Simcoe Reformer: Wolves Knocked Out By Ridley

By: Jacob Robinson, Simcoe Reformer
Retrieved From: http://www.simcoereformer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2484670

The Waterford Wolves were two wins away from a guaranteed medal at the OFSAA single-A basketball championships -- until their dreams were dashed by the second-ranked Ridley College Tigers.

Following a win on Day 1, the Wolves booked themselves a spot in the quarter-finals by taking down Algonquin (North Bay) 72-60 in Round 2 Tuesday morning.

That set up an afternoon match with Ridley College from St. Catharines, the very team the Wolves wanted to face with a spot in the semifinal hanging in the balance.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 14-point lead before the Wolves responded, cutting the deficit to four before the half. Ridley jumped out to another 12-point advantage, only to see the resilient Wolves battle back once again. But when the Tigers went on another run late in the fourth, the clock had struck midnight on Waterford.

"To start the second we were down 12 and closed it to six but from there it got away from us," said Wolves coach Dan Avey. "They played our game against us, they were the first team to really press us."

Mike Couperus and Paul Malcolm each scored 20 points in a game that Waterford just couldn't seem to grab control of.

"We just took it as just another game, but were a bit more serious. Playing Ridley, you really want to beat them. It was just another game, but we knew if we won two more we were in the gold medal game, and we did want it a bit more," said Wolves guard Aaron Hall.

"We just ran out of time in the end. We couldn't get enough stops, hit enough of our baskets and they made some key free throws."

Sporting a near perfect record, having been at OFSAA last year and armed with a ranking of seventh, the Wolves had a very realistic shot of winning a medal, especially when a win over Ridley would've seen them face the eleventh-ranked King's Christian (Oakville) squad in the semis.

"All season we were talking about OFSAA and our goal was to win CWOSSA and get back," said Hall. "In the end, we gave ourselves a chance to win a medal, we just didn't come through."

Avey had yet to address his troops following the loss to Ridley, but said his message to the team would be straightforward.

"I'm proud of their accomplishments," he said. "We made it to the quarter-finals, we're one of the top-five single-A teams in the province -- you can't knock it. These guys have every right to hold their heads high."

In the Game 2 win against Algonquin, Couperus scored 26, Gary Hill-Stone had 20 and Malcolm added 19 in what was the final victory of the tournament for WDHS.

"We had a slow start, but managed to get the lead. They were able to hit a couple shots to put them back in the game. There was a lot of good spirit from our team," explained Hall.

"It was back and fourth in the second half and in the fourth, we were able to play really good D, create turnovers and hit the shots that we needed to."