D'Youville (Brampton) vs. KCI
1:30pm:  Riverside (Windsor) vs. Bluevale

3pm:  Cons SF (Losers of AM Games)

4:30pm:  Championship SF (Winners of AM Games)

6pm:  Cons SF (Losers of PM Games)

7:30pm:  Championship SF (Winners of PM Games)

Saturday
10am:  7th Place Game
11:30am:  Consolation Final
1pm:  3rd Place Game
2:30pm:  Championship Final

Junior D8 All-Stars: All 5 Phoenix Starters Named to Team

The D8 (and CWOSSA) champion Resurrection Phoenix led the way in the league's all-star selections, placing all five of their starters on either the first or second all-star team.

Resurrection first-teamers were grade 10 guards Krissia Vasquez and Meghan Sharp, alongside grade 10 forward Jama-Bin Edward.

Vasquez and Bin-Edward were named as D8 first-team all-stars for the second consecutive season.

Grade 9 F/C Buse Bin-Edward and Grade 10 forward Maddy Antwi were Rez's second team selections.

Rounding out the first-team was the league's leading scorer, grade 9 G/F Summer Pahl from St. Mary's HS, and fellow grade 9, G Maya Danis from St. Benedict in Cambridge.

Second-teamers alongside the Resurrection girls named above included Nana-Afia Agyepiah (Grade 9 F, SBCSS); Iman Ahmad (Grade 10 G, SMHS); Rachel Sothern (Grade 10 F, SDCSS); and Julia Kulcyznska (Grade 10 G, SMHS).

These D8 all-stars will be playing the D10 all-stars tonight at Resurrection CSS in Kitchener (6pm).  Admission is free.

D8 First-Team All-Stars
Krissia Vasquez, Resurrection, G (Gr. 10)
Jama Bin-Edward, Resurrection, F (Gr. 10)
Meghan Sharp, Resurrection, G (Gr. 10)
Summer Pahl, St. Mary's, G/F (Gr. 9)
Maya Danis, St. Benedict, G (Gr. 9)

D8 Second-Team All-Stars
Buse Bin-Edward, Resurrection, F/C (Gr. 9)
Maddy Antwi, Resurrection, F (Gr. 10)
Nana-Afia Agyeipah, St. Benedict, F (Gr. 9)
Iman Ahmad, St. Mary's, G (Gr. 10)
Rachel Sothern, St. David, F (Gr. 10)
Julia Kulcyznska, St. Mary's, G (Gr. 10)

D8 Senior Girls' All-Stars: Salaad Named MVP

League sources have confirmed that St. Benedict's Afifa Salaad has been named MVP of the District 8 Senior Girls' Basketball League.

Salaad, a grade eleven point guard for the Saints, was one of the Saints' top scorers in most league games but was equally as impressive with her passing and assist totals.

She will be joined on the first-team by teammate Kayla Leusink, who is a first-team D8 Senior All-Star for the second consecutive season.

The D8 runner-up Resurrection Phoenix also have two members on the first team.  Grade 12 G/F Celia McGlynn, and Grade 11 G Rachel Engel are on the squad, alongside Grade 11 F Megan Goar from St. David.

Two other St. Benedict Saints were named as second team all-stars --- guards Julia Mascarenhas and Brighton Ching.  Guard Bobbi-Sue Hentges (St. David), Centre Kelsey Caza (Resurrection) and guard Kirsten Hofstee (Woodland) round out the second team selections.

The D8 senior all-stars will be playing the D10 all-stars tonight at Resurrection, at 8pm.  Admission is free.

D8 First-Team All-Stars
MVP - Afifa Salaad, St. Benedict (Gr. 11 - G)
Celia McGlynn, Resurrection (Gr. 12 - G/F)
Kayla Leusink, St. Benedict (Gr. 12 - F)
Megan Goar, St. David (Gr. 11 - F)
Rachel Engel, Resurrection (Gr. 11 - G)

D8 Second-Team All-Stars
Julia Mascarenhas, St. Benedict (Gr. 10 - G)
Brighton Ching, St. Benedict (Gr. 12 - G)
Bobbi Sue Hentges, St. David (Gr. 12 - G)
Kelsey Caza, Resurrection (Gr. 12 - C)
Kirsten Hofstee, Woodland (Gr. 12 - G)

D10 Girls' All-Star Listing

Here is the listing of those girls that were named as D10 All-Stars, participating in this evening's games at Resurrection CSS in Kitchener.

D10 usually announces its league MVPs at the game.

D10 Junior All-Stars
Sophia Nash, Bishop Mac
Grace Drewry, Bishop Mac
Leah Parisotto, Bishop Mac
Lindsay Grant, Orangeville
Ashlan Best, Centennial
Lauren Zonneveld, Centennial
Cassandra Reynolds, Centennial
Aysia Male, Guelph CVI
Catie Terrey, JF Ross
Emily Andres, St. James
Jailyn Lochert, CWDHS
Jada Codrington, Lourdes
Hannah McIntosh, Lourdes
Jessica Mathieu, Lourdes

D10 Senior All-Stars
Emma Cain, Centennial
Emma Korol, Centennial
Hannah Newman, Centennial
Rachael DiGravio, Bishop Mac
Ellie Young, Bishop Mac
Jess Burke, Bishop Mac
Maddy Darling, JF Ross
Ali Darling, JF Ross
Nicki Sinkner, CWDHS
Emma Wells, Orangeville
Rainy Psenicka, Lourdes
Aida Raab, Lourdes
Meghan Santi, St. James
Sydney Wilson, GCVI

D8 vs. D10 All-Star Game - Tonight @ Resurrection CSS

The annual "D8 vs. D10" All-Star game goes this evening at Resurrection CSS in Kitchener.

It's free to attend, with the Junior game tipping off at 6pm, and the Senior game being played starting at 8pm.

Here's the program (click link) for this evening's game.

D10: Season Tips Off With Lions Sweeping Spartans

And we're off!

Just like that, CWOSSA Boys' regular season play is underway after the St. James Lions swept the Centennial Spartans in both parts of a junior-senior doubleheader.

On the junior side, the Lions nipped CCVI in a 62-55 final.  Jeff Morales (19) and Matt Sanvido (18) led the way for STJ, while Wyatt Shantz had 19 and Jimmy Omino 14 for the Spartans.

The senior game ended in a 75-56 final for St. James.  Scoring details were not immediately available from source.

League games continue today with Bishop Mac traveling to Orangeville, and CWDHS hosting Guelph CVI.  The first set of games for each team conclude tomorrow with JF Ross hosting Lourdes.

Bayshore Broadcasting: Interview With Katie Langdon

Katie Langdon of the St Mary's Lady Mustangs is facing a decision.
Langdon is in the process of making a selection for University education & basketball and has narrowed it down to either McMaster, Lethbridge or Victoria.

This weekend, Langdon will depart for British Columbia and visit the Victoria campus.

She spoke to Fred Wallace about her options and about the controversy surrounding the Bluewater Senior Girls Basketball Championship Tournament. 

You can listen to it here:
http://www.bayshorebroadcasting.ca/news_item.php?NewsID=70904

For those not aware, the following is a description of the controversy as reported by the Kincardine News:

"The official record will show that the OSCVI Falcons won the senior girls final by default over the St. Mary's Mustangs.

The Mustangs advanced to the final after the Walkerton District Secondary School Riverhawks withdrew from the semifinals due to a conflict between coaches.

However, a technicality resulting from unpaid referee fees resulted in BAA officials deciding not to allow the Mustangs to compete.

The BAA had warned St. Mary's about its late referee fees and the Mustangs said the cheque was mailed last week but had yet to arrive."

CWOSSA News & Notes: Monday

Lions Win Senior Home Tourney
The St. James Lions took the title at their Senior Boys' home tournament over the weekend, going 3-0 in the process.

After winning their opener, St. James defeated "AAA" rivals KCI (68-49) and St. David (54-33) en route to the title.

SBCSS Seniors In Brampton
The St. Benedict Saints advanced to the semifinals of the "Silver & Black" Senior Boys' tournament, hosted by Turner-Fenton SS in Brampton.

The Saints rolled over Applewood Heights of Mississauga (70-21) in their opener, before dipatching of Castlebrooke (Brampton) in round two.

SBCSS lost to the eventual tournament champions, Brampton Centennial, in the semifinals by a 62-57 score.  Zubair Seyed and Justin Malnerich had 12 each for the Saints in that one.

Rez Juniors 2nd in Sarnia
The Resurrection Phoenix junior team traveled to Sarnia over the weekend, where they finished 2nd in the annual "Black & Blue" tournament to Sarnia Northern, losing 64-55 in the championship final.  

Demar Holness had 19 to pace the Phoenix.

Resurrection posted wins over Chatham McGregor (65-36) and London Central (48-40) to reach the final.

Senior Boys: Resurrection Round-Robin Results

Over the weekend, Resurrection CSS hosted a two-day Senior Boys' round-robin tournament, featuring JF Ross, Cameron Heights, Forest Heights, Notre Dame (Burlington) and the host Phoenix.

In a tournament with several tight games, all teams had at least one game in the losing column.  Both Cameron Heights and JF Ross went 3-1 overall.  

For the record, Cameron Heights' lone loss (to Resurrection) came without the services of starter Ivan Cucak.  

Also, Cameron Heights' starters didn't play in their win over Burlington Notre Dame.

Here are the results:

JF Ross 76, Forest Heights 68
JFR:  Tommy Yanchus, 34
FHCI:  Rakesh Arjun, 12

Cameron Hts. 62, JF Ross 56
CHCI:  Sasha Simic, 18
JFR:  Tommy Yanchus, 18

JF Ross 60, Resurrection 58
JFR:  Andrew Folkerson, 20
RCSS:  Jake Rush, 17

Resurrection 56, Cameron Hts. 50
RCSS:  Ali Rashid, 15
CHCI:  Sasha Simic, 15

Forest Heights 79, Notre Dame 32
FHCI:  Amir Meftuh 17

Resurrection 57, Notre Dame 50
RCSS:  Korbil Gany, 16

Cameron Heights 53, Notre Dame 50
CHCI:  Jake Dekker, 14

Cameron Heights 59, Forest Hts. 54
CHCI:  Sasha Simic, 17
FHCI:  Manraj Jugpal, 15

Forest Heights 48, Resurrection 47
FHCI:  Jalen Nong, 17
RCSS:  Korbil Gany, 18

JF Ross 79, Notre Dame 55
JFR:  Tommy Yanchus, 26

Tournament All-Stars
Sasha Simic, CHCI
Nik Farkic, CHCI
Manraj Jugpal, FHCI
Amir Meftuh, FHCI
Kurt Barbato, ND
Ryan Korol, ND
Tommy Yanchus, JFR
Andrew Folkerson, JFR
Ali Rashid, RCSS
Jake Rush, RCSS
Korbil Gany, RCSS

Senior Boys: Trojans Take Brantford Tip-Off

The North Park Trojans took home the title at the annual "Brantford Tip-Off" Senior Boys' tournament over the weekend, beating Brantford St. John's 60-27 in the championship final.

The tournament, which features teams from Brant County and surrounding environs, gives an idea as to who the teams to beat in the D5 league might be.  Of note, Assumption College did not participate due to CWOSSA Football.

The Lions, who won D5 last year, are projected to be championship contenders again this year as they return their entire starting five from a season ago.

In the championship final, Trojan guard Matt Minutillo outscored the Green Eagles in the championship final by himself, posting an impressive 32-point performance.  Ryan Timms and Brandon John each added 8.

Zach Dawson had 7 and Tyler Bergey 5 for SJC.

In the semifinals, North Park topped Paris 69-31, with Minutillo notching 20 and John adding 13, while St. John's had three in double figures (Dan Weagle 14, Zach Dawson 11, Austin Lombardi 11) in a 57-42 win over Brantford CI (Tristan Almas, 13).

The semifinal losers would play in the consolation final, where BCI edged Paris, 37-35.  Dalton Mark had 10 for BCI, and Ryan Campbell a game-high 16 for the Panthers.

Other scores from the tournament included:

Paris DHS - 45 (Chaz Nolson 13)
Holy Trinity - 32 (Tavaun Gardner 12)

St. John's - 68 (Dan Weagle 19)
Pauline Johnson - 38 (Swapnil Sharma 12)

BCI - 35 (Robin Hylans 8, Adam Bakker 7, Aziz Dawar 6)
Simcoe Comp. - 18

Consolation Games:
Pauline Johnson - 78 (Swapnil Sharma 20)
Holy Trinity - 50 (Lenny Forrest 14)

Simcoe Composite - 52 (Tyler Kozak 22)
Holy Trinity 42 (Braden Ongena 18)

Pauline Johnson - 57 (Swapnil Sharma 33)
Simcoe Composite - 33 (Tyler Kozak 9)

Brantford Expositor: St. John's Captures OFSAA Silver in Windsor

The St. John's College Green Eagles senior girls basketball program continued its outstanding run at OFSAA this weekend in Windsor.

Playing in the most recent Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AAA championship, St. John's captured silver when it lost to Hamilton's St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School 57-40 in the final.

St. Mary's was the tournament's No. 1 seed while St. John's was ranked second.

It was the eighth straight year SJC has attended OFSAA under the guidance of coach Matt Lynch, bringing home five medals during that stretch - one gold, three silver and an antique bronze (fourth place).

Although the Green Eagles obviously wanted gold this season, Lynch was far from disappointed with the team's second-place finish.

"There's definitely pride, no disappointment at all," said Lynch, who has been helped on the bench by Steve Van Leeuwen and Gina Tarantello during the school's great run.

"The scene in the change room after was very celebratory. From a coach's standpoint, I couldn't be more proud of the girls and what they accomplished this year."

The Brant County and Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association champions wind up with a 32-4 record this season. Making it to the OFSAA championship was one of the team's goals.

"That was a big drive for us this year, for sure," said Green Eagles player Maddi Cohoon.

"It was amazing. We all played for each other. It was a great feeling to win (silver) as a team. It was a total team win."

After beating Newmarket 58-49 on Thursday, the Green Eagles defeated Thomas A. Stewart 67-17 in Round 2 and Oakridge Secondary School 59-26 in the quarter-finals.

St. John's qualified for the final with a 54-37 win against Oakwood Collegiate in the semifinals on Saturday morning.

"They played great basketball," said Lynch. "They kind of took it to a different level this last three or four weeks.

"We had a tough first game against a good Newmarket team (at OFSAA). That was kind of our wakeup call. Then they just kept playing better and better and better.

"The scores probably don't indicate it but those are some pretty good teams we beat."

In the final, SJC met up with one of the few other teams in the province with as impressive a resume as its own.

"They're a great team," Lynch said of St. Mary's. "They can all shoot the ball and even when they sub, their subs can shoot the ball well, too. They're well coached.

"They've won OFSAA four years in a row and it's no secret why. They're just a great team, top to bottom."
Despite the loss, Cohoon was proud of her teammates.

"We go into every game and our goal is to play with perfect effort," she said. "I think that's what we did."

One of Cohoon's teammates, Kendra Van Leeuwen, has played at the national level for Canada. She said playing for Canada or at OFSAA can be similar.

"I think it compares because it's a feeling that you get when you step onto the court," she said. "No matter where you go, you always want to play and you always get that feeling of excitement, at any level."

Like Cohoon, she was ecstatic to be a member of such a great team.

"I couldn't be more proud of our team," said Van Leeuwen. "We really pushed ourselves to our limits and we really showed how much heart we have and how much we could accomplish as a team."

"They're a great group from top to bottom, both basketball wise and just character wise, too," Lynch added.
"I can't say enough good things about these girls. They're an awesome bunch and it was a lot of fun coaching them this year. They deserve everything they've accomplished."

While the team is still celebrating its silver-medal win, there's no doubt they'll be looking to the future shortly.
"I would expect to return a large portion of the team next year and then we have some great juniors coming up from the CWOSSA championship team as well," said Lynch, noting that Megan Thompson and Jen Garner are the only two players who he's quite certain will not return next season.

"Each year presents different challenges. We look to be competitive next year, too. Even though we've been pretty successful and gone to OFSAA eight years in a row now we recognize that it's a special thing and it doesn't always happen.

"Next year we're going to have to play hard and work hard to get to where we were this year."

Cohoon said the team can only hope to get back to where it was.

"It'll be different," she said. "We played our last game for Megan (Thompson). It was our last time playing with her but we hope that next year -- we set goals at the beginning of the year, that'll be one of them, to get in that same position."

For Thompson, it was her fifth and final year of eligibility and she was able to achieve one of her goals.
"It's a goal I've been shooting for since I started playing high school basketball," she said. "Starting as a junior, you'd see the seniors go to OFSAA and you were like, 'Wow, I want to get there one day and win a medal.'"

Thompson, a captain along with Cohoon and Van Leeuwen, said her basketball experience at SJC won't be forgotten anytime soon.

"I feel like I definitely grew as a player for sure and coach Lynch and Van Leeuwen had a lot to do with that," said Thompson, who hopes to play basketball at university next year.

"(The girls) are definitely what made the experience. It wouldn't be the same without the teammates and how we push each other and support each other.

"It's been awesome with the team and coaches. They're the ones who have made me grow as a player and person."

Other members of the the silver-medal winning team include Lauren deMontmorency, Sam Dupont, Leah Coon, Ashley Derks, Erin Dubois, Jen Garner, Alex Girardi and Alaina McMillan.

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