Article By: Darryl G. SmartIt was a good time for the St. John's College Green Eagles to wake up.
After being lured into the Assumption College Lions' game for over a half, the Green Eagles powered their way to a 39-36 win in Game 1 of a best-of-three qualifier to represent Brant County at the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association AAAA senior boys basketball tournament.
"We knew we had to come out strong because we've lost to them a couple of times this year," Green Eagles Cam Post said. "And when we got down, we just tried to keep positive and were able to claw our way back."
And claw their way back is exactly what Post and his teammates did.
Playing from behind from the beginning of the game, it wasn't until 2:30 remaining that the Green Eagles finally took a short-lived 35-33 lead.
After Andre Toic delivered the Lions a basket, and the foul shot to regain the lead, it was Tim Dawson's bucket that eventually won the game for the Green Eagles with 52 seconds remaining.
"It's a relief, for sure," Post said. "We're finally going to be going into a game with much more confidence. This was a huge win for us. For some reason they've seemed to have our number this year.
"We had a rough first half," he said. "We had to just keep the spirits up. We were all tired from the weekend and we got our wind back."
And after the Green Eagles got their legs back from a gruelling weekend tournament in St. Catharines, shots seemed to go in, which energized everyone.
"At the half the coaches said to just keep the energy up and things will go our way," Post said. "We had to work hard for this one and I think playing in that tournament on the weekend really helped us."
Heading into Game 2 Thursday at SJC, Post said the game plan is simple.
"We just need to keep working hard and as a team," Post said. "We've got a bit more confidence now, so that should help us out."
While the Green Eagles are heading into the second game of the series confident, so are the Lions.
"We have nothing to be ashamed of," Toic said. "We almost had it."
Lions coach Paul Petrella said his young players gave the game away, but that will happen with a team chock-full of Grade 11s.
"Their youth showed," Petrella said. "They started to panic a bit, and Toic can't do it all himself. The guys came out with no fear and a great effort. And for them to do that in a game like this is great, especially since most of them haven't played in a game like this before. We had a chance but couldn't capitalize.
"I just think they wanted it more than us," he said. "In the second half they out worked us. You know what, we're young and we'll learn from this. We just keep getting better and that's a good thing."
Game 2 of the series Thursday at SJC begins at 7:30 p.m., with the juniors tipping off at 6 p.m.
Senior results
SJC 39, ACS 36. SJC: James Terejko 10, Tim dawson 10, Jake Brennan 6, Adam Peters 4, Steve Szasz 3, Mitch Santilli 2, Dylan Smith 2, Cam Post 2.
ACS: Andre Toic 18, Brandon Vincent 5, Zoltan Barna 4, Ren Taylor 2, Austn Tlustos 2.
Junior results
SJC 56, ACS 40. SJC: Adrian Mendoza 33, Lucas Hager 6, Neil Wiacek 6, Matt Knight 4, Austin Lambardi 2, Zach Dawson 2, Dan Weagle 2.
ACS: Mike King 18, Josh Turnor 11, Mike Heron 7, Tanner Baldin 3, Marc Paderon 2.
Retrieved From: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/02/11/senior-green-eagles-edge-lions-in-game-1
