NSSAA Tuesday Review: From the Simcoe Reformer...

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Article By Jacob Robinson

"Alone and Undefeated"

The most anticipated match-up so far in the NSSAA Senior Boys Basketball League didn't quite live up to the hype.

Both Waterford and Valley Heights came in with undefeated records, but when the dust settled, the Wolves did what they have all season -- kept their opponent at arms' length.

WDHS once again hit the half-century mark and enjoyed a wealth of scoring from their starters in a 56-40 win on the road, further cementing their status as the championship favourites.

Among those showing no after effects from the Christmas break were: Gary Hill-Stone, who had seven first quarter points and 17 in total; Mike Couperus, whose assault on scoreboards everywhere with 20 points; and point guard Paul Malcolm who had 10.

"We were just aggressive, we push the ball, a lot of fast breaks," explained Wolves guard Aaron Hall. "Paul and Gary did what they always do -- Gary was left open a lot early in the game and got a lot of points, then Coup got going and he got a lot of points for us,"

The Bears walked away from the game knowing they could've closed a second half deficit of 16 had they been able to score and better defend the Wolves' offensive pressure.

"Our defence wasn't quite as good as it has been lately, I think that was most of it -- and we couldn't nail our shots," said Bears power forward Justin Reddekopp. "We got a lot of good looks, we just couldn't nail anything tonight."

Waterford extended its lead early in the third, thanks in part to eight points from Couperus alone. That left the Bears no choice but to put up shots they might not have otherwise.

"Any team gets frustrated from missing shots, especially since it's probably come so easily to them all year," explained Hall.

"Probably, it's a more desperate thing -- they're not getting what they want going to the rim, so they'll put up some shots from the outside."

With four wins before Christmas, the Bears came into the game with a ton of confidence. Reddekopp said his team would have a much different approach for the stretch drive following their first defeat.

"(We need) to keep our self esteem down a little bit -- not too cocky. We came in here maybe thinking we can win... we can learn a lot from this loss," he said.

"We should be a lot more aggressive, keep them out of the paint -- all the little stuff. We've got to improve on everything."

Though the win was big for Waterford, Hall noted that, as the defending champs, there'd be no nights off, especially when the two teams meet again Feb. 9.

"We just want to build on that. That was good for us coming back from holidays with no practices to win against a good team like that. We just want to keep that going into the playoffs," he said.

"They're an athletic team with some good guards and they play tall too. They're always a threat and they'll be hungry next time."

Valley Heights' Ben Rempel led his team with 19 points.

In the junior contest, the Bears remained undefeated with a 62-44 win. John Rempel led all scorers with 23 points, Dakota Robinson countered with 16 for Waterford.