Waterloo Region Record: Knights Fall at Hoops Tourney

By: Mark Bryson, Record Staff
Retrieved From: http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/682006

Another slow start was the beginning of the end for the Bluevale Knights.

Similar to their Day 1 performance at the Ontario quad-A boys basketball tournament in Oshawa, the 11th-ranked Knights fell behind early on Tuesday and were unable to completely close the gap against the No. 5 Vaughan Voyageurs of Thornhill.

Vaughan built a 16-7 lead after the first quarter and held off a late Bluevale rally to secure a 50-39 win. Bluevale had come within four points with just over two minutes remaining, but that was as close as the Knights would get

The result was similar Monday’s 68-43 loss to No. 2 Blessed Mother Teresa Scarborough when the Knights fell behind 19-9 in the first quarter.

Stefan Cvrkalj led the Knights with 16 points while Drew Ballak was named his team’s most valuable player for a strong defensive effort.

“I’m proud of them. Our guys played with a lot of heart today,” said Knights head coach Doros Theodosiou.

“They never gave up and kept fighting until the end.”

In a stunning development at OFSAA, the top-ranked Pickering Trojans of Ajax dropped their second straight game and were bounced from the 18-team tournament.

It was a memorable season for the Knights, who became the first Bluevale senior boys squad to reach OFSAA since the school opened its doors in 1972. The Knights went a perfect 12-0 in the regular season, won the Waterloo County title with a win over the Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders and then claimed the Central Western Ontario plaque with a win over Guelph’s J.F. Royals.

“I don’t think the kids will realize until months from now what they accomplished this year, being the first team in school history to achieve all this,” said Theodosiou.

Key players Ballak and Andrew Beney will move on, while star guard Cvrkalj has yet to make up his mind on what he’ll do next year. Theodosiou said there is a strong possibility the local league’s best player could return.

With Cvrkalj back and Karsten Beney, Fraser Voll and Adam Zack returning for a fifth year, and six-foot-six Perrin Smith back for his Grade 12 season, the Knights should once again be one of the teams to beat in WCSSAA.