In the "game of the day" last night in WCSSAA senior boys' basketball, a "back and forth" affair between SJAM and Grand River ended with the Highlanders making the key plays down the stretch to end up with a 61-53 victory.Simon Petrov (16) and Nedim Hodzic (14) led the way for SJAM, while Chuder Teny had a game-high 21 for Grand River with Murtada Khamis adding 16.
After the game, Hodzic cleverly tweeted, "Guess we slept better last night, eh?" ---referencing Cameron Heights' Sasha Simic's quote in last week's paper after Cameron's throttling of SJAM: "I'm a little surprised with today because I thought they would come out a little harder. . . . I don't know, maybe they didn't sleep right last night."
At any rate, huge win for SJAM as they move into a logjam of teams at 3-1. Grand River falls to 2-1, with a game in hand due to the rescheduling of their season opener against Jacob Hespeler.
In other action on Tuesday:
WCI 52, Bluevale 40
My Pick: WCI by 13
Shafi Mutware's 16-point effort paced three Vikings in double figures (Bojan Vincic 12, Nikola Despotovic 10) as WCI won this all-Waterloo affair. Savo Krajisnik had 14 and Garrett Large 9 for the Knights.
Cameron Heights 66, Eastwood 60
My Pick: CHCI by 24
The Rebels played the Gaels tough at home, and nearly were able to come away with the upset win. Sasha Simic (13) and Ivan Cucak (10) led the way for Cameron, while Cham Ujullu (game high 17) and Ousmane Kromah (15) topped the ECI scoresheet.
Huron Heights 52, Forest Heights 51
My Pick: HHSS by 11
The Huskies nipped the Trojans with Arshid Babury scoring 16 and Nathaniel Ernst-Finnie adding 12. Kelly Cuppage had 13 for FHCI, with Mo Al-Hares adding 9.
Galt 65, Jacob Hespeler 36
My Pick: GCI by 22
TJ Lall continued his hot scoring start to the year, pouring in 25 points as the Ghosts rolled against their Cambridge rivals. Abraar Unia added 11 for GCI, while Shawn Thompson (16) and Brandon Roth (10) had double-digit efforts for Hespeler.
KCI 65, Preston 34
My Pick: KCI by 16
No trouble for the Raiders at home, with Stefan Simic (15) and Matt McKinnon (9) leading the way. Tanner Derjugin and Andrew Kamenz had 9 each for PHS.
WCSSAA Senior Standings
1. Cameron Heights 4-0
T2. Eastwood 3-1
T2. SJAM 3-1
T2. KCI 3-1
T2. WCI 3-1
T2. Glenview Park 3-1
T2. Huron Heights 3-1
8. Grand River 2-1
T9. Galt 2-2
T9. Bluevale 2-2
T11. Forest Heights 1-3
T11. Southwood 1-3
13. Jacob Hespeler 0-3
14. Preston 0-4
