Article By: Sean Allen
The Assumption College Lions removed all
doubt that the defending champions are still the team to beat in the
Brant senior boys high school basketball league.
Now with each team facing all other opponents once in the regular
season, the Lions remain the undefeated squad with a 5-0 record.
They faced their biggest test on Tuesday against the North Park Collegiate Trojans.
In the North Park gymnasium, the Lions went on a 14-0 run in the middle
of the third quarter and managed to hold on for a 53-47 victory.
Fifth-year returnee Brandon Vincent said preventing points will be the
key to another championship for the Lions club that has returned largely
intact.
“Defence,” Vincent said. “Defence wins games. That’s our motto.”
The Lions defence could only do so much to limit Trojans standout point guard Matt Minutillo. While Minutillo scored 31 points, the rest of the Trojans were limited to just 16 points.
Additionally, the Lions managed to limit Minutillo to only four three-pointers.
“(The other teams are) getting better, it’s going to be harder (to win) this season,” Vincent said. “But we want to do it.”
Andre Toic put up 22 points for the Lions.
The Lions staked themselves a quick lead to start the game, but Kyle
Webster closed the gap to 10-6 with a pair of layups before the end of
the first quarter.
The Trojans took their first lead of the game two minutes before
halftime on a Minutillo basket from beyond the arc. One more basket from
each team had the Trojans looking to go into the break with a 21-20
lead, but Toic went coast-to-coast on a final possession for a quick
layup to make it 22-21 for the Lions.
Minutillo put up five unanswered points to open the third quarter, but
the Lions tightened up their defence and went on a 14-0 run to take the
score from 26-22 for the Trojans, to 36-26 for the Lions.
Toic had a buzzer-beating layup to make it 38-28 after three quarters.
Minutillo stepped up his game in the fourth quarter. His 15 points in
the final frame matched the entire Lions team, but wasn’t enough to
close the gap.
The closest the game would get was 44-41, when Trojans player Ryan Timms
put up two points by driving through the Lions defence with 1:48 to go.
But the Lions were near perfect from the free-throw line as the Trojans tried to use fouls to manage the clock.
The Lions have now defeated all comers in the Brant loop. They will host
the Pauline Johnson Collegiate Thunderbirds on Thursday before the
Christmas break.
The T-Birds gave the Lions a shock earlier this season by pushing them
for three quarters, but ultimately lost. The Thunderbirds are 2-3
following a win against the Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs on
Tuesday.
The Mustangs and St. John’s College Green Eagles also sport 2-3 records
on the season. The Trojans are 1-4, while the Paris District High School
Panthers are 0-5.
Play resumes following the break on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
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