OFSAA Seeding Announced

Not too shabby.

Yesterday, I had tweeted my seeding projections for CWOSSA teams, and it turns out I was in the ballpark for all of them:

My Seeding Projections:Rockway (13 - A); Bishop Macdonell (3 - AA); North Park (10 - AAA); St. Mary's (9 - AAAA); WCI (13 - AAAA).
— CWOSSA Basketball (@CWOSSABball) February 27, 2013

Here's what has since been announced:

Rockway (A):  #12 Seed
Bishop Macdonell (AA):  #4 Seed
North Park (AAA):  #10 Seed
St. Mary's (AAAA):  #8 Seed
WCI (AAAA):  #13 Seed

Good luck to all teams!

Mark's Musings

Whew.

After a busy couple of weeks of league and "CWOSSA" championship basketball, it's time to reflect on a few things.  In no particular order.....

1.  Shoutout to St. Benedict CSS in Cambridge for the way they handled their D8 junior semifinal.  The Saints had a student sing "O Canada", and even announced all the starters for both teams.  Nice to see a fair amount of student support for a junior playoff game too. 

2.  Props to JF Ross CVI for another admirable job hosting the AAAA "CWOSSA tournament".  I would have liked to see a program (or at least roster sheets for the final) and perhaps a pre-game introduction before the final, but minor details.  I'm sure that had to do with it not being an "official CWOSSA" tournament.

3.  St. Mary's HS is quickly gaining a reputation similar to that of the "KCI Crazies" a few years' back (not quite that level yet, but getting there....).  The Eagles had a vocal contingent (and even brought along their drum) for the CWOSSA final.  Nice to see that level of school spirit!

4.  The experiment of the D8 final at the University of Waterloo is likely over.  No surprise after seeing a sparsely attended junior final between St. Mary's and St. Benedict (I walked in at 5 minutes to tip time to a crowd of about 20 parents).  The senior final was able to fill up one side of the UW stands, although I'm sure the fact that most people anticipated a blowout kept many away.  Fans were boisterous, but given the cavernous facility, something was lost.  Personally, I'd suggest hosting the finals at the "highest senior seed that makes the final" going forward. 

5.  After not having a team qualify for AAAA OFSAA last year, WCSSAA was able to again send a team with an "all WCSSAA" semifinal between WCI and Grand River.  After seeing a "D10 surge" over the last 5-6 years (3 straight OFSAA appearances for Centennial followed by 3 straight for JF Ross), I think we're going to see a shift back to Waterloo Region (either D8 or WCSSAA) providing at least one of the OFSAA representatives for the near future.

6.  St. Mary's got some further experience in close games over the weekend, although I'm sure Head Coach Jason Hergott would have preferred it not to be that way (particularly the semifinal, where the Eagles blew a 17-point lead before winning in overtime).  Regardless, let's hope it provides a valuable lesson/experience for the youthful Eagles heading into their second consecutive OFSAA; St. Mary's certainly didn't get many close games in league play, that's for sure.      

7.  I was impressed with the strides that WCI's Adam Anagnostopoulos has made in his game over the past year.  Sure, he's first and foremost a volleyball player, but he's really improved his ball-handling, defense, and shot-making abilities.  He was a big reason as to why WCI was able to pick up an OFSAA berth.

8.  It's time to put an end to the 6-team rigid CWOSSA format.  I thought it was a good idea this year to give the #2 team in all-districts a play-in game.  Personally (at the AAAA level), I want to see a return to the 8-team format, given that there are now enough teams to make it happen.  If it stays as a 6-team tournament, I'd like to see all districts get 1 berth, and then the 2 remaining teams to be "wild card entries" going to the two best non-qualifiers, regardless of district. 

9.  The Bishop Mac Celtics certainly have looked impressive over the past month, and got past a very tough Centre Dufferin team in the "AA" final.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them make some noise at OFSAA, where I would expect them to be CWOSSA's highest-seeded team out of the 5 that are participating at an OFSAA championship.  BMAC has a mental edge in that they have already defeated the likely #1 seed, ACMT, in tournament play this year.  Based upon the qualifiers, they certainly seem like a top-5 team.

10.  St. Mary's will surely get a top-10 seed again at AAAA OFSAA.  I have them ahead of WCI, Brother Andre, St. Joan of Arc, Ursuline College, Collingwood, and Notre Dame (Welland).  They're in a group of about 4 schools for the "7 to 10" spots, of which I think they're probably a 9 or 10, like last year.

More thoughts to come, but there's 10 for discussion.  As always, feel free to Tweet (@CWOSSABball) or e-mail (mark at cwossabasketball.com) if you want to discuss!

AAAA Senior Final: Simon, Lyle Shoot Eagles to Senior Title

If you had told me going into Monday night's game that the St. Mary's Eagles would make just 5 two-point field goals and 4 free-throws, I would have said that their chances of coming away victorious would be pretty slim.

Thankfully for them, they knocked down 13 three-point field goals (shooting nearly 50% from that distance) which helped propel them to a 53-47 victory over the WCI Vikings in the championship final of the AAAA tournament in Guelph.

The win was St. Mary's second consecutive title at the AAAA tournament, naturally meaning that they advance to AAAA OFSAA for the second consecutive year as well.

The Eagles started strong, with grade eleven guard Jermaine Lyle knocking home a couple of three-pointers in the opening minutes.  However, St. Mary's couldn't shake WCI, who took advantage of their size edge with Dani Elgadi and Malcolm Piazza scoring several baskets inside; the first quarter ended with the Eagles up 15-13.

Telloy Simon started to heat up for St. Mary's in the second stanza, knocking in a couple of threes of his own.  However, WCI maintained contact and trailed by only three (26-23) at the halftime intermission.

WCI came out strong in the second half, with (like the semifinal) an Adam Anagnostopoulos to Dani Elgadi alley-oop throwdown getting the Vikes back within one on the first possession of the second half.  The Vikes would go on a 7-0 run over the first 2:15 of the second half to take a 30-26 edge.

Just when it looked as though WCI might take hold of the game, St. Mary's again heated up from behind the arc.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Simon capped an 11-2 St. Mary's run that pushed the Eagles back in front 37-32.  It would have been 39-32, save for a missed dunk attempt by Tyrick Thompson.

Still, St. Mary's assumed an eight-point edge after three, and Simon's sixth three-pointer of the game early in the fourth quarter pushed the lead to double-digits (48-37).  WCI would keep battling; a Nick Johnny three-pointer with 4:00 to go got them back within single-digits (50-42) but WCI would get no closer than six points down the stretch.

For St. Mary's, Telloy Simon had 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, while Jermaine Lyle added 12 points (all from beyond the arc).  Nathan Riley (8), Tyrick Thompson (6), Jamari Stevenson (3), Avery Sutton (3) and Tyler Hergott (2) rounded out the Eagle scoring.

WCI was led by Zach Totzke's 16 points, while Malcolm Piazza had 10 points and 5 rebounds.  Dani Elgadi had 8 points while clearing 19 rebounds.  Also scoring for WCI were Nick Johnny (8), Adam Anagnostopoulos (5 + game high 5 assists) and Etai Mizrahi (2).

Both teams will advance to the AAAA OFSAA championships in Windsor, which take place March 4th-6th.

Boxscore

SMHS  15-11-16-11 = 53
WCI     13-10-11-13 = 47

WCI (47)
Z. Totzke       5-7 FG, 1-2 FT, 2 Reb, 3 Ast - 16 Pts.
N. Johnny      3-7 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 1 Ast - 8 Pts.
A. Angstpls   2-9 FG, 1-2 FT, 3 Reb, 5 Ast - 5 Pts.
D. Elgadi       4-11 FG, 0-0 FT, 19 Reb, 2 Ast - 8 Pts.
M. Piazza      5-6 FG, 0-2 FT, 5 Reb, 1 Ast - 10 Pts.
-------------
E. Mizrahi     1-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
J. Milks         0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
J. McGowan  0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 1 Ast - 0 Pts.
J. Thangaraj   0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Field Goals:  20-43 (.465).  Free-Throws:  2-6 (.333).  Three-Point Goals:  5-16, .313 (Z. Totzke 3-5, N. Johnny 2-5, D. Elgadi 0-2, A. Anagnostopoulos 0-4).

St. Mary's (52)
N. Riley        2-9 FG, 2-5 FT, 7 Reb, 2 Ast - 8 Pts.
J. Lyle         4-10 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 1 Ast - 12 Pts.
A. Sutton      1-6 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 1 Ast - 3 Pts.
T. Hergott     1-2 FG, 0-1 FT, 1 Reb, 2 Ast - 2 Pts.
T. Simon     7-16 FG, 1-2 FT, 7 Reb, 4 Ast - 21 Pts.
------------
Thompson    2-6 FG, 1-2 FT, 1 Reb, 2 Ast - 6 Pts.
Stevenson    1-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 3 Pts.
E. Duong      0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.

Field Goals:  18-53 (.340).  Free-Throws:  4-10 (.400).  Three-Point Goals:  13-28, .465 (T. Simon 6-12, J. Lyle 4-6, T. Thompson 1-1, J. Stevenson 1-1, A. Sutton 1-5, N. Riley 0-1, E. Duong 0-2).

AAAA Junior Final: 'Landers Overcome Slow Start To Best Green Eagles

It didn't start the way the SJAM Highlanders would have liked, but it certainly finished the way they wanted.

Led by the talented tandem of F Nedim Hodzic and G Simon Petrov, the Waterloo high school overcame a 10-2 St. John's run to start the game, rallying to lead 24-23 by halftime and extending things in the second half for a 62-50 final of the Junior "AAAA" Championship game.

In fact, the Highlanders had all aspects of offensive balance on display Monday night with Hodzic providing the inside game, Petrov displaying an impressive mid-range game, and G/F Jan-Willem Scheele adding a couple of well-timed three-pointers.

SJAM also did a good job of keying on St. John's star guard, Adrian Mendoza.  Mendoza finished with 23 points, but had to earn the majority of those at the free-throw line where he went 12-for-13.

Arguably the best individual performer in the tournament, Mendoza had JF Ross students chanting his number ("twenty-four!") with his spectacular outburst during the semifinal game.  He led a 22-6 St. John's run over the final 6:00 of that game that turned a 5-point deficit into an 11-point Green Eagle win.  Unfortunately for St. John's fans, the same script didn't play out in the final.

Hodzic notched a double-double for SJAM with 22 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 9-for-13 from the floor.  Petrov added 21 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, while Scheele was also in double-figures with 10.

Guelph Mercury: Spartans Oh-So-Close to Qualifying For OFSAA Tourney

Article By:  Rob Massey

GUELPH – In their usual style, the Centennial Spartans fell behind, rallied and then took their OFSAA senior boys’ AAAA basketball qualifying tournament semifinal to overtime.

However, Tesloth Simon of Kitchener’s St. Mary’s Eagles sank a pair of free throws with four seconds to go in the first four-minute extra period to edge the Spartans 65-63.

“We knew we were good and strong as a team and that if we played together, we could beat anyone,” Centennial’s Jeremy Seed said. “We knew coming in we were the underdog. There was no pressure on us, we just had to hit shots and play together as a team and I think we did that.”

“They’ve got so much heart and they never give up and we’ve got a couple of kids that really can shoot it, so we’re always in the game,” Centennial coach Rob Conroy said. “The ball started to go and I couldn’t be happier for or more proud of a bunch of guys.”

A win would have given Centennial a berth in the OFSAA championship tournament at Windsor March 4-6.

The Spartans rallied in the fourth quarter to force the overtime with the teams tied 55-55. St. Mary’s had led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter, 33-25 at the half and 48-40 after the third quarter.

“No one in the gym expected us to win,” Seed said. “We knew we had a chance and we knew we could. We had a chance to win it at the end of regulation and in the overtime, but. . .”

“They held their heads up and fought right to the end and we had a chance to win it twice,” Conroy said.

Centennial’s comeback corresponded with Erik Sterne finding his shooting range as he hit 20 of his 25 points in the second half. Tarang Sharma nailed six three-pointers on his way to a 24-point outing.
Tyrick Thompson had 23 points for St. Mary’s while Simon had 18 and Jamari Stevenson 10.

Neither team shot particularly well on free throws as, according to the scoresheet, Centennial hit 12-of-23 and St. Mary’s hit 11-of-21.

“We missed some foul shots,” Conroy said. “Part of the deal is that they wanted us to play at a pace we’re not used to playing at so when you go to the line, you’re out of breath and you’re tired and it becomes more difficult.”

The game was similar to several the Spartans played during the D10 season when it became apparent that they could never be counted out of any game.

“We never roll over, we just keep on playing. We know we can crawl back,” Seed said. “We know we have good shooters who came make shots down the stretch. We just play defence, make shots and slowly chip away.”

The Spartans will be looking to rebuild next season as they expect to lose four of their starters – Sterne, Sharma, Seed and Harman Grewal.

In the other senior semifinal, Waterloo CI handed Kitchener Grand River a 59-52 setback.
St. Mary’s won the senior final 53-47 over Waterloo CI 47 Monday night.

Both St. Mary’s and Waterloo CI advance to the OFSAA AAAA tournament.

Waterloo’s Sir John A. Macdonald won the junior final 62-50 over St. John’s of Brantford.

In the semifinals, SJAM defeated Waterloo CI 59-40 and St. John’s downed Kitchener St. Mary’s 61-50.

Retrieved From:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports/highschool/article/893127--spartans-oh-so-close-to-qualifying-for-ofsaa-tourney

AAAA Senior Semifinal #2: WCI 59, Grand River 52

From the lack of a league to an injury to star forward Jacob Ranton, it seemed as though the basketball gods didn't want the WCI Vikings to qualify for OFSAA.

However, WCI did exactly that on Monday afternoon at JF Ross CVI in Guelph, as they lead basically wire-to-wire in a 59-52 victory.

The key?  Solid team defense played on Grand River's big three --- Jamal Murray, Murtada Khamis and Chuder Teny.  The Vikes forced the trio into some tough shots on the offensive end and the three combined to go just 11-for-47 (23.4%) from the floor.

That's not to say Grand River didn't have their chances.  The game was tight throughout the first-half; Murray was up to his usual buzzer-beating tricks for the Rens by banking home a three at the end of the first quarter to trim WCI's lead to 16-15.

After the Vikes extended to a 27-20 halftime lead, it looked as though they would pull away in the third.  An Adam Anagnostopoulos to Dani Elgadi alley-oop dunk pushed the lead to 11-points, and the Vikes would lead by 13 after three.

However, GRCI didn't quit.  A deep (probably 7-8 feet off the line) three by Murray cut things to 55-48 with just under 2:00 to go, but the Rens didn't get any bounces going their way during the final moments.

Adam Anagnostopoulos had a great game for WCI with a very efficient 19 point performance on just  8 field goal attempts (4-6 2PT; 2-2 3PT; 5-6 FT).  Dani Elgadi added 12 points while cleaning up the glass to the tune of 18 rebounds, and Malcolm Piazza had his way inside on the undersized Rens with a 10-point effort.

Murray had 15 for the Rens, while adding 6 rebounds and 3 assists.  Chuder Teny notched 14 points, and Murtada Khamis had 8.

The good news for Grand River?  All those who played in yesterday's game are eligible to return again to GRCI next season.

AAA Junior: Celtics Cruise To Title

After entering as the tournament favourites, the Junior St. David Celtics cruised to victory in the "AAA CWOSSA" tournament held this past weekend at SDCSS in Waterloo.

St. David won their three games by an average margin of victory of 28.6 PPG, including a 79-52 win over Guelph St. James in the final.

Alec Scheffler poured in 23 points while Mitchell Lavigne netted 14.  Jack Tersigni scored 18 for St. James while Keegan Feeney added 10.

Their toughest competition came from league rival Monsignor Doyle in their second pool game.  The Celtics led by only one at halftime before opening up the lead in the second half en route to a 50-36 final.  Alec Scheffler (12) and James McBride (9) led the way for the Celtics while Ryan Stafford had 16 and Sohrob Sultani 10 for Doyle.

St. David opened the tournament by blasting Simcoe Holy Trinity 67-22.  George Dumitru (17) and Mitchell Lavigne (11) led SDCSS while Matthew Baxter had 4 for the Titans.

St. James was the class of their pool, going 2-0 with big wins over Orangeville Westside (63-11) and Kitchener Collegiate (60-36).

Brantford Expositor: Senior Trojans Earn OFSAA Berth

Article By:  Darryl G. Smart

It may not have been the most conventional way, but the North Park Collegiate senior Trojans are heading to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AAA boys basketball championships for the third time in four years.

Despite playing only one exhibition game a couple of days prior to the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association tournament, the Trojans reeled off three-straight wins on the weekend to win the qualifier.

This year's OFSAA tournament is slated for Windsor, March 4-6.

In the final, Matt and Nick Minutillo led the offence in a 49-35 win over St. James Lions from Guelph.

Leading 15-14 after one quarter, the Trojans made it 25-18 at the half. The Lions then chipped away, with the Trojans holding a 30-29 lead after three quarters.

But in the fourth quarter, the Trojans surged, outscoring the Lions 19-3 and went 9-for-10 from the foul line down the stretch.

Matt Minutillo led the way with 19 points, while brother Nick netted 16, and Vishal Brar added seven.

In the semifinal, the Trojans defeated Waterloo's St. David Celtics, 58-31, despite seeing centre Jon Dulmage injured on the opening tipoff.

The Trojans led 17-13 after one quarter and 29-17 at the half.

The Trojans hunkered down in the fourth quarter, giving up only six points.

Matt Minutillo again led the way with 15, while Brar netted 10. Nick Minutillo and Eric Hamilton each added nine points.

In the opener, the Trojans took on Simcoe's Holy Trinity Titans and cruised to a 53-26 victory.
The Trojans were sharp, allowing only five points in the first quarter and four more in the second.

Matt Minutillo scored 14 points to lead the Trojans offence, while Dulmage added 12, Brar had eight. Nick Minutillo and Eric Hamilton each pitched in with six points.

Josh Johnson led the Titans with 11 points, while Hayden Black scored five, and Stefan Peters added four.

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/02/24/senior-trojans-earn-berth-in-provincial-championship

Guelph Mercury: Bishop Mac Sweeps Another Hoops Title

Saturday, February 26th

Article By:  Rob Massey

GUELPH — For the second time in a week, the Bishop Macdonell Celtics swept the senior and junior titles at a high school boys’ basketball tournament.

The Celtics won the unofficial CWOSSA AA titles in a championship doubleheader Friday night at Lourdes. Last weekend, Bishop Mac won the District 10 crowns in both senior and junior.

Bishop Mac took the senior final 57-47 over the Centre Dufferin Royals, the D4 champions from Shelburne.

“We’ve been preparing all year for two games,” Bishop Mac coach Marty Kendall said. “We’ve been preparing for Centennial (D10 final opponent) and Centre Dufferin. Every drill, every practice, everything, our end goal in mind was to prepare for these teams.”

The Celtics won an all-Guelph junior final 41-34 over the host Lourdes Crusaders in a rematch of the D10 final.

The senior final was Bishop Mac’s toughest game of the tournament, although Lourdes gave them a good go (53-33) in the semifinal. In the opening day Thursday, the Celtics defeated Norwell 101-34 and Owen Sound St. Mary’s 93-20.

“It wasn’t much competition (Thursday),” Bishop Mac’s Jesse Kendall said. “But today was great. Lourdes gave us a great game and this is a blast, this game.”

“It’s tough on those teams and it’s tough for us to play those teams and it doesn’t prepare us for a game like this,” coach Kendall said after the final. “Thankfully, Lourdes helped us today. Lourdes played a very good game against us this afternoon and helped sharpen us up a little bit.”

In the final, Centre Dufferin wouldn’t go away. The Celtics led 18-10 at the end of the first quarter, 32-27 at the half and 43-37 after the third quarter.

Jesse Kendall led Bishop Mac with 23 points while Mitchell Wood and Mike Ganson added nine apiece.

“I took what was open and they fell for me today,” Jesse Kendall said.

Marco Zanette led Centre Dufferin with 27 points while Doug Costanzo had 10.

In the semifinal against Lourdes, Bishop Mac held quarter leads of 16-12, 30-21 and 46-27. Wood had 16 points for the Celtics while Kendall added 14. Kevin Roche led Lourdes with 12 points while Andrew Chapman collected seven.

Centre Dufferin hits 11 three-pointers in their semifinal win over Norwell. Marco Zanette collected 19 points while Dan Craig and Dhruv Patel had 13 apiece and Doug Costanzo had 12.

Bishop Mac advances to the OFSAA championship tournament at Richmond Hill and Markham March 4-6.

“We’ve had three very distinct goals all year — D10, CWOSSA or the OFSAA qualifier and now OFSAA,” coach Kendall said.

The junior final was a replay of the D10 junior final, close throughout with Bishop Mac getting a slim win.

Lourdes led 12-9 at the end of the first quarter before the Celtics rallied to lead 32-27 at the half and 43-37 after three quarters.

“We’ve just been fortunate to nip them at the right time at the end of the games,” Bishop Mac coach Dennis Morris said.

Lukas Wood collected 13 points for Bishop Mac while Jack Morris and Evan Hosker each had 10. Alex Hudecki and Craig Valeriote each had nine for Lourdes while Sean Gade added seven.

The game was the fifth meeting between Bishop Mac and Lourdes this season.

“There’s no secrets,” coach Morris said. “They know what to do, we know what to do. It’s just play hard and play good basketball because there’s no surprises. We’ve seen each other so much. We know exactly what their strengths are and they know what ours are. We’ve just been fortunate with a couple of bounces that have gone our way.”

Jake Chaput and Hosker each had 10 points in Bishop Mac’s 41-27 win over Norwell in the semifinals.

Lourdes defeated Centre Dufferin 75-38 in the other semifinal. Hudecki had 26 points and Valeriote gathered 13.

As the tournaments were unofficial CWOSSA events, no championship plaques were awarded.

“The kids got to have their picture taken, but there was nothing there for them to hang onto,” coach Kendall said. “It felt a little odd.”

Retrieved From:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports/highschool/article/892082--bishop-mac-sweeps-another-hoops-tournament

CWOSSA Catch-Up

Lots to get to in terms of posting, but head over to my Twitter Page for now which has all of the scores and details.

I'll add all of the recaps/info here by tomorrow, too.

Today, AAAA semifinals are taking place which include:

Junior - SJAM vs. WCI (9am); St. Mary's vs. St. John's (10:30am)

Senior - St. Mary's vs. Centennial (Noon); WCI vs. Grand River (1:30pm).

AA & AAA CWOSSA: Updates

AA - Semifinals

JR:  Lourdes 75, Centre Dufferin 38
JR:  Bishop Mac 41, Norwell 27

6:00pm:  Junior Final - Bishop Mac vs. Lourdes

SR:  Centre Dufferin 79, Norwell 38
SR:  Bishop Mac 53, Lourdes 33

7:30pm:  Senior Final - CDDHS vs. Bishop Mac

AAA - Pool Play

Junior Pool A
KCI 42, Westside (Orangeville) 24
St. James 63, Westside 11
Saturday:  St. James vs. KCI

Junior Pool B
St. David 67, Holy Trinity (Simcoe) 22
Mons. Doyle vs. Holy Trinity
Saturday:  Mons. Doyle vs. St. David

Senior Pool A
KCI 46, Westside (Orangeville) 23
Westside vs. St. James
Saturday:  St. James vs. KCI

Senior Pool B
Holy Trinity (Simcoe) 42, St. David 38
Holy Trinity vs. North Park
Saturday:  North Park vs. St. David
 

AAAA CWOSSA: Draw

Here's the draw as released yesterday by CWOSSA officials for this weekend's tournament, which starts on Saturday at JF Ross in Guelph.

Like last year, the tournament will conclude on Monday with semifinals during the day, and then finals in the evening (junior - 6pm; senior - 8pm).  All games will be at Ross.

Junior - Pool A
SJAM
St. Benedict
St. Mary's

Junior - Pool B
Centennial
WCI
St. John's

Junior Schedule - Saturday
10am - St. Benedict vs. St. Mary's
11:30am - WCI vs. St. John's
2:00pm - St. Benedict vs. SJAM
3:30pm - WCI vs. Centennial
6:00pm - SJAM vs. St. Mary's
7:30pm - Centennial vs. St. John's

Senior - Pool A
Waterloo CI
JF Ross
St. Mary's

Senior - Pool B
Centennial
Grand River
St. John's

Senior Schedule - Saturday
10am - JF Ross vs. St. Mary's
11:30am - Grand River vs. St. John's
2:00pm - JF Ross vs. WCI
3:30pm - Grand River vs. Centennial
6:00pm - WCI vs. St. Mary's
7:30pm - Centennial vs. St. John's

AAAA CWOSSA: Field Set For Saturday

Thanks to victories by WCSSAA schools WCI (junior) and Grand River (senior), the CWOSSA AAAA field has been filled for this weekend's tournament in Guelph.

On the senior side of things, the Renegades used a 20-5 third quarter run to help to put the Assumption Lions away en route to a 69-46 win.

Chuder Teny (18) and Jamal Murray (16) led the way for Grand River, while Nolan Druong had 17 and Austin Tlustos 7 for the Lions.

The Renegades will join Brantford St. John's, Guelph schools Centennial and JF Ross, Waterloo CI and Kitchener St. Mary's in the senior AAAA tournament.

The junior draw features Guelph Centennial, Brantford St. John's, Cambridge St. Benedict, Kitchener St. Mary's and Waterloo schools WCI and SJAM.

Guelph Mercury: Crusaders, Celtics Still Alive In Fight For AA Basketball Crown

Article By:  Rob Massey

GUELPH — There will be local content in the CWOSSA AA boys’ basketball championship Friday night at Lourdes.

That much is a certainty as the host Crusaders and the District 10 champion Bishop Macdonell Celtics are to meet in the semifinals in the afternoon.

The other semifinal will involve Centre Dufferin Royals of Shelburne, the District 4 champions, and their D4 rivals, the Norwell Redmen of Palmerston.

Thursday night, Lourdes had a shot at forcing overtime with a last-second three-pointer, but they couldn’t get the shot to fall and Centre Dufferin won 59-56 to finish atop their pool.

“All you ask for is a shot,” Lourdes coach Mike O’Rourke said. “You want to get the open shot to make the tie and that’s what we had. We had a good, clean look at it, but the ball didn’t go in this time. Hopefully, next time.”

“That was a good game, but a game we needed,” Centre Dufferin coach Patrick Kings said. “I think that will be good for them for tomorrow going in against Bishop Mac because they’re probably feeling good about today.”

Maximillian Raab led Lourdes with 19 points while Kevin Roche had 15 and Andrew Chapman 14.

Marco Zanette collected 21 points for Centre Dufferin while Doug Costanzo had 15 and Carlo Zanette 10.

Earlier in the day, the Crusaders defeated Sacred Heart of Walkerton 49-37 while Centre Dufferin dropped Sacred Heart 71-44.

Raab had 12 points against Sacred Heart while Ryan Bilodeau added 11.

Marco Zanette had 27 points against Sacred Heart while Doug Costanzo netted 16 and Carlo Zanette had 10.

Bishop Mac had a pair of easy games as they walloped Norwell 101-34 and dropped Owen Sound St. Mary’s 93-20. Norwell advanced to the semifinals with a 35-33 win over St. Mary’s.

All 11 players scored for Bishop Mac against Norwell, led by Owen Brombal with 21. Jesse Kendall added 17 while Adam MacEachern had 14 and Mitchell Wood 13.

Kendall and Wood each had 16 against St. Mary’s while Ben Morris gathered 13 and Michael Ganson had 12.

Centre Dufferin had little in the way of competition in league play as the Royals were dominating, winning all eight league games by an average score of 72-35 and their smallest margin of victory was 27 points. The Royals added two playoff wins to capture the league crown.

“We have an exceptionally good team this year,” Kings said. “We haven’t had a lot of close games within our league and then with the sort of dissolving of the districts and the tournaments, we haven’t had the opportunity to play (many) tournament games. We played in four tournaments before Christmas, and basically nothing in the second half of the season. It’s been tough for us to keep our game sharp.”

Centre Dufferin is to play Norwell in the first semifinal at 1 p.m. while Bishop Mac and Lourdes are to tangle in the second at 2:30 p.m.

Bishop Mac defeated Lourdes twice during league play, but the Crusaders are looking forward to another shot at the Celtics.

“We’ve been looking at some stuff on what they’ve been doing,” O’Rourke said. “We’ve got to play a clean game and get everything going for us.”

The same four schools advanced to the junior semifinals following preliminary play Thursday at St. Ignatius school.

Lourdes and Bishop Mac finished atop their pools and could be headed for a final showdown.

In the preliminary round, Lourdes defeated Norwell 62-49 and Sacred Heart 72-25 while Bishop Mac downed St. Mary’s 69-36 and Centre Dufferin 57-43. Norwell defeated Sacred Heart 41-27 and Centre Dufferin beat St. Mary’s 67-42.

In Friday morning’s semifinals, Lourdes was to battle Centre Dufferin while Bishop Mac was to tangle with Norwell.

Semifinal winners advance to the finals, the junior final set for 6 p.m. and the senior final following at 8 p.m.

Retrieved From:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports/highschool/article/891293--crusaders-celtics-still-alive-in-fight-for-aa-basketball-crown

AA CWOSSA: Updates

Here's some updates from action today in Guelph at the "AA" CWOSSA tournament (pool play).  The top two teams in each three-team pool will cross-over to play semifinals tomorrow, with the final to be played tomorrow evening.

Here's a recap of the pools and schedule, in case you missed when I posted earlier.

Junior - Pool A
Lourdes (Guelph) 62, Norwell (Palmerston) 49
Norwell (Palmerston) 41, Sacred Heart (Walk.) 27
Lourdes 72, Sacred Heart 25

Junior "A" Standings
1.  Lourdes 2-0**
2.  Norwell 1-1**
3.  Sacred Heart 0-2

** - Advance To Semifinals

Junior - Pool B
Bishop Mac (Guelph) 69, St. Mary's (OS) 36
Centre Dufferin (Shelburne) 67, St. Mary's (OS) 42
Bishop Mac 57, Centre Dufferin 43

Junior "B" Standings
T1.  Bishop Mac 2-0**
T1.  Centre Dufferin 1-1**
3.  St. Mary's (OS) 0-2

** - Advance To Semifinals

Senior - Pool A
Lourdes (Guelph) 49, Sacred Heart (Wktn) 37
Centre Dufferin 71, Sacred Heart 47
Centre Dufferin 59, Lourdes 56

Senior "A" Standings
1.  Centre Dufferin 2-0**
2.  Lourdes 1-1
3.  Sacred Heart 0-2

** - Advance to Semifinals

Senior - Pool B
Bishop Mac (Guelph) 101, Norwell (Pmrstn) 34
Norwell (Pmrstn) 35, St. Mary's (OS) 33
Bishop Mac 93, St. Mary's (OS) 20

Senior "B" Standings
1.  Bishop Mac 2-0**
2.  Norwell 1-1**
3.  St. Mary's (OS) 0-2

** - Advance to Semifinals

Waterloo Chronicle: "Exciting To Be Back" -- Some Public HS Sports Return to Action

Article By:  Jordan Ercit

Dani Elgadi is not sure what comes next, but the fact his Waterloo Vikings are back on the court is good for now.

The fifth-year forward is one of the few public high school basketball players in Waterloo Region who gets that chance too. With WCSSAA once again up and running, four local Quad-A schools — Waterloo and Bluevale collegiates in Waterloo; Grand River and Eastwood in Kitchener — are competing for one automatic berth at CWOSSA in qualifying games this week.

The second-place team will then compete in a play-in game against the second-place District 5 team, which encompasses Brant County. The St. John’s Green Eagles beat the Assumption College Lions in their Brant County qualifier.

Sir John A. Macdonald, Waterloo and Grand River are competing for spots in the junior boys tournament, while Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate is playing exhibition games.

Waterloo and Grand River are the only two senior girls Quad-A teams competing in volleyball. Waterloo Collegiate teams faced Southwood and SJAM in girls and boys curling respectively last Friday at Westmount Golf and Country Club in Kitchener.

There is little room for error as a result.

All four senior basketball teams play qualifying games against each other, which wrap up today when Waterloo hosts Grand River and Eastwood visits Bluevale at 3:30 p.m. Grand River and Waterloo got a head-start last Thursday with wins over Eastwood and Bluevale respectively.

But something is better than nothing as far as Elgadi is concerned, even though his Vikings were one of the favoured local teams heading into the 2012-13 season.

“We have two-plus players who can go to the next level in basketball, so it was definitely shocking,” when the season was shelved in December, Elgadi said. “It hurt, especially because it was something out of our control. It was out of our hands and all we could do was sit back and wait.

“But our coaches told us, ‘don’t give up the faith, just keep playing basketball and we’ll work it out.’ And we managed to. We got in some games and now the season is back.”

Despite missing point guard Adam Anagnostopoulos and power forward Jacob Ranton, the Vikings looked good for a team that hasn’t played a league game in two months.

Led by Elgadi’s 24 points and Zach Totzke’s 14, the Vikings pulled away in the second half of a 61-29 victory over the Knights. John Efechaobor had 12 points and Savo Krajisnik had eight for the Knights.

There is a reason for the lack of rust, though. The Vikings have still managed to play some tournament and exhibition games since the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation requested members refrain from assisting in extra-curricular activities in December.

Later that month, the Vikings took part in a tournament in Arizona, a trip that was booked and paid for before OSSTF labour action in protest of the provincial government’s Bill 115, which has since been repealed.

Since January, the Vikings scrambled to find a half-dozen exhibition games and entered a tournament at Eden High School in St. Catharines.

However, at this point, Elgadi is simply glad to be back.

Last season, the Vikings healed their wounds from a semifinal loss to SJAM on the hope that all five of their starters would be back to challenge for a WCSSAA title the following year.

Although Ranton will be out for the next three months after surgery last week to repair his kneecap, Elgadi, Anagnostopoulos, Totzke and Malcolm Piazza will again have their shot a late high school season run – albeit without a WCSSAA championship to look forward to.

“It’s a last-case scenario for most of our guys,” said Elgadi, a one-sport standout who hopes to play at the CIS level next season. “I’m looking to go to the next level. Basketball is my life – my heart and soul – and I practice every day at it.

“So it’s exciting to be back.”

Retrieved From:  http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/sports/exciting-to-be-back-some-public-high-school-sports-return-to-action/

Follow @CWOSSABBall for CWOSSA Updates

AA CWOSSA is now underway in Guelph (finally, the weather has co-operated).

Be sure to follow @CWOSSABBall on Twitter for regular updates and scores from the weekend.

Also --- use #CWOSSABBall (or mention @CWOSSABBall) and I'll include some of the best tweets in upcoming posts from the weekend action!

Here's a few tweets from yesterday (nothing you don't already know, but just to give you an idea):

St. Benedict defeats JF Ross 75-45 in junior CWOSSA qualifier (AAAA).
— CWOSSA Basketball (@CWOSSABball) February 20, 2013

SHAMAR BAILEY - 6'5" grade 10 with a block on one end for WCI, dunk on the other!Now a steal on next possession!
— CWOSSA Basketball (@CWOSSABball) February 20, 2013

It's a final - 74-64, WCI defeats Grand River (#WCSSAASenior).Vikes were up 68-64 with 1:50 to go and added last 6 points of the game.
— CWOSSA Basketball (@CWOSSABball) February 20, 2013

#WCSSAASenior -- WCI clinging to 58-57 lead over Grand River, 5:30 left in the 4Q.Winner gets automatic #CWOSSA berth.
— CWOSSA Basketball (@CWOSSABball) February 20, 2013

JF Ross' 11-year JR CWOSSA streak likely over as 2 top players out for today's play-in game. One slipped on ice yesterday and broke elbow.
— CWOSSA Basketball (@CWOSSABball) February 20, 2013

CWOSSA Qualifiers: AAAA Results

The long WCSSAA lay-off certainly didn't hurt the offensive exploits of the WCI Vikings or Grand River Renegades.

The clubs piled up the points in both the junior and senior CWOSSA qualifying games held yesterday at WCI, with the Vikes victorious in each.

In senior, WCI led by a slim margin for most of the second half and then outscored GRCI 6-0 in the final 2:00 to win by double-digits, 74-64.  Dani Elgadi (22), Adam Anagnostopoulos (21) and Zach Totzke (15) led the way for the Vikes, while Jamal Murray (22), Chuder Teny (15), and Murtada Khamis (12) were the leaders for Grand River.

The win qualified the Vikings for the AAAA CWOSSA tournament in Guelph this weekend, while the Renegades can still qualify if they can beat Brantford Assumption in a play-in game today (4pm, Grand River).

In junior, Shamar Bailey helped the Vikes to an 81-62 win over Grand River in a game that saw several "runs" by both teams.

Bailey, in fact, keyed one of those with an impressive sequence in the first half when he had a block on one end of the court and then finished with a big dunk on the offensive side.  He finished with 27 points, while Aaron Grubb, Salim Bagabe, and Adam Piazza all had 13 each.

Aleks Cvrkalj led Grand River with 17, while Vatrik Odouk netted 11.

The loss eliminated Grand River (0-2) from CWOSSA contention while WCI (1-1) will play Brantford Assumption in a play-in game today.  WCI is scheduled to host; however, I'm not sure of the logistics of that given that the school also has parent-teacher meetings in the gym from 3-8pm today.

Over in Guelph, Junior and Senior qualifiers were held between D8 #2 and D10 #2.  In junior, it was Cambridge St. Benedict posting an impressive 75-45 win over Guelph JF Ross, with Alex Douglas (14 points) pacing a balanced Saint attack.  Jake Grant led all scorers with 16 for Ross.

The loss means that for the first time in 11 years, JF Ross will not be competing in AAAA CWOSSA at the junior level --- an impressive streak while it lasted.

The senior Royals, though, will see their participation streak continue after a big win over Kitchener Resurrection (74-41).  Scoring details were not immediately available.

"AAA" CWOSSA Tournament Draw

Here's the participating teams and draw for the Junior & Senior "AAA" tournament.  Note - with only one site hosting, there are no semifinals ---- the winners of the two pools will meet each other in the finals.

Junior Pool A:  KCI, St. James, Westside
Junior Pool B:  Mons. Doyle, St. David, Holy Trinity

Senior Pool A:  KCI, St. James, Westside
Senior Pool B:  North Park, St. David, Holy Trinity

Junior Pool Games - Friday
9:00am - KCI vs. Westside
Noon - Holy Trinity vs. St. David
3:00pm - Westside vs. St. James
6:00pm - MDCSS vs. Holy Trinity

Junior Pool Games - Saturday
9:00am - St. James vs. KCI
Noon - St. David vs. MDCSS

Senior Pool Games - Friday
10:30am - KCI vs. Westside
1:30pm - Holy Trinity vs. St. David
4:30pm - Westside vs. St. James
7:30pm - Holy Trinity vs. North Park

Senior Pool Games - Saturday
10:30am - St. James vs. KCI
1:30pm - St. David vs. North Park

4:00pm Saturday - Junior Final
6:00pm Saturday - Senior Final