Article By: Darryl Smart
From Day 1, the St. John's College Green Eagles' motto has been, "Play smart, play together and play hard."
Thursday night at Brantford Collegiate Institute, that motto were words to live by as they won their fifth-consecutive BCSSAA junior boys basketball title thanks to a 70-63 win over the North Park Collegiate Trojans.
"We just did what we've been told to do since the beginning of the season," Green Eagles' Steve Szasz said. "It feels great to win. This was a total team effort.
"Every guy on this team contributes," said Szasz, who scored seven points, and was one of the team's defensive leaders. "It doesn't matter how many minutes you play, you're a big part of this team. Every player has a role."
And on Thursday, Szasz played the role of emotional defensive leader and commander of the low post.
While all of the Grade 10 student's points were inside the paint, he led by example on the defensive end, holding the Trojans to only 15 first-half points. Once Szasz ran into foul trouble and was forced to leave the game, the Trojans began chipping at the lead.
After the Green Eagles ran all over their rivals for much of the game with its combination of fast breaks and three-point shooting, the never say die Trojans fought back, as AK Rai led the attack with 11 fourth-quarter points.
With 39 seconds remaining, Rai hit another shot, this time getting his team within three points. But the Green Eagles responded in a large way, when point guard Adrian Mendoza drained a layup and completed the three-point play with a foul shot to seal the deal.
Mendoza led all Green Eagles scorers with 28 points, while Connor Kuzmich and David Smith added 11 each for the Green Eagles.
"This really is a great feeling," Green Eagles' Kuzmich said. "They had a great run in the second half and were able to push us. We knew they would have a run and we just had to make sure we could counter."
Kuzmich said the fourth quarter Trojans' run had them on their toes.
"It was nerve racking," he said. "But just like our coach said, he just wanted to keep playing our game. If we'd do that we'd win."
As for five-straight city titles, Kuzmich said there wasn't any pressure on them to defend. He said it was all about playing hard, smart and together.
"Winning this felt a bit different," he said. "This time around we're leaders. We just wanted to keep the St. John's legend going."
Next up for the Green Eagles is the CWOSSA 'AAAA' championships in Guelph Feb. 24 and 25.
"Last year we didn't do very well there," Kuzmich said. "This time around we know what to expect and want to do as well as we can. It would be great to make a good run."
While the Green Eagles were celebrating at one end, the Trojans looked down, even though coach Gord Petersen said they have nothing to be ashamed of.
"Our guys played hard and fought back," Petersen said. "We got down early and they fought all the way back."
While Rai had a game-high 29 points, Matt Minutillo scored 18 and Andrew Silla had nine.
Despite the loss, the Trojans season isn't over. They will compete at the CWOSSA 'AAA' championships next week at NPC.
No comments:
Post a Comment