Article By: Vincent BallThe Assumption College Lions captured their second consecutive Brant County senior boys high school basketball championship Thursday, beating the North Park Collegiate Trojans 46-40 in Game 2 of their best-of-three final series.
The battle-hardened and experienced Lions used a hustling double-team defence to make life difficult for the Trojans and a balanced scoring attack to earn the win.
"It's perfect," Lions forward Brandon Vincent said after the victory.
"North Park played really well. They fought and we had to fight a little bit harder."
The key to victory was tough team defence, he said.
"We pressure teams all the time," Vincent said.
"We're always moving, always pressuring, never stopping. Our coaches tells us to bring 120% every night and it will pay off."
The Lions were led in scoring by Mike King with 17 points, while Andre Toic got 13 and Mike Heron and Brandon Vincent each hit for four.
The Trojans, a young team with a bright future, played hard and forced the Lions to earn the victory.
Matt Minutillo led North Park with 14 points, while Mike Kranson scored seven and Ryan Timms added six.
"I think we surprised a lot of people," said Minutillo.
"I know the Lions were the favourites but we came out and gave them a heck of a game.
"'I'm proud of the way we played. The coaches said we had to step up and everyone did."
At one point in the first half, the Trojans led 18-11.
But the Lions fought back with King leading the way, scoring 12 points in the opening half. Toic scored six for the Lions while Brandon Vincent had 4.
The Lions used their tough team defence to pressure the Trojans all over the court, just like they did in Game 1 on Tuesday, which they won 52-38.
In the opening half of Thursday's game, the Trojans did a better job of moving the ball and staying out trouble and were rewarded for their efforts.
The Trojans did a great job of taking the ball to the hoop but had trouble converting some of their shots.
Both teams will move on to CWOSSA with Assumption playing at home starting on Feb. 26, 27 and 28 in AAAA play, while the Trojans will play in the AAA CWOSSA championships in Guelph.
The senior Pauline Johnson Thunderbirds will go on to CWOSSA AA championships in Owen Sound.
Retrieved From: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2015/02/12/basketball-championship-live-blog
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