REDA: Former CWOSSA Players In Action on Friday

Three former CWOSSA stars will be in action on Friday as the REDA program takes on the Uruguay National "U-17" team in an exhibition affair.

The game, which takes place at John F. Ross CVI (8:30pm tip time) will feature Connor Wood (ex-Bishop Mac), his younger brother Mitchell (ex-Bishop Mac), and Jason Quiring (ex-Jacob Hespeler) as members of the REDA lineup.

The Uruguay U17 team will be partaking in a tour of Canada and Friday's game marks their first test on Canadian soil.

Tickets will be available at the door --- adults are $7 and students are $4.

JF Ross CVI is located at 21 Meyer Dr. in Guelph.

Lancers To Host Exam Week "Mini Tournament"

Although not a member of WCSSAA this season, the Elmira Lancers' senior boys basketball team has been participating in a tournament schedule, and they will host their own "mini tournament" this coming Wednesday.

The participating teams will include Rockway from Kitchener (D8), Elmira, and Grey Highlands (Flesherton - BAA).  The schedule is as follows:

3:30pm - Elmira vs. Rockway
5:00pm - Grey Highlands vs. Rockway
6:30pm - Elmira vs. Grey Highlands

It should be an interesting afternoon of basketball; Rockway and Grey Highlands were ranked within 4 spots of each other in my recent "top 60" ranking while Elmira would likely be right in that neighbourhood (though I did not rank them as they are not participating in a league this season).

Around CWOSSA: Recruiting (and Returning) Update

Updated 1/28 - 1:50pm

By now, we all know that Bluevale's 6'4" 5th year guard Stefan Cvrkalj will be heading to Lehigh University next fall.  Here's a quick look at some other "recruiting and returning" news out of the CWOSSA region:

Higgins Yet to Commit
Ryan Higgins, the star SF for Guelph St. James, is probably CWOSSA's next best recruit in the class of 2011.  He's had interest from a variety of places, ranging from low/mid D1 schools through CIS.  A recent report indicated that the Western Mustangs are "prominently involved" among CIS clubs, and Western coach Brad Campbell got a good look at Higgins when the Lions were down in London over the winter break for the UWO Purple & White tournament.  

Top D8 SG's to Return
The top two shooting guards in the District 8 league will both be returning next year.  Alex Thompson (6'1"/G - St. Mary's) and Tyler Schneider (6'2"/G - Resurrection) are coming back for a 5th season of high school.  Both clubs will again feature solid rosters bolstered by a number of returnees and should be among the "upper echelon" of CWOSSA teams. 

Thompson has been listed as a "top 50 player" among Canadians (including those at prep schools in the States) in the class of 2012 by FlagrantFouls.com (#48 overall) and should be seeing his post-secondary interest continue to increase.

Schneider projects as a solid CIS player, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up locally at the University of Waterloo, where his father Tom was voted as one of the top 5 players in UW history as part of Waterloo's 50th anniversary celebrations.  As a side note, Schneider's younger brother Adam will be in grade eleven next year allowing the two to play together on the same team.   

Wood Top 30 in Class of 2012
Speaking of top recruits next year, former Bishop Mac junior star Connor Wood (6'3" SG) is listed as #28 overall among Canadians in the class of 2012.  Wood, of course, now plays with the REDA program in Hamilton along with his younger brother, Mitchell, and another "CWOSSA alum", former Jacob Hespeler junior star Jason Quiring. 

Connor's interested schools currently include McMaster, York University, Guelph, and several NCAA D-1 schools including Elon College out of the Big South Conference.  The Big South was a destination for former KCI star Borko Popic (Virginia Military Institute).

Rez Front Liners 50/50
Two of Rez's grade 12 forwards, Andrew Mwangi (6'3"/SF) and Mike Pereira (6'4"/SF-PF) are possible returnees as well.  Both have submitted university applications, but may elect to return for a 5th year.  At this point, it's still too early to tell.  Mwangi, last year's D8 MVP, has applied to Western, Toronto and the University of Waterloo.  Pereira, meanwhile, has probably seen his post-secondary stock improve dramatically this season, especially after his stellar performances at the St. Benedict Tournament in Cambridge.  He's got tremendous wingspan and can alter shots inside despite being slightly undersized for a "next-level" PF.  Offensively, he's a solid finisher in traffic inside, and can also step out and hit the three. 

We'll keep an eye on that situation.  Of Resurrection's 13 players on the roster, 12 are in grade eleven or grade twelve (i.e. 4th year).

Saeed Among Royals to Return
Speaking of teams with a solid number of (potential) returnees, the JF Ross Royals in Guelph are in that luxurious position.  5'11" PG Sham Saeed, arguably one of the quickest players in CWOSSA and a candidate for the D10 MVP this season, will be returning.  Virtually the entire JF Ross roster is eligible to return and it would appear that mostly everyone is keen to do so. 

The University of Guelph Gryphons have traditionally enticed most of D10's talent to stay at home (3 D10ers and 6 ex-CWOSSA players on their roster) so I'm sure they will be heavily involved with Saeed and 6'3" guard Jack Cornett, among others.

And Elsewhere in Guelph...
Lourdes PG/SG Mike Finoro has received interest from a "handful" of CIS schools, but at this point is still undecided as to his plans of returning for a 5th year. 

McDonald Gaining CIS Interest
One of the top guards in CWOSSA, North Park guard Cale McDonald has stated that he "would like to play CIS basketball next year".  He has been receiving interest from the University of Toronto, York University, as well as Wilfrid Laurier.  His heady play and deep three-point range should see him suiting up for a team next fall.

Bluevale Players Not Named "Cvrkalj"
Bluevale's 5th year guard, Karsten Beney, will be heading to Wilfrid Laurier University next year --- as a member of the Golden Hawk football squad.  As for the Knights' top fourth-year players, both 6'6" F Perrin Smith and 6'4" G/F Ian Farquharson will be returning for a fifth year of high school.

Smith has received some interest from local schools --- Laurier and Guelph.

Galea Bolstering Raiders' Record and Post-Secondary Stock
KCI veteran Alex Galea has helped the KCI Raiders "quietly" get off to a 7-3 start in league play.  He's poured in an average of 15.0 PPG in league play, and KCI coach Nick White noted in a recent Mark Bryson blog post that he believes that Galea "has the potential to play at the CIS level if he opts to take that route".

Reyhani To Stay Local
SJAM 6'1" SG Ben Reyhani will be attending unviersity in Waterloo at either Wilfrid Laurier or Waterloo.  The super-scoring fourth year player is undecided on returning for a 5th year at this point.

Mark's Grade 11s to Watch
Of the current "rookie class" in CWOSSA, three forwards have really gotten the eye of scouts already with their combination of size and skill. 

6-foot-5 St. Mary's forward Adam Voll might be the most intriguing prospect currently among grade 11s.  His development has been tremendous since a season ago, where he was a very good junior player.  He has tremendous athleticism (throwing down a variety of dunks), is a great finisher at the rim and can do things on the defensive end as well in terms of blocking shots and the like.  He's kind of an "in-between" player right now --- not quite a small forward in terms of his ball handling but not quite a power forward bulk-wise.  Still, the sky seems to be the limit with this kid and Coach Hergott has been bringing him along slowly by having him come off the bench for most of the start of the season.  Voll is making it hard for his coaching staff to not put him in the starting five, and I think that we'll see that at some point before the season is over.

Cory Kenning over at Resurrection is a 6'6" PF/C for the Phoenix, who currently acts as their "6th man" in a crowded frontcourt that features the two forwards mentioned above (Mwangi & Pereira).  He's only been playing organized basketball for a number of years but his development has been tremendous during this stretch.  He has range out to close to the three-point line, is a solid foul shooter (75% range) and also works well with his back to the basket.  It's a matter of time before the secret is out at Resurrection that this kid is a solid next-level prospect.

The last of my three is Jacob Ranton over at WCI.  At 6-foot-5 and still growing, he's already got CIS-level size at the small forward position.  He's historically grown up being a guard, so has the SF skillset as well, including deep range from the three-point stripe.  Look for him to continue to develop along with some of the other solid members of that youthful WCI squad --- who will likely be playing together for the next two years.
 
As for the guard class among rookies, Javon Masters (Forest Heights) and Sean Samuel (Huron Heights) are two that can fill it up at will and will likely garner some next-level interest as well.  Adam Anagnostopoulos (WCI) isn't required to do the scoring that those other two are for his club, but he's a heady PG and --- as most people often forget --- he's only in grade 10.

6-foot-3 SG/SF Filip Cvrkalj at Grand River is in a "crowded backcourt" to say the least, but has already received interest from about three CIS schools.

Information/Details To Add?
Just let me know - shoot me an e-mail:  mark (at) cwossabasketball.com

Alumni Update: All-CWOSSA Performers

Of the 15 senior boys players that I named as "all-CWOSSA" performers in the 2009-10 campaign, 6 returned to their respective high schools for either a 4th or 5th year of high school.  Of the 9 graduates, 3 went on to play basketball at the post-secondary level.  Here's a look:

Andrew Beney, University of Guelph - The 6'7", 220 lb. forward has been seeing increasing minutes in the rotation for the Gryphs, and has been in the starting lineup for 4 of the last 5 games. He knocked home 10 points this past weekend in an 87-75 loss at Laurier, and followed that up with 9 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Waterloo.  Pretty impressive stuff considering the majority of UW's forward line-up are in 3rd - 5th year and have a bit of experience on him.  In OUA play (7 games), he is averaging 4.6 PPG and 4.0 RPG in about 16 minutes of action a night.

In his original remarks after recruiting Beney, Gryphons head coach Chris O'Rourke noted that "Andrew is the type of player that every coach loves to have; his work ethic and drive are outstanding.  He is going to blossom at the CIS level and only continue to develop because of his character."

Teamwise, the Gryphons are currently last (8th) in the competitive OUA West with a 5-9 record --- but are just 2 games out of 4th place.  The top 6 teams qualify for the playoffs.

Beney is in the Engineering program at Guelph.

Jake Robinet, Unviersity of Waterloo - The 6'6", 190 lb. forward is one of 4 WCSSAA players (and 5 Waterloo Region players) on the UW roster.  Robinet has seen some action this year, most recently getting into a game on January 12th against Guelph.  In a loss to Laurier on January 8th, he saw 6 minutes of court time and registered 2 rebounds.  For the year, he has appeared in 6 games, scoring 4 points (0.7 PPG) and adding 6 rebounds and 1 blocked shot.

The Warriors, like the Gryphons, are fighting hard for a playoff spot and currently sit tied for 6th in the OUA West at 6-8.

Robinet is in the Kinesiology program at UW.

Ryan Cook, Humber College - The 6'4" forward is suiting up for Humber in the OCAA, and has been a key contributor to the Hawks, who currently sit in first place by themselves in the OCAA West.

Cook has appeared in all 12 OCAA games, and is averaging 3.9 PPG on the season while adding in 8 steals, 5 assists and 1 blocked shot.

In a recent 95-56 win over St. Clair College, Cook led the Hawks with 13 points and was perfect shooting the ball --- 5/5 FG, 2/2 from three-point range and 1/1 from the free-throw line.  However, he did foul out in only 13 minutes of action.

The Hawks are 22-5 on the season and 12-0 in league play; they sit a full 2 games clear of 2nd place Sheridan College (10-2).

Cook is in the Business Administration program at Humber.

WCSSAA Junior: Catch-Up

One score from last week that we didn't have at posting time, so I'll catch everyone up with it here and the updating standings that result:

Grand River 64, Huron Heights 49
GRCI:  Chuder Teny 25
HHHS:  Alex Deadman 16

WCSSAA Standings - Junior
1.  Forest Heights 10-0**
2.  Cameron Heights 9-1*
3.  Bluevale 8-2*
T4.  Glenview Park 7-3*
T4.  Grand River 7-3*
T4.  Galt 7-3*
T7.  KCI 6-4*
T7.  Eastwood 6-4*
9.  WCI 5-5
T10.  Jacob Hespeler 4-6
T10.  Elmira 4-6
T12.  SJAM 3-7
T12.  Preston 3-7
-----
14.  Huron Heights 1-9
T15.  Southwood 0-10
T15.  WODSS 0-10

The league schedule gets back underway a full two weeks from today (February 8th) with a pretty big game --- Cameron Heights will play Forest Heights at 3:30pm (at FHCI) with the winner likely getting first place overall in the standings entering the playoffs (assuming neither slips up in their last outing). 

Another massive tilt scheduled for February 8th features Bluevale (8-2) visiting Grand River (7-3).  The Knights also face a tough test on February 10th against Eastwood (6-4).

From a tiebreaking perspective in that area of the standings:
Bluevale: defeated GPSS; not played GRCI; will not play Galt
Galt: defeated GPSS; will not play either Bluevale or Grand River
Grand River: lost to GPSS; not played BCI; will not play Galt
Glenview Park: beat Grand River, lost to Galt and Bluevale.

Both Galt and Glenview Park should win their last 2 games and finish with 9-3 records.  Glenview Park's remaining 2 games are against WODSS and Huron Heights, who are a combined 1-19 on the year.  Galt has a bit tougher schedule against Cambridge rivals JHSS (4-6) and Preston (3-7).

That being said, if GRCI beats Bluevale and all 4 teams finish at 9-3, we would utilize the "strength of schedule" tiebreak which (I think) would benefit GRCI and BCI, who have more playoff teams on their schedule this season.

If Bluevale takes out Grand River, then it's a moot point as GRCI would have 4 losses and, in that scenario, become a very dangerous #6 seed, which isn't a bad spot to be in.  They made the most of that exact circumstance last year and advanced through to the WCSSAA championship game, as well as the CWOSSA semifinals.

TriCitiesSports.Com: Bruins Take it to the House in Win over Bucs

With things slowing down for the week due to exams, we'll shift our attention to the work that some of CWOSSA's alums have been doing at the post-secondary level.  To start things out, here's an impressive outing by former Guelph Centennial star (and now Nashville's Belmont University senior) Jon House.  His Bruins are the early favourite to advance to the NCAA tourney from the Atlantic Sun, as they have amassed an 18-3 overall record with their only three losses coming to Vanderbilt and Tennessee (twice) ---- and the losses to those two SEC teams were only by 11, 9 and 1.

------------------------
TriCitiesSports.com
January 23, 2011

JOHNSON CITY – When you play Belmont, you pick your poison.

East Tennessee State chose to take its chances with the 3-point shot Sunday and eventually died in the last five minutes as the Bruins strengthened their grip atop the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 72-62 win in front of 4,299 at the Mountain States Center.

Jon House was the unlikely star for Belmont (18-3, 10-0) with 17 points – 12 above his average – six rebounds and six assists. Ian Clark added 14 points and Jordan Campbell canned 12 off the bench, all on 3-pointers.

The Buccaneers (13-8, 8-2) opted to limit the Bruins’ 1-2 post punch of Mick Hedgepeth and Scott Saunders, double-teaming on every touch and restricting the two – which combine for 22.6 ppg – to seven shot attempts and five points.

“You look at those number s and those are pretty good,” ETSU coach Murry Bartow said, “but what beat us in the end was House scoring 17 points.”

Although they never led for the game’s last 37 minutes, 40 seconds, the Bucs made Belmont work for its ninth straight win.

Playing without starting guard Justin Tubbs (ankle), ETSU trailed by 14 points late in the first half, but gradually chipped away at the deficit behind Micah Williams’ shot-making and evened the score at 52 when Sheldon Cooley drained two free throws at the 8:50 mark.

Without Tubbs and with Mike Smith struggling to a 5-of-15, 11-point day, the Bucs hung in behind Williams, who scored 12 points in a 4:11 span early in the second half on his way to a game-high 22.

“I knew I had to be aggressive,” Williams said. “The team needed me to score.”

While Williams put ETSU in position to win, it ultimately couldn’t overcome the Bruins’ superior depth or its plethora of 3-point shooters.

Belmont reserves, which entered the game as the third-highest scoring bench in the nation, outscored the Bucs’ injury-depleted subs 29-2. The Bruins also drilled 12-of-26 3-pointers, including critical hits from Clark and Campbell in the last four minutes.

Seven different players sank 3s for Belmont, whose only losses have come on the road against Southeastern Conference foes Tennessee (twice) and Vanderbilt, none by more than nine points.

“They had a real good scheme against us inside,” Bruins coach Rick Byrd said. “They doubled us right away in the first half and then they switched up in the second half to double us on the first dribble. They were well-prepared.

“But our shooters came through and hit some big 3s for us. We also had some random guys come in and hit key 3s through the course of the game to keep us ahead.”

Bartow said Belmont’s superior depth led to offensive woes down the stretch. Four starters worked between 36 and 39 minutes for ETSU and it showed in the endgame as shots routinely banged off the front iron.

“We were fatigued a bit at the end,” he said.

Isiah Brown scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Bucs, but limped off the floor with an ankle injury after the game and might not play Tuesday night when USC Upstate visits for another conference game. Cooley scored 10 points.

While Bartow made a point of emphasizing that the team’s goal – a third straight A-Sun tourney title – is still within reach, Byrd said his team would savor its sixth win in seven trips to Johnson City.

“I don’t know why we play so well here,” he said. “I just know that winning a game like this is the best feeling. You win on the road against a good team like this and it feels better than winning at home. It means something more.”

Buc Bits: Bartow isn’t sure if Tubbs will be available for the Upstate game … While ETSU’s starters rarely got rest, the Bruins used no starter for longer than Clark’s 26 minutes. Five Belmont reserves logged at least 13 minutes … The Bucs’ only home win against the Bruins since they joined the A-Sun was an 87-57 blowout in January 2009.

BELMONT (72) – Noack 1-3 0-0 2, Hedgepeth 1-3 0-0 2, Hanlen 2-5 3-5 8, House 6-14 4-5 17, Clark 5-11 1-1 14, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 2-2 1-1 6, Mann 1-3 0-0 3, Saunders 1-4 1-2 3, Barnes 0-0 0-0 0, Campbell 4-5 0-1 12, Baker 2-5 0-0 5. Totals 25-55 10-15 72.

EAST TENNESSEE STATE (62) – Smith 5-15 0-0 11, Brown 5-10 1-2 11, Cooley 3-8 4-4 10, Williams 7-12 5-7 22, Sollazzo 2-4 2-3 6, Poderis 0-0 0-0 0, Ward 0-1 1-2 1, Wilkinson 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 22-50 14-20 62.


Halftime—Belmont 37-29. 3-Point Goals—Belmont 12-26 (Campbell 4-5, Clark 3-7, Johnson 1-1, Mann 1-1, Hanlen 1-3, Baker 1-3, House 1-4, Noack 0-2), East Tennessee State 4-8 (Williams 3-4, Smith 1-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Belmont 34 (Noack 7), East Tennessee State 31 (Smith, Brown 8). Assists—Belmont 16 (House 6), East Tennessee State 9 (Cooley, Sollazzo 3). Total Fouls—Belmont 16, East Tennessee State 17. Officials—Gattis, Nance, Hampton. A—4,299.

Retrieved From:  http://tricitiessports.com/bruins-take-it-to-the-house-in-win-over-bucs-p48687-78.htm

Brantford Expositor: Byes for Trojans, Eagles

Article By:  Ed O'Leary

Nick Esposito, head coach of the St. John's College Green Eagles, isn't pleased with his team.

St. John's defeated the Pauline Johnson Collegiate Thunderbirds 52-32 on Thursday night at St. John's to complete its regular-season schedule in Brant County high school senior boys' basketball with an impressive 8-2 record.

The Eagles finished in second place and their only two league losses came at the hands of the undefeated North Park Collegiate Trojans, who completed their schedule with a 64-25 win over the Paris District High School Panthers in Paris.

Marcus Hamilton and Cale McDonald each scored 11 points for North Park. Logan Varga got 10. Josh Fabe led Paris with 11 points. Jacob Kelley got 5, and Parker McIntyre hit for 4.

In other senior action, Assumption College Lions defeated the Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs 47-40. The Lions got 16 points from Andre Toic and 10 each from Justin Robinson and Justin Thibideau. BCI's Alex Parker hit for 10, while Robert Moxley chipped in 7 and Tyler Mirco got 6.

North Park and St. John's receive byes through sudden-death quarter-final games Feb. 8 and both teams will be favoured to win sudden-death semifinal games on their home courts Feb. 10.

Barring upsets, the Trojans and the Eagles will meet in a best-of-three league championship series at Assumption College on Feb. 15, 17 and, if necessary, 22.

Esposito believes the Eagles have their work cut out for them.

"We'll have a tough time doing it (beating North Park) the way we've been playing lately," Esposito said.

"I haven't had a full team at practice since before the Christmas break."

Esposito believes the lack of commitment is a sign of the times.

"It goes in cycles. I think it'll turn around again."

Esposito believes the Eagles must improve their defence if they're going to be successful in the playoffs.

"We have some stuff we need to work on after the exam break, especially on the defensive end," he said. "Our whole defence has to improve big time."

J.P. Yurcich scored 16 points to lead the Eagles against the T-Birds. Arthur Kogut got 10 points and Mat Digout added eight points.

Tyler Thibert scored 11 points and Mike Campbell got five for PJC.

In junior, St. John's defeated the PJC Warriors 55-17. Cam Post scored 14 points. Dylan Smith got 10 and Connor Kuzmich netted nine.

Other junior results:

North Park 61, Paris District 37. North Park - Jon Dulmage 14, Brody McIvor 12, Vishol Brar 8. Paris District -Casey Ransahai 18, Harji Gill 8, Ian Lawrence 4.

BCI Colts 43, Assumption 37. BCI -Mackenzie Mark 16, Brock Rogerson 8, Liam MacNeil 6. Assumption -Nolan Drong 15, Wyatt Hawthorne 9, Austin Tlustos 4.

Retrieved From:  http://brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2939409

Forest City Shootout: Draw Released

For the full draw, see the attached document.

CWOSSA teams would include:

St. Benedict (in a pool with London Banting and Tecumseh St. Anne)

St. James (in a pool with Sarnia St. Christopher and London Montcalm)

Centennial CVI (in a pool with London HB Beal and London Westminster)

Waterloo CI (in a pool with SSM Korah CI and Toronto Father Henry Carr)

The tournament goes Friday, February 4th and Saturday, February 5th in London.

"Power 60": Overall CWOSSA Senior Boys Ranking

As we head to the "Exam Break" (good luck to those writing --- and marking, by the way!), here is my "Top 60" --- that is, a ranking of all senior boys teams participating in CWOSSA this season.

Of course, due to the sheer size of the CWOSSA region, sometimes there isn't a lot of data to compare one district to another.  So feel free to ingest these with a grain of salt!

Also, as with my usual "weekly rankings", these are a "power ranking", that is, a feeling of where teams are on the scale at this point in time.  IE - there are several instances where a team is ranked lower than a team they have beaten.

CWOSSA Rankings:  1 to 60
1. St. Mary's - Kitchener (AAAA)
2. Resurrection – Kitchener (AAAA)
3. Forest Heights – Kitchener (AAAA)
4. Bluevale – Waterloo (AAAA)
5. JF Ross – Guelph (AAAA)
6. St. James – Guelph (AAA)
7. Cameron Heights – Kitchener (AAAA)
8. SJAM – Waterloo (AAAA)
9. North Park – Brantford (AAA)
10. Centennial – Guelph (AAAA)
11. Grand River – Kitchener (AAAA)
12. KCI – Kitchener (AAA)
13. St. John’s – Brantford (AAAA)
14. Waterloo CI – Waterloo (AAAA)
15. Our Lady of Lourdes – Guelph (AA)
16. Centre Wellington – Fergus (AAAA)
17. Centre Dufferin – Shelburne (AAA)
18. St. David – Waterloo (AAA)
19. Brantford CI – Brantford (AAA)
20. Owen Sound CVI – Owen Sound (AA)
21. St. Benedict – Cambridge (AAAA)
22. Paris DHS – Paris (AAA)
23. Southwood SS – Cambridge (AAA)
24. Bishop Macdonell – Guelph (AA)
25. Eastwood CI – Kitchener (AAAA)
26. Huron Heights – Kitchener (AAA)
27. Preston HS – Cambridge (AAA)
28. Assumption CS – Brantford (AAAA)
29. Waterloo-Oxford DSS – Baden (AAA)
30. Simcoe Composite – Simcoe (AAA)
31. Galt CI – Cambridge (AAA)
32. Glenview Park SS – Cambridge (AAA)
33. Sacred Heart HS – Walkerton (AA)
34. Guelph CVI – Guelph (AAAA)
35. Holy Trinity – Simcoe (AAA)
36. Jacob Hespeler – Cambridge (AAA)
37. Orangeville DSS – Orangeville (AAAA)
38. Westside SS – Orangeville (AAA)
39. John Diefenbaker SS – Hanover (AA)
40. Pauline Johnson CVI – Brantford (AAA)
41. Kincardine DSS – Kincardine (AA)
42. Grey Highlands SS – Flesherton (AA)
43. Walkerton DSS – Walkerton (A)
44. Norwell DSS – Palmerston (AA)
45. Wellington Heights SS – Mount Forest (AA)
46. Rockway Mennonite – Kitchener (A)
47. West Hill – Owen Sound (AAA)
48. Georgian Bay SS – Meaford (AA)
49. Delhi DSS – Delhi (A)
50. Pere Rene De Galinee SS – Cambridge (A)
51. Woodland CHS – Breslau (A)
52. St. Mary’s CHS – Owen Sound (AA)
53. Valley Heights SS – Langton (A)
54. Peninsula Shores DSS – Wiarton (A)
55. Port Dover DSS – Port Dover (A)
56. Saugeen DSS – Port Elgin (AA)
57. Waterford DHS – Waterford (A)
58. Monsingor Doyle CSS – Cambridge (AAA)
59. Chesley DHS – Chesley (A)
60. Erin DHS – Erin (AA)

D8: Wednesday Results

Junior

St. David 59, Rockway 28
The win means that St. David can sew up the 4th and final playoff berth with a win in their final game OR a Rockway loss in either of their last 2 games.  Given that RMC still has Resurrection and St. Mary's on the schedule, that seems to be a pretty safe bet.  At any rate, Mark Heal and Aleks Batanic were the key performers on this night for the Celtics, with 11 points each.

D8 Junior Standings
1. St. Mary's 6-0**
2. Resurrection 4-2*
3.  St. Benedict 4-3*
4.  St. David 2-5
5.  Rockway 0-6

* - clinched playoff spot
** - clinched homecourt semifinal game

Senior

Resurrection Juniors 56, Monsingor Doyle Varsity 21
The RCSS juniors pick up the win over the MDCSS "varsity team", who (as mentioned previously) have the majority of their roster in grade 9 or 10.  Adam Schneider (10) and Tony Moi (9) led the way for the Phoenix, while Roberto Artwell and Jamal Bell had 3 each for the Mustangs.

St. Benedict 74, PRDG 35
The Saints do their playoff chances a big favour with a solid win over PRDG.  Kueth Geng netted 20 in the win for Bennies, while Tyrone Tindale added 13.

St. David 62, Rockway 37
The Celts clinch 3rd overall with the win.  Jeff Scanlon had 11 points, while Francis Samson and Philip Clomplik added 9 each for SDCSS.  Josh Klassen led Rockway's scoring with 13, while his teammate Michael Hewson had 9.

D8 Senior Standings
T1.  Resurrection 9-1**
T1.  St. Mary's 9-1*
3.  St. David 7-3*
4.  St. Benedict 5-5
----
5.  Rockway 4-6
6.  PRDG 2-9
7.  Monsingor Doyle 0-11

D8: Wednesday Picks

YTD:  28-3 (.903)

Rockway (4-5) @ St. David (6-3)
Pick:  SDCSS
Look for the Celtics to lock up 3rd place with a win today against Rockway.

PRDG (2-7) at St. Benedict (4-5)
Pick:  SBCSS
The Saints will even up their record today at the expense of the Chevalier.

Monsignor Doyle at Resurrection
[No Pick]
The Junior Phoenix will be battling the (mostly) junior Mustangs today, like the last time when these two teams were scheduled.  Resurrection took that one 57-45.  I think they get the win here but I won't make a pick on it.

D10: Senior Falcons Tied For 3rd After Win over ODSS

The Centre Wellington Falcons picked up a crucial win at home yesterday over the Orangeville Bears, beating them 64-49 and keeping them in the mix for a possible home playoff game and one of the AAAA CWOSSA berths.

Tim Francis led the way for CWDHS with a 21-point effort, while Tristan Lane added 18 more.  ODSS was led by Jason Runtas with 12 and Keith Jennings, who had 10.

The win ties CWDHS at 7-5 with Lourdes and Centennial, for 3rd place in the D10 standings.  Centennial does hold the plus/minus tiebreak on both CWDHS and Lourdes plus have a very winnable game against Orangeville remaining on their schedule (their other game is against St. James).

CWDHS' remaining games are against St. James and Lourdes, while Lourdes also has a matchup with GCVI. 

The Centre Wellington/Lourdes matchup means that Centennial can finish no worse than 4th (and get a home playoff game) if they beat Orangeville.

If Lourdes can win both their matchups and CCVI drops their game against St. James, then Lourdes would take 3rd and make CCVI and Centre Wellington square off in a playoff game that would also essentially be for a CWOSSA berth.

In the junior portion of the doubleheader, CW powered past ODSS 59-38.  Marcus Von Massow (12) led three Falcons in double figures --- the others were Sam Giondi (10) and Josh MacEachern (10).  Justin Levesque had a game-high 19 for Orangeville.

BAA: Tuesday Results

Senior

OSCVI 69, Peninsula Shores 34
OSCVI:  Ben Ewasko & Kevin Bunn - 35 combined
PS:  Joe Lancaster & Cody Gibbons - 21 combined

Grey Highlands 69, West Hill 43
GH:  Jacob McCombe 19

Junior

OSCVI 54, Peninsula Shores 27
OS:  Nathan Curry & Brandon Boley - 28 combined
PS:  Brandon Lancaster 11

WCSSAA Senior: Raiders Upset Unbeaten 'Landers

The KCI Raiders are up to their old tricks.

The Raiders have been making a name for themselves the last few years as an "under the radar" team without a lot of "starpower" ---- but who always seem to come together and play excellent team basketball to finish among the semifinalists (or even finalists two years ago) in the WCSSAA senior league.

Yesterday, they travelled to West Waterloo and took out the SJAM Highlanders on their home floor by a 51-48 final.  I had said yesterday that if the Raiders could keep it in the 40s they'd have a shot and they kept the (potentially) high-flying 'Landers, who came into play averaging nearly 60 PPG, under the 50 mark and picked up the win.

From an SJAM perspective, this ruined a tremendous performance from guard Edem Ame, who poured in 30 points in the loss.  Alex Galea led the KCI attack with 16.

The Raiders' remaining games (which look to be winnable if they continue their strong play) are against Preston and Jacob Hespeler.  I for one definitely didn't see them as a 9-3 team entering the season, especially after they dropped their first two games on the year.  They seem to be peaking at the right time, so let's see if they can keep it going after the exam break.

Other games on Tuesday:

Cameron Heights 72, Galt 59
My Pick:  CHCI
In a high-scoring affair in Kitchener, the Gaels got 27 from Nebojsa Djeric and 11 from Amjed Osman en route to the win over Galt.  The Ghosts received a nice effort from Nic Bradford, who poured in 26, while Gabe Vidal added 13.

Eastwood 59, WODSS 44
My Pick:  ECI
Entering the game on the edge of the playoff picture with a 3-6 record, the Rebs pick up a crucial win at home over WODSS.  Steffon Heyliger (11) and Zaman Sindy (10) keyed a balanced Eastwood attack, while Colton Roe had a game-high 13 for the Crusaders with Chris Thomson adding 9.

Forest Heights 68, Jacob Hespeler 43
My Pick:  FHCI
The Trojans were too much in this one for the Hawks, thanks to the efforts of Srdjan Stanviuk (15) and Javon Masters (14).  Josh Kirkham had 12 for JHSS, while Joel Perkins added 10.

Bluevale 71, Glenview Park 43
My Pick:  BCI
The Knights seem to be back in the groove after their weekend at the Silver Fox, as they end their 2-game slide in WCSSAA play with a convincing win over GPSS.  Stefan Cvrkalj netted 26 for Bluevale, while Karsten Beney was back in action and scored 12.  Erist Wame had 11 for GPSS.

WCI 54, Preston 53
My Pick:  WCI
WCI gets by the suddenly surging Preston Panthers --- barely.  Grade 11s Jacob Ranton (15) and Dani Elgadi (11) helped get the Vikes past a 20-point effort from Preston's key grade 11 guard, Wes Meertens.

GRCI over HHHS
GRCI:  Filip Cvrkalj 21

Southwood --- Bye Win (EDSS)

WCSSAA Senior Standings; Remaining Games
1.  Forest Heights 10-0**  (REM:  vs. CHCI, vs. SJAM)
T2.  SJAM 9-1*  (REM:  @ WCI, @ FHCI)
T2.  Cameron Heights 9-1*  (REM:  @ FHCI, vs. WCI)
T4.  Bluevale 7-3*  (REM:  @ GRCI, vs ECI)
T4.  KCI 7-3*  (REM:  vs PHS, vs JHSS)
T4.  Grand River 7-3* (REM:  vs BCI, EDSS bye win)
7.  WCI 6-4*  (REM:  vs SJAM, @ CHCI)
T8.  Waterloo-Oxford 4-6  (REM:  vs SSS, vs GPSS)
T8.  Eastwood 4-6  (REM:  EDSS bye win, @ BCI)
T8.  Southwood 4-6  (REM:  @ WODSS, vs HHHS)
T11.  Huron Heights 3-7 (REM:  @ GPSS, @ SSS)
T11.  Galt 3-7  (REM:  vs JHSS, @ PHS)
T11.  Jacob Hespeler 3-7 (REM:  @ GCI, @ KCI)
-----
T14.  Preston 2-8  (REM:  @ KCI, vs GCI)
T14.  Glenview Park 2-8  (REM:  vs HHHS, @ WODSS)

* - clinched playoff spot
** - clinched first round bye

WCSSAA Junior: Knights Post Important Win Over Glenview

In a battle between two 7-2 teams last night at Bluevale, the Bluevale Knights continued their strong play and came through with a 48-34 victory over the Glenview Park Panthers.

As you can tell, defense was the key in this one.  The Knights held GPSS star Sean Davidson to just 11 points, his lowest league output of the season (he came into the contest averaging 20.9 PPG in WCSSAA games).  The 34 points also marked a season-low for Glenview.

Alongside Davidson's 11, fellow Panther Chris Thompson added 9.  Jeevan Sidhu led Bluevale with a game-high 16 points, and Jake Becker netted 12.

In other action on Tuesday:

Cameron Heights 61, Galt 43
The Gaels keep in the hunt for first place with an impressive win over Galt, who entered the game with a 7-2 record.  Jason Thompson (15) and Luke Hovius (12) led CHCI, while Galt received 11 each from Lazar Stevanovic and Mason Pickering.

Eastwood 49, WODSS 23
No trouble for the Rebels as they kept the Crusaders winless on the season.  Tre Nicholson had 13 and Victor Mgabe 9 in the win, while W-O was led by Alex Trotter (7) and Aaron Shantz (4).

Forest Heights 58, Jacob Hespeler 44
The Trojans stay unbeaten, thanks again to their 2 stars --- Juwan Miller had 30 and Ian Anderson 15, or nearly 80% of their offensive output.  Scoring details were not available for JHSS.

Elmira 44, Southwood 34
The Lancers pick up a crucial win to stay in the playoff hunt.  Lucas Nosal had 10 and Callum Johnson 8 for the Lancers; Southwood's top performers on the night were Colton Quigley (12) and Zac Sauer (11).

KCI 48, SJAM 40
The 'Landers drop to 3-7 after a close loss to the Raiders.  Matt McKinnon was dominant for the Raiders in this one, pouring in 23 points (Rade Soknic added 14).  SJAM's Nebojsa Sarkanovic did all he could in response, by posting 22 points but it wasn't quite enough.  Sayyad Bacchus chipped in 6 more for SJAM.

WCI 52, Preston 44
WCI is now on the verge of clinching a playoff spot after an important home win over the Preston Panthers.  Their balanced attack featured 14 each from Etai Mizrahi and Max Pfeifle, and 9 from Nick Johnny.  Marsellis Subban netted 11 for Preston, with Aaron Colter adding 10.

Grand River / Huron Heights - not yet reported

WCSSAA Junior Standings
1.  Forest Heights 10-0**
2.  Cameron Heights 9-1*
3.  Bluevale 8-2*
T4.  Glenview Park 7-3*
T4.  Galt 7-3*
6.  Grand River 6-3*
T7.  KCI 6-4*
T7.  Eastwood 6-4*
9.  WCI 5-5
T10.  Jacob Hespeler 4-6
T10.  Elmira 4-6
T12.  SJAM 3-7
T12.  Preston 3-7
-----
14.  Huron Heights 1-8
T15.  Southwood 0-10
T15.  WODSS 0-10

* - clinched playoff berth
** - clinched first-round bye

Three CWOSSA Junior Clubs Set For All-Ontario Catholic Tournament

Three CWOSSA junior teams, including my current top 2 clubs at the AAAA level, will be heading to Hamilton after the exam break (February 5th/6th) for the 34th annual Kennedy Ontario Invitational, an all-Catholic Junior Boys tournament.

The St. Mary's Eagles (AAAA #1), St. John's Green Eagles (AAAA #2) and Resurrection Phoenix (AAAA #8) are all scheduled to compete.

This is a quite competitive tournament, however, CWOSSA clubs have had some success in recent years.  In 2009, the Resurrection Phoenix defeated Vaughan Brebeuf and Hamilton Cathedral before dropping a close game to Brampton D'Youville in the semifinals.

That same year, the St. Mary's Eagles got past Welland Notre Dame, Hamilton St. Thomas More and Oakville Holy Trinity to reach the final against D'Youville where they fell short of the championship.

Last year, St. Mary's advanced to the consolation semifinals.

The last CWOSSA champion was in 2001, when Brantford Assumption took the crown.  Kitchener Resurrection completed a sweep that year by taking the consolation title.

The school's historical performances are as follows:
St. John's - 27 years - 43-27 (.614)
St. Mary's - 3 years - 5-5 (.500)
Resurrection - 12 years - 15-16 (.483)

Other CWOSSA schools (not participating this year):
St. James (Guelph) - 1 year - 4-0 (1.000)
Assumption (Brantford) - 8 years - 15-8 (.681)
St. Jerome's (Kitchener) - 9 years - 8-12 (.400)*
St. Benedict (Cambridge) - 5 years - 4-7 (.363)
St. David (Waterloo) - 8 years - 5-13 (.277)
Bishop Macdonell - 3 years - 1-5 (.167)
Guelph Lourdes - 1 year - 0-2 (.000)
* - defunct

Alongside the CWOSSA representatives will be the following schools:
Bishop Tonnos CSS (Ancaster)
Cathedral HS (Hamilton)
St. Mary's CSS (Hamilton)
St. Thomas More (Hamilton)
St. Jean de Brebeuf (Hamilton)
Christ the King (Georgetown)
D'Youville (Brampton)
Fr. Michael Goetz (Mississauga)
St. Joan of Arc (Mississauga)
Holy Trinity (Oakville)
Notre Dame CSS (Welland)
Loyola CSS (Oakville)
St. Michael's College (Toronto)

D10 & WCSSAA: Tuesday Picks

D10 YTD:  31-6 (.838)
WCSSAA YTD:  48-13 (.787)

An unremarkable 4-3 picks record last Thursday saw me dip below the .800 mark on the year, so going to try to correct that today.  I have a good feeling based upon some of the games on the WCSSAA slate today, so let's start there:

WCSSAA

Glenview Park (2-7) at Bluevale (6-3)
My Pick:  BCI
The Bluevale Knights should put an end to their two-game league losing streak at the hands of the GPSS Panthers today.

Jacob Hespeler (2-7) at Forest Heights (9-0)
My Pick:  FHCI
The Trojans look to improve to 10-0 today and, though the JHSS Hawks have some size to match-up with them today, they don't have the depth so look for FHCI to pull away in the second half.

KCI (6-3) at SJAM (9-0)
My Pick:  SJAM
Props to the KCI Raiders, since I didn't think that they'd be sitting at 6-3 at this point in the year, but Coach Nick White always seems to get the most out of his players.  If the Raiders can keep this one down in the 40s, they might have a shot but I like SJAM to win here.

Waterloo-Oxford (4-5) at Eastwood (3-6)
My Pick:  ECI
Pretty even ball-game but I'll pick the Rebels who need a win badly to improve their playoff chances.  Plus, they're playing at home.

Grand River (6-3) at Huron Heights (3-6)
My Pick:  GRCI
I look for a "relatively" close game, as they Huskies always seem to play to the level of the opposition.  That said, GRCI will be ahead at the end.

Galt (3-6) at Cameron Heights (8-1)
My Pick:  CHCI
A win today (coupled with a KCI loss) would lock up at least the #3 seed for Cameron Heights, who already have head to head tiebreakers over GRCI and BCI.  I look for CHCI to at least take care of their side of the bargain here.

Preston (2-7) at WCI (5-4)
My Pick:  WCI
The Panthers are definitely not as bad as their record would indicate; and, in fact, they're getting hot at the right time --- with both of those wins coming last week.  WCI should win this one at home but don't be surprised to see the Panthers make it interesting.

D10

Only one game on the D10 schedule today, and it's another make-up game:

Orangeville (1-10) at Centre Wellington (6-5)
My Pick:  CWDHS
The Falcons get a key win to jumble things up in those 3-5 spots in the D10 standings.

Also in D10 news, I can tell you that the ODSS Bears played a double-header last night against Bishop Mac (again, a make-up date).  Pat Clouthier poured in 27 points for BMAC in the senior boys' 71-42 win over the Bears, while Owen Brombal (19) and Jesse Kendall (16) led the way as the Junior Celtics cruised to a 72-30 win over the Junior Bears.