After a team had "run the table" in the junior league each of (at least) the last 5 seasons, all D8 junior teams have at least one loss through the "first round" of the league's home and home schedule.
The St. Benedict Saints (4-1) handed the St. Mary's Eagles (4-1) their first loss yesterday, jumping out to a 24-12 halftime lead before holding on in the second half for a 44-38 win.
Zubair Seyed pumped home 26 points for SBCSS, with Alex Douglas adding 8. Adham Eleeda (15) and Jordan Anao (6) led St. Mary's.
Meanwhile, the Resurrection Phoenix picked up an important win against the upstart Monsingor Doyle Mustangs. Despite Resurrection extending the lead to 15 in the second half, the Mustangs kept fighting and cut the deficit to 5 in the fourth. RCSS again extended to a 10-point cushion before the 'Stangs finished the game on a 6-0 run for a 59-55 final.
The balanced Rez attack was keyed by Nick Snider (14), Joseph Hunter (7), Prince Dang (7) and Jake Rush (7).
Ryan Stafford --- arguably one of the top players in the D8 junior circuit this year --- led all scorers with an 18-point effort, while Jordan Deveney-Reid had 17.
The other contest went as expected, with St. David topping Woodland 58-33. George Dumitru had 14 and Kyle Enriquez 8 for the Celtics; Shane Clarke (12) and Drew Carrick (10) led the Cavs.
St. David's win means they take over first place in the D8 standings, at least temporarily. The Celtics (5-1) have finished their first "set" of games, while the St. Mary's Eagles and St. Benedict Saints sit at 4-1.
Junior D8 Standings
1. St. David 5-1
T2. St. Benedict 4-1
T2. St. Mary's 4-1
T4. Resurrection 2-3
T4. Mons. Doyle 2-3
6. Woodland 1-4
7. Rockway 0-5
Senior
As expected, all three favourites posted double-digit wins yesterday in the D8 senior league.
Tyler Bartley had 22 and Onique Findlay 13 as the Phoenix toppled the Monsignor Doyle Mustangs 57-23 in the opener at Resurrection on Wednesday. Uzair Khan had 8 and Chris Dair 6 for Doyle.
St. Mary's, who came into their game giving up an average of only about 28 PPG, gave up more than double that against the St. Benedict Saints but still came out on top in a 71-58 contest.
Jeremy Cresswell had 17 and Nathan Riley 16 for St. Mary's, while Spencer Marshall had a game-high 21 for the Saints.
The other game saw St. David knock off Woodland 60-38. Matt Scanlon (16) and Francis Samson (15) led the way for SDCSS; Ben Hoekstra was the top Woodland performer with 11.
D8 Senior Standings
1. St. Mary's 5-0
2. St. David 4-2
T3. Resurrection 3-2
T3. St. Benedict 3-2
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5. Mons. Doyle 2-3
6. Rockway 1-4
7. Woodland 0-5
