D8 Senior Final Preview(1) St. Mary's Eagles (12-0) vs. (2) Resurrection Phoenix (10-3)
Today, 8:00pm - University of Waterloo ($2 Admission)
Season Stats/Review
Dominant.
That's really the only word one can use to describe the St. Mary's Eagles in relation to the rest of the District 8 Senior Boys' basketball teams to this point in the season.
Including their semifinal playoff game, the Eagles are averaging 73.5 PPG while only giving up 33.8 --- a difference of nearly 40 points per contest. In fact, no team has even been within single digits of St. Mary's in any of their 12 D8 games.
Even their games against second place Resurrection haven't been close --- an 78-47 win back in December followed-up with an 81-46 win in early February.
The question doesn't seem to be "who will win" so much as "by how much". Of course, St. Mary's will have to avoid the possible overconfidence that can come with a couple of comfortable wins.
History Lesson
Since the D8's inception in 1990-91, years ending with "3" have seen some interesting results in D8 championship games:
1993: Monsignor Doyle (#2 seed) upsets Resurrection (#1) 59-55, despite Resurrection having blown out MDCSS (58-35) just two weeks prior to the championship game.
2003: Resurrection (#3 seed) upsets St. Benedict (#1) in championship final; St. Benedict would actually finish 2nd in CWOSSA "AAAA" that year despite the loss and advance to OFSAA.
Obviously, history doesn't predict future results, but that's a trend that Resurrection players and fans are surely hoping see continue tonight.
Meanwhile, St. Mary's is seeking their second consecutive D8 title and third since 2006, after not having won a D8 title prior to that (mostly while the school was in downtown Kitchener, though).
Resurrection leads the all-time D8 championship senior tally with 11. St. Mary's, with a win, would tie St. David and St. Benedict (3 each) on the list of senior titles. Rockway (2) and Monsignor Doyle (1) round out the winners in D8 history.
Key Players
St. Mary's has some of the best guard play in CWOSSA, led by SG Telloy Simon and PG Tyrick Thompson. Jermaine Lyle, Avery Sutton, Nathan Riley, Jamari Stephenson and Tyler Hergott are all "guards" (or have guard skills, shall we say) and all are capable of contributing on any given night.
The scary thing? 5 of the guys I mentioned above are only in grade eleven.
For Resurrection, they don't have as much depth as the Eagles, relying heavily on the contributions of fourth-year G Patric McGlynn, fourth-year F Jacob Gilbert, and fifth-year F Tyler Bartley. The Phoenix will need someone to "step up" alongside those three, with Thomas Hunter, Onique Findlay and Zach Holness being the possible candidates.
Prediction
It may not be pretty in the end, but there's a reason why you play the game. From Resurrection's perspective, they have absolutely nothing to lose, which could make things interesting.
I see a close game early, with the depth of St. Mary's extending the lead throughout the second half.
Pick: St. Mary's 71, Resurrection 49
