CWOSSA teams went 1-4 yesterday in opening action across the province at the various OFSAA basketball championships as things went "according to seeding form" on the opening day."A" OFSAA
At "A" OFSAA in Timmins, it was a rough go for the #10 seed Walkerton DSS, who got down 25-6 after the opening quarter and couldn't recover in a 82-35 loss to #4 Forster.
JD West had 15 points and Keenan Soers 6 for the Riverhawks.
On the positive side for Walkerton, #13 Crawford Adventist Academy upset #7 North Dundas (66-64), meaning Walkerton will be the "better seed" in their second-round game this morning.
"AA" OFSAA
In Perth, the Bishop Mac Celtics (#12) had a tough enough go of it against the #1 seed, Merivale from Ottawa --- but also lost leading scorer Jesse Kendall to an ankle injury in the second quarter (he did not return to action).
Owen Brombal scored 11 points in Bishop Mac's 72-40 loss, meaning the Celts will take on #6 Vaughan Road in 2nd round action today.
"AAA" OFSAA
Over in Welland, the St. James Lions (#8) dominated their first-round game against #14 Anderson CVI of Whitby, opening up a 33-13 halftime lead before cruising to a 57-29 win.
Zach McClenaghan, Ryan Morales, and Mitch Marquis paced the balanced Lion attack with 9 points each.
St. James will play #9 Senator O'Connor this morning in second round action.
"AAAA" OFSAA
A couple of valiant efforts by our CWOSSA reps in Mississauga, but both fell short of victory on Monday.
Cameron Heights (#13), trailed #7 Pine Ridge 41-39 at halftime but fell in a 71-60 final. Sasha Simic (23) and Afraz Khan (11) led the way for the Gaels, who will take on #4 Eastern Commerce in "round of 16" play today.
Meanwhile, Kitchener St. Mary's (#11) gave #2 Henry Carr all they could handle, being within single digits most of the way before falling 78-68.
Tesloth Simon had 29 points, and according to Elias Sbiet of NorthPoleHoops.com, "(his) stunning performance in a loss to Father Henry Carr earned him high interest which will likely turn to offers after this tournament, from three NCAA programs who came to learn about him."
St. Mary's will play #5 Oakwood in their round of 16 game this morning, in what is a rematch of this past season's Heinbuch Final --- won by Oakwood, 69-57.
