Article By: Vincent BallThe St. John's Green Eagles beat the Assumption College Lions 45-34 in the opening game of the senior high school boys basketball final on Tuesday.
The Green Eagles used their size and got some big plays at key times to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
In the junior contest, the North Park Trojans defeated the St. John's Green Eagles 40-38. The win gives the Trojans a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series
Both series resume Thursday night.
In the senior contest, Green Eagles assistant coach Mike Doherty said his players battled hard on offence and defence.
“We played with a lot of intensity all over the floor,” he said.
The Green Eagles were led in scoring by Jake Brennan with 21 points and Adrian Mendoza, a speedy guard with a deft outside shot, who scored 15, including a three-pointer just before the end of the first half with St. John’s leading 25-21. That left the Lions down by seven going into the second half.
It was a tough game for the Lions who couldn't find a way to catch the Green Eagles.
“Defensively we didn't play too badly,” Assumption assistant coach Mike Petrella said following the game. “We held them to 45 points which isn't too bad.
“But offensively we weren't aggressive enough and a couple of our players were a little off tonight.”
Petrella said he is looking for a better performance from his players Thursday.
The Lions were led in scoring by Andre Toic with 14 and Brandon Vincent with 8.
In a highly entertaining junior match, the Trojans got off to a great start when guard Jamie Grant scored a three-pointer on the first possession of the game.It was a sign of things to come for the Trojans as they led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter and 28-19 at the half.
“We had some great shooting and we played great defence in the first half,” North Park coach Andrea Hawkins said following the game.
“But they made some adjustments in the second half and started getting the ball inside.
“I think in the third quarter we played a bit scared and we lost our lead.”
In the fourth quarter both teams went all out, resulting in a narrow win for the Trojans.
“This is what I like about Brantford city finals,” said Hawkins. “The games are intense and you get a great game.”
Although St. John's came up just a bit short on Tuesday, coach Christian Miller said he is pleased with his squad's effort.
“We had a slow start but we really picked up the intensity in the second half and in terms of our defense, I couldn't ask for more,” Miller said.
“We started to move the ball a little better and started running our offence in the second half and we were able to mount a comeback.”
The Trojans were led in scoring by Kyle Webster with 14, Grant with 12 and Zach Tabuns with 8.
The Eagles were led in scoring by Jordan Nichols with 14, Tyler Bergey with 9 and Michael Dubois with five.
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