Article By: Darryl Smart
Marcus Jones didn't let a cut to his head stop him and his North Park Collegiate Trojans teammates.
Despite missing part of the third quarter because he was in the dressing room getting his head wrapped after taking a knee to the head, the shifty Trojans point guard led his team with a 16-point performance as they cruised to a 49-42 win over the St. John's College Green Eagles in Game 1 of the Brant County high school senior boys basketball final at Brantford Collegiate Institute on Tuesday.
"We played a solid three quarters," Jones said as he held an ice bag on his head after the game. "We're a bit disappointed we gave up so many near the end, but we were gassed and started making mistakes."
Despite the score, this one wasn't even close until a late Green Eagles' charge in the fourth quarter.
"We always tend to do that for some reason," Jones said. "We were up by 20. Even though we're fatigued, we can't let them or any team back in the game like that. It's something we have to work on."
Jones said he and his teammates have to play solid defence the entire game, something they did do in the first half.
"That was by far one of the best halves of basketball we played all season," Jones said. "We held them to 10 points in the first half. Anytime you can shut down a team like that is impressive. We only scored 20 ourselves, so shutting them down was key."
While Jones led all scorers with 16, Logan Varga and Nick Minutillo added 12 each for the Trojans.
Tyler VanLeeuwen led the Green Eagles, scoring 12, while Tim Dawson added 11 and Jake Brennan had six.
"Honestly I really don't know what to say," Eagles J.P. Yurcich said. "We were like deer in the headlights. The only thing I can think of is nerves."
Whether it was missed passes, or being out of synch defensively, the Green Eagles didn't play like the team that cruised to the final.
"We seemed scared to play physical with them," Yurcich said. "It even felt weird playing this game because it didn't feel like us."
Yurcich said he and his teammates have to come back Thursday with a renewed focus and keep Tuesday night's loss behind them.
"We have to come back here and be prepared to match their intensity and play physical," Yurcich said.
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