It wasn't all bad news on Tuesday, but all five CWOSSA teams were eliminated from medal contention at OFSAA tournaments around the province.We'll start at the AAAA level, where the #8 seed SJAM Highlanders put in a nice OFSAA run before the team that many project will win the gold medal, #1 St. Mike's.
The 'Landers knocked off #10 Vaughan in the morning session, 55-53, on the strength of a Nedim Hodzic two-pointer with under 5 seconds to go.
Hodzic had a beastly 25 point, 10 rebound performance against Vaughan, while Simon Petrov added in 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
This moved SJAM to the "elite 8" where they hung early with St. Mike's --- actually holding a lead for much of the first quarter, and trailing by 12 at half --- before the Blue Raiders pulled away in the final sixteen minutes for a 69-43 win.
Three SJAM players hit for double-digits against SMC, led by Hodzic's usual double-double (14+11). Justin Hardy added 10, and Simon Petrov just missed a double-double himself with 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Good luck to graduating 5th year senior Brett Parrott at Nipissing (CIS) next season!
Nedim Hodzic is yet to decide on his future plans for next season, but we'll certainly keep you posted.
After a 15-point loss to Vaughan (which was 20 inside the final minute), St. Mary's struggles continued on day two at the AAAA championship.
Playing #7 D'Youville, the Panthers jumped on St. Mary's early, going up 25-9 after one and leading by 20+ (42-20) at halftime before cruising to a 67-39 win.
The 0-2 start for the Eagles moved them to the consolation draw, where they were upset by #15 HB Beal, a team that had losses to several CWOSSA teams on their resume this season, including St. Benedict, Cameron Heights and Assumption.
Needless to say, the Eagles' departure from the championship bracket was surely a let-down that played a role, as some injuries may have, as well. Tesloth Simon (battling a heal injury) and Nathan Riley didn't play in the consolation game (per the posted scoresheet), while Coach Hergott started five 3rd/4th year players (Abara, Eleeda, Nguyen, Thijien Simon & Niel) in that one.
The Eagles finish the season losing 5 of their final 7 games, and I'm sure they have a sour taste in their mouths given the expectations that they had for this season.
That said, SMHS certainly has a lot to be proud of with 5th year starters Tesloth Simon, Jamari Stephenson, Jermaine Lyle, Tyrick Thompson and Nathan Riley all having done their part to elevate the profile of CWOSSA-area basketball over their careers, which included a massive D8 winning streak, 3x consecutive CWOSSA titles, two Heinbuch finals, and this year's Silver Fox championship. Thanks to those guys for the memories!
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