D4: Wednesday Results

Senior

Centre Dufferin 60, Norwell 35
CDDHS:  Carlo Zanette 23
NDSS:  Andrew Plonk 10

Woodland Christian 52, Erin DHS 9
WCHS:  David Smith 12, Mitch Hogeveen 9
EDHS:  Brett Martin 5

Senior Standings
1.  Centre Dufferin 2-0
T2.  Woodland CHS 1-0
T2.  Westside SS 1-0
T4.  Wellington Hts 0-1
T4.  Norwell 0-1
6.  Erin DHS 0-2

Junior

Westside 48, Wellington Hts 37
WSS:  Luke Milican 11, James Heslinga 8
WHSS:  Avery Bilton 12, Brad Shering 12

Norwell 36, Centre Dufferin 23
NDSS:  Eric MacDonald 14, Derill Hoover 10
CDDHS:  Dhruv Patel 12

Junior Standings
T1.  Westside 1-0
T1.  Norwell 1-0
3.  Centre Dufferin 1-1
T4.  Wellington Hts 0-1
T4.  Erin DHS 0-1

D8: Junior Eagles End Phoenix Win Streak

In junior action on Wednesday afternoon, St. Mary's Eagles used a hot start to extenguish the Resurrection Phoenix's 24-game league and playoff win streak by topping RCSS 59-42.

The Eagles came out on fire (both offensively and defensively) and took a 19-3 lead after the first quarter.  That would be the difference in the game, as they essentially maintained that lead the rest of the way.

Three Eagles hit double figures --- Jeremy Cresswell (11), Eric Duong (10) and Chris Cloutier (10).  Jacob Gilbert had a game high 15 points for Rez, while Onique Findlay added 9.

Resurrection's last D8 loss was to these same Eagles back in a February, 2008 playoff semifinal game.  The two teams have combined to capture the last three CWOSSA "AAAA" championships.

Meanwhile, in other D8 junior action:

St. Benedict 50, Rockway 15
SBCSS:  Edwin Zapanza 19, Aaron Zammit 12
RMC:  Simon Pudwell 5, Alex Sheedy 4

Junior Standings
1.  St. Mary's 2-0
T2.  St. Benedict 1-1
T2.  Resurrection 1-1
T4.  St. David 0-1
T4.  Rockway 0-1

And in senior play.....

St. Benedict 69, Rockway 31
My Pick:  SBCSS
The Saints pick up their first win in convincing fashion, while handing Rockway their first loss of the year.  SBCSS scoring details were not available, but we can tell you Michael Hewson (9) and Jordan Fayez (7) were the leading scorers for Rockway.

PRDG 43, Monsignor Doyle 42
My Pick:  MDCSS
Congrats to PRDG for picking up their first senior win in a couple of seasons (due in part to not fielding a team the last couple of years).  PRDG scoring details were not available.  Roberto Atwell (17) and Dan Smith (13) led the Mustangs.

Senior Standings
1.  Resurrection 2-0
T2.  St. Mary's 2-1
T2.  Rockway 2-1
T4.  St. Benedict 1-1
T4.  St. David 1-1
6.  PRDG 1-2
7.  Monsingor Doyle 0-3

The Record: Phoenix Still Perched On Top

Article By:  Mark Bryson

KITCHENER – Round 1 goes to the Resurrection Phoenix.

The defending District 8 senior boys basketball champions led from wire-to-wire on Wednesday, scoring a 62-52 win over the St. Mary’s Eagles. The game was a rematch of last season’s D8 title game, which was also won by Rez.

Tyler Schneider scored a game-high 18 points as the Phoenix jumped to a 7-0 lead and never trailed. The Eagles closed the gap to 31-29 at halftime but the Phoenix went on a 13-4 run to start the second half and appeared to be well on their way to an easy victory.

Appearances, however, can be deceiving.

“We played hard and we used our size to our advantage,” said Schneider, a Grade 12 guard. “They came back a little but we were able to fight that off and continue to play well and make the bigger buckets.”

Schneider was quick to agree that a Resurrection win is always that much sweeter when St. Mary’s is the opponent.

“It means a lot, especially on our home court. These guys are our best rivals in this league and it’s always a competition when we play against them,” said Schneider. “And we know a lot of guys on their team so it’s a good personal rivalry as well.”

Centre Mike Pereira had 11 points and reigning D8 MVP Andrew Mwangi had 10 points as the Phoenix improved to 2-0 on the season. Mwangi was also a monster on the glass, pulling in a number of rebounds.

Ben Bankazo had 16 points for the Eagles, who dropped to 2-1. Isaac Lance added nine and Alex Thompson had five.

Rez looked to have matters well in hand after their fast start to the second half and built a 44-33 lead. However, the Eagles didn’t fold and went on a mini-run themselves and cut the lead to 44-40.

It was all Phoenix after that, punctuated by a fourth-quarter play that was a lot of fun to watch. Rez guard Jeff Rodrigues managed to somehow dribble through double coverage on his way up the court and threaded a perfect pass to teammate Cam Gibbs deep in the Eagles’ end. Gibbs slammed home a baseline dunk to make it 46-40 and then Rez pulled away, leading 62-45 before taking it easy at the end.

This might have been a preview of the D8 championship game that is scheduled for Feb. 22. In between, they’ll play Jan. 12 at St. Mary’s, a rematch that Lance is looking forward to.

“There are things we definitely need to work on but it’s pretty early in the season and it really didn’t seem like either team played to its potential today,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to the next game with them, for sure, and I hope the next one will be in our favour.”

The teams split their regular-season games last year before Rez prevailed in the final.

Retrieved From:  http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/823636

D8 Senior: Rez Stays Unbeaten With Home Win over St. Mary's

Let's face it - this one isn't near as important as the game that (most) people think that these clubs will be playing come February.

At any rate, the Resurrection Phoenix used their size and depth to their advantage on Wednesday afternoon as they pulled out a 62-52 victory over the St. Mary's Eagles.

This one was within striking distance throughout, with RCSS taking a 13-8 lead after one and 31-29 margin heading into halftime.

In the second half, the deeper Phoenix seemed to be just a bit fresher as they turned a 5-point lead at the end of the third into a 10-point final.  The fourth was accentuated by a big dunk by Rez's grade 12 forward Cam Gibbs --- Rez's PG Jeff Rodrigues caught Gibbs streaking in from the corner and fed him a nice pass which he threw down with some authority.

As with any "close game", free throw shooting mattered.  St. Mary's shot 59%, while Rez converted almost 85% from the line.  Of course, the Eagles did get to the line more (22 versus 13 attempts) --- but the point is that they definitely left a few points there on this night.

Record reporter Mark Bryson was at the game and should have an article for us tomorrow.

Boxscore

SMHS     08-21-10-13 = 52

RCSS      13-05-13-18 = 62 

St. Mary's

Lance              3, 2-2 - 9 pts.

Thompson       4, 7-8 - 16 pts.

Bankazo          5, 4-10 - 16 pts.

Kasunic           1, 0-1 - 2 pts.

Hannah            1, 0-0 - 2 pts.

--------

Voll                  2, 0-1 - 4 pts.

Huynh              0, 0-0 - 0 pts.

H. Bankazo      2, 0-0 - 4 pts.

Free-Throws:  13-22 (.590).  Three-Point Goals:  4 (B. Bankazo 2, Thompson 1, Lance 1).

Resurrection

Rodrigues         2, 0-0 - 6 pts.

Schneider         6, 5-6 - 19 pts.

Pereira             5, 1-1 - 11 pts.

Mwangi            5, 2-2 - 12 pts.

Gibbs               2, 1-2 - 6 pts.

----------

Kenning            1, 2-2 - 4 pts.

Ramirez            0, 0-0 - 0 pts.

J. Chris             1, 0-0 - 2 pts.

Keil                  0, 0-0 - 0 pts.

Moi                  1, 0-0 - 2 pts.

Free-Throws:  11-13 (.846).  Three-Point Goals:  5 (Rodrigues 2, Schneider 2, Gibbs 1).

Former ECI Star Vassell Back in Canada

Former Eastwood CI star Boyd Vassell is back in Canada after a one-year stint at Iowa Central Community College.

According to a press release from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Vassell has enrolled at the school and will likely be eligible in January.

Their team report can be accessed here.

D8: Wednesday Selections

YTD Picks Record:  6-0 (1.000)

Big matchup today between Resurrection and St. Mary's, so let's start with that one.

St. Mary's (2-0) at Resurrection (1-0)
Pick:  SMHS
Taking the Eagles in this one, primarily because they've had a bit more practice and game experience than the Phoenix, who are still finding their legs a little bit --- and dealing with some minor injury issues.  That being said, in order to come away with the victory the undersized Eagles are going to have to do a great job on the boards and not get into too much foul trouble, as I think the bench edge goes to Resurrection.  For those interested in checking it out, it's a 3:30pm tip at Rez.

Rockway (2-0) at St. Benedict (0-1)
Pick:  SBCSS
Records can be deceiving --- and they are here, as Rockway has beaten PRDG & MDCSS while St. Benedict lost their opener on the road at St. Mary's.  I think they'll even up that mark here at home against the Flames.

Pere Rene (0-2) at Monsingor Doyle (0-2)
Pick:  MDCSS
Toss-up here --- I'll give the edge to the homecourt Mustangs.

Junior Games - 5:00pm
Rockway (0-0) @ St. Benedict (0-1)
St. Mary's (1-0) @ Resurrection (1-0)

Owen Sound Sun Times: Ewasko's Time To Shine For Falcons Basketball Team

Article By:  Bill Walker

In three seasons Ben Ewasko has gone from bench warmer to go-to guy down the stretch.

The OSCVI point guard has been lights out in the early going of the senior boys basketball season, draining 30 points for the Falcons on Tuesday in a 63- 54 win over the West Hill Raiders in their league opener.

"We lost quite a few key guys who we went to OFSAA with last year, so I knew I had to step up and score some points for us," Ewasko said Tuesday.

"I've got four years of experience already, so I think it's my time to put some baskets in the hoop."

Ewasko has been a work in progress for OSCVI.

He rarely left the bench in Grade 11. He improved to a competent floor general with little offensive touch last year in Grade 12. And so far in what's commonly called the victory lap for students returning for a fifth year of high school, Ewasko has shown a nose for the hoop.

"Last year he really took a giant step forward, not really scoring but just running the offense and facilitating things on the floor for everyone else," said Falcons coach Lee Jacques.

"He's now really taking the ball to the lane and his jump shot has come a mile. He's so quick and his energy level is so high that you feel guilty if you're not hustling beside a guy like that."

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Falcons but early results indicate that this project will be done much quicker than the regional rec centre.

"This is a young team and it's supposed to be a down year, so expectations weren't very high," said Jacques, who also got 10 points from Nate Brewitt.

"I think we're going to be OK this year. We might not be as dominant as we have been but we'll be competitive."

Curtis McLeod led the Raiders with 14 points while Nick Lau had 13.

"It was our first game of the season and we obviously had some jitters coming out," said West Hill coach Jeff Nickel.

"I think we proved in the second quarter that we could play with them. We just ran out of gas a little bit at the end because we don't have a very deep bench (with only nine players in the lineup on Tuesday)."

The opposite is true for OSCVI which rotated 11 players throughout the game.

"We just kept sending fresh bodies and fresh bodies and fresh bodies hoping that it would pay off before it was all said and done," said Jacques.

Retrieved From:  http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2870059

The Record: Eagles, Phoenix Ready to Renew Basketball Rivalry

Article By:  Mark Bryson

The District 8 schedule maker has absolutely no flair for the dramatic.

Instead of waiting until the last possible moment to pit the St. Mary’s Eagles against the Resurrection Phoenix – and building up to the inevitable battle of the undefeated — the league’s marquee matchup will take place right off the bat.

No buildup. No hype. No anticipation. Nada.

The Eagles will have two games under their belts and the Phoenix just one when the D8 giants clash Wednesday at Rez in a 3:30 p.m. tipoff. It’s a rematch of last year’s title game and very likely a preview of the Feb. 22 championship game. In between, they’ll have a regular-season rematch on Jan. 12.

“We’re excited. We learned a lot last year, losing to Rez in the final,” said Eagles head coach Jason Hergott. “We’re maybe a little stronger because of our juniors coming up, but I know Rez has picked up that slack as well.

"The rivalry is everything for us. We want to beat Rez and that’s what it comes down to.”

Some are suggesting the District 8 champion will be the favourite to win the Central Western Ontario crown as well.

“That could be the case,” said Resurrection head coach Tom Schneider. “I would agree that St. Mary’s and my team are two very strong teams in the region but I’m not going to say we’re the best.

“I’m not going to say anything that can be put up on a bulletin board to be used against me later, but I would agree that we are two of the strongest teams in the area.”

Schneider and Hergott say all the right things about the District 8 league’s other teams. They say the St. David Celtics will be a formidable opponent and that the St. Benedict Saints have a coach in John Malnerich who will bring out the best in his players.

Truth is, it will be major, major surprise if it’s not Rez and St. Mary’s fighting for the one available CWOSSA berth.

The Rockway Flames have nowhere to go but up after finishing with a 0-10 record last year, while the Pere Rene de Galinee Chevaliers are newcomers to the league.

The Monsignor Doyle Mustangs, meanwhile, have insufficient numbers to field a senior team. That school will field a varsity team and play an exhibition schedule.

Here’s a quick look at the District 8 league.


MONSIGNOR DOYLE MUSTANGS
Last year: Lost in semifinals
Coach: Stan Kamzol
Starting five: Tyler Saris G, Manny Singh F, Roberto Artwell G, Dan Cerny G, Dan Smith F
Six-man: Vincent Morgado
Key losses: All five starters


PERE RENE DE GALINEE CHEVALIERS
Coaches: Lisa Allain, Lysanne Cantin, Nick Kayambe
Starting five: David Nolet G, Adrian Rehm F, Malcolm Duncan G, Stephen Poole F, Dylan Floyd G
Six-man Mathieu Lacroix F, GJ Koon G
Key rookie: Dylan Floyd

RESURRECTION PHOENIX
Last year: District 8 champions
Coach: Tom Schneider
Starting five: Tyler Schneider G, Jeff Rodrigues G, Andrew Mwangi F, Mike Pereira F, Cam Gibbs F
Six-man: John Moi G
Key losses: Matt Stocco, Mike Tyler, Brandon Lee
Key rookie: Cory Kenning C


ROCKWAY FLAMES
Last year: Failed to make playoffs
Coaches: Bernie Burnett, Greg Hallman
Starting five: Jordan Fayez C, Josh Klassen G, Godwin Luk G, Michael Hewson F, Anner Gonzalia F
Six-man: Steve Veltri
Key loss: Dan Steckley
Key rookie: Jordan Fayez


ST. BENEDICT SAINTS
Last year: Missed playoffs
Coach: John Malnerich
Starting five: Santo Dak G, Tyrone Tyndale G, Kueth Geng F, David DiAngelo F, Kieran Senior C
Six-man: Tevin Heath G
Key loss: Derrick Strickland
Key rookie: Santo Dak


ST. DAVID CELTICS
Last year: Lost in semifinals
Coach: Rob McKenna
Starting five: Kurt Mohaupt C, Tyson Lavigne F, Dan Hummel F, Jeff Scanlon G, Joe Baretto-Burns F
Six-man: Jake Winter
Key loss: Mike Schummer
Key rookie: Jake Winter

ST. MARY’S EAGLES
Last year: Finalists
Coach: Jason Hergott
Starting five: Isaac Lance G, Mike Kasunic F, Alex Thompson G/F, Ben Bankazo G/F, Zak Hannah G/F
Six-man: Adam Voll C
Key loss: Demar Thompson
Key rookie: Henry Bankazo

Retrieved From:  http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/822540

The Record.com: Scholarship In Hand, Bluevale Star Hopes to Lead Knights to Championship

Article By:  Mark Bryson

WATERLOO – The pressure was immense.

Stefan Cvrkalj felt as though his head was going to explode as he pondered his U.S. college options. There were many suitors, and understandably, they wanted an answer from the object of their affection.

What was the talented and versatile guard going to do?

The weight was lifted earlier this month when the fifth-year Bluevale student committed to play NCAA Division 1 basketball next year at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. The Mountain Hawks compete in the eight-team Patriot League in the U.S. northeast.

“It went from the worst feeling to the best feeling,” said the six-foot-four Cvrkalj.

“It was a tough decision because every school has its advantages and disadvantages, and then when you try to balance academics and basketball into that, it makes it even more difficult. But I’m comfortable that I made the right decision.”

In the end, Cvrkalj’s decision came down to Lehigh and Lafayette, another Patriot League school located in Easton, Pa. He had also made an unofficial visit to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., during the decision-making process. There, he learned a great deal about the Patriot League from St. David graduate Bryson Johnson, who plays for the Bucknell Bison and is one of the league’s top players.

“It’s a very competitive league. I want to become an impact player as soon as I can and after college, if I still want to play basketball, my goal is to play professionally. And I think I have a shot at the national team in the future,” said Cvrkalj, who will study business at Lehigh.

As for the here and now, Cvrkalj is once again expected to be the best player in the Waterloo County league, which began play Tuesday with a seven-game schedule.

He is coming off a dream season in which he led Bluevale to its first-ever appearance at the Ontario championship tournament. The Knights won both the Waterloo County and Central Western Ontario titles, while Cvrkalj collected the Mike Moser Award as the league’s top player. He averaged 22.6 points per game as he established himself as one of the best high school guards in Canada.

The Knights are once again being touted as the team to beat this season, but will be challenged by the Forest Heights Trojans, Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders and Cameron Heights Golden Gaels. Other teams could also surprise but the Elmira Lancers won’t be one of them as the team pulled out last week due to a lack of players.

Don’t think for a second that Cvrkalj will take his foot off the gas in his final year of high school. Despite having his scholarship already secured, he plans on giving it everything he has as the Knights go for a second-straight OFSAA appearance.

“No chance. I’ve always loved playing at Bluevale. It’s where I’ve spent five years of my life, so I could never think that way,” he said.

“The goal is nothing short of what we did last year. It’s going to be a lot harder than it was last year, especially since we won last year and everyone wants to beat us. . . . It’s too soon to tell who is good, but we’re definitely looking to be the top team.”

In addition to helping the Knights win games, Cvrkalj plans on using the upcoming season to work on his game. He wants to improve his foot speed and to better use his size and strength to his advantage.

It might take him a while to get in the swing of things as he’s been nursing a “jumper’s knee” injury during the pre-season. It’s something that he first dealt with during the WCSSAA championship game last season and it flared up once again after he had earned a spot on the Canadian national junior team in June. He played through CWOSSA, OFSAA and the spring season with the Toronto 5.0 program before taking time off to heal.

Here is a team-by-team look at the 15 teams competing in the Waterloo County senior boys basketball league.

BLUEVALE KNIGHTS
Last year: WCSSAA/CWOSSA champions
Coach: Doros Theodosiou
Starting five: Stefan Cvrkalj G, Ian Farquharson F, Karsten Beney G, Fraser Voll G, Perrin Smith F
Six-man: Jamie Balsillie, Nikola Jovovic, Adam Zack
Key losses: Andrew Beney, Drew Ballak
Key rookie: Ian Farquharson


CAMERON HEIGHTS GOLDEN GAELS
Last year: Lost in semifinals
Coaches: Nazim Ramzan, Tim Weber, Mark Seupersaud
Starting five: Stefan Cucak F, Nebosja Djeric F, Amjed Osman G, Vedran Dmitrovic G, Adnan Shah F
Six-man: Nem Simic G
Key loss: Stefan Arezina
Key rookies: Vedran Dmitrovic, Nem Simic


EASTWOOD REBELS
Last year: Failed to make playoffs
Coaches: Steve Martin, Mike Reinhart
Starting five: Djordje Govedarica G, Steffon Heyligger G, Zaman Sindy F, Jerelle Vaughan F, Gondor Teny C
Six-man: Terel Christian
Key losses: None
Key rookie: Jerelle Vaughan


FOREST HEIGHTS TROJANS
Last year: Lost in quarter-finals
Coaches: Craig Wicken, Frank Bellissimo
Starting five: Kieran McAndrew G, Gage Paquette C, Srdjan Stanivuk F, Ben Nikkel F, Paul Anderson G
Six-man: Javon Masters, Dylan George, Mitch Peterson
Key loss: Taylor McNaughton
Key rookie: Javon Masters


GALT GHOSTS
Last Year: Lost in qualifying round
Coach: Jeff Dunning
Starting five: Leon Vilaysaeng G, Sherodan Burke G, Tyler Audet F, Nic Bradford F, Jack Simmons C
Six-man: Gabe Vidal
Key loss: None
Key rookie: Jack Simmons


GLENVIEW PARK PANTHERS
Last year: Failed to make playoffs
Coaches: Graham Jarman, Nathan Richmire
Starting five: Winston Karges G, Erist Wame G, Sean Dutton G, Mark Saris F, Garett Kivell F
Six-man: Jordan Kivell F
Key loss: Corey Prince
Key rookie: Erist Wame


GRAND RIVER RENEGADES
Last year: Lost in playoff qualifier
Coach: Scott Curtis
Starting five: Osama Qahwash G, Trevor Mclaughlin C, Brody Verbiski G, Michael Peters F, Daniel Harun F
Six-man: Filip Cvrkalj
Key losses: Miki Culum
Key rookie: Filip Cvrkalj


HURON HEIGHTS HUSKIES
Last year: Missed playoffs
Coach: Aaron Tomlin
Starting five: Sean Samuel G, Shayan Butt G, Ben Yorga F, Eric Spinache F, Hunter Jones C
Six-man: Scott Bailey
Key loss: Ogi Oroz
Key rookie: Sean Samuel


JACOB HESPELER HAWKS
Coach: Allen MacDougall
Last year: Missed playoffs
Starting five: Joel Perkins G, Sanam Arora G, Brendan Vandyken F, Josh Kirkham F, Lucas Marsden C
Six-man: TBD
Key rookies: Josh Kirkham, Lucas Marsden
Key losses: Connor Paddock, Jeremy Perkins


KCI RAIDERS
Last year: Lost in semifinal
Coach: Nick White
Starting five: Graham Notar G, Lazar Dabic G, Alex Galea G, Martin Bauman F, Dan Weber F
Six-man: Devan Bogart G
Key losses: Arban Kalaba, Tristan Ruddock
Key rookie: NA


PRESTON PANTHERS
Coaches: Mike Mack, Rob Boug
Last year: Lost in quarter-finals
Starting five: Wes Meertens G, Sean Holmes G, Chris Ackie F, Levi Kani F, Sohail Malik F
Six-man: Ryan Jones
Key losses: Jeff Robinson, Abe Upshaw
Key rookie: Wes Meertens


SIR JOHN A. MacDONALD HIGHLANDERS
Last year: Finalist
Coach: Steve Maloney
Starting five: Edem Ame, Ben Rehyani, Theshawn Barry, Kwame Botchway, Jordan James
Six-man: Connor Bradley
Key loss: Jake Robinet
Key rookie: Quinn Turner


SOUTHWOOD SABRES
Last year: Lost in quarter-finals
Coaches: Chuck Doran, Rob Baird
Starting five: Brian Doran G, Mack Collins F, Josh Parsons G, Greg Marjerrison F, Todd Hagedorn G
Six-man: Justin Boven
Key losses: Mark Stotesbury, Andrew Sauer
Key rookie: NA


WATERLOO COLLEGIATE VIKINGS
Last year: Lost in quarter-finals
Head coach: Craig Nickel
Starting five: Alex Copp G, Alex Despotovic G, Zach Totzke G, Alex Heap F, Malcolm Piazza F
Six-man: Jacob Ranton
Key losses: Jasper Wesson, Josh Forler, Scott Coghlin
Key rookies: Zach Totzke, Adam Anagnostopoulos, John McGowan, Malcolm Piazza, Jacob Ranton


WATERLOO-OXFORD CRUSADERS
Last year: Lost in playoff qualifier
Coach: Joe Cvetich
Starting five: Andy Trimmel G, Jesse Dodgson G, Mailik Morrison F, Kyle Weber F, Erich Wooley C.
Six-man: Tyler Bowman
Key loss: Patrick Connors
Key rookie: Chris Thompson

Retrieved From:  http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/822544

Brantford Expositor Preview: Teams Plan Run And Gun

Article By:  Ed O'Leary

The Brant County high school senior boys basketball league may not feature as many talented players this season as it has in the past but it certainly won't lack for excitement.

At least four of the six teams will place emphasis on run-and-gun offences with high-pressure defences.

And don't be surprised if, by the end of the regular-season schedule, the Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs and their athletic players are also motoring up and down the court with the likes of the North Park Collegiate Trojans, Paris District High School Panthers, St. John's College Green Eagles and the Assumption College.

Only the Pauline Johnson Collegiate Thunderbirds, who lack depth, appear to be a station-to-station squad but they'll improve as the season progresses under first-year head coach Ryan Maracle, who is being assisted by former head coach Joe Tice.

"We're a work in progress," Maracle said as he prepared the T-Birds for Thursday's start to the season.

"We had a lot of guys on the team who haven't played organized ball before but we have a lot of strong players, guys that we can rely on to play hard."

Guard Tyler Thibert and forward Tyler Campbell will be the T-Birds' threats. The other starters are guard Mike Campbell, forward Dakota Brush and centre Dave Knevel.

PJC's top reserves are guards Zach Benin and Tyler Power and centre Jordan Lewis.

The T-Birds lost both of their games in The Expositor Tip-Off tournament a couple of weekends ago.

"We tried to play the younger guys a little more," Maracle explained. "Once they realized how much faster the game was in senior than in junior, they've been practising a lot better."

The Trojans, winners of The Expositor tournament, are probably the slight pre-season favourites.

North Park played well in losing all three of its games in the Court Heinbuch tournament in Kitchener.

The Trojans were the only AAA team in the tournament. The other 15 teams were from Quad-A schools.

North Park lost by a point to defending Ontario Quad-A champion Toronto Oakwood Barons and by two points to St. Catharines Governor Simcoe, a school noted for always producing strong teams.

The Trojans, coached by Todd Andrew, are returning four of their top eight players from last season -six-foot-five forward Brandon Webster and shooting guard Tyler Johnston along with starters Cale McDonald and Marcus Hamilton, also shooting guards.

Logan Varga is also back but he missed most of last season with an ankle injury.

Point guard Marcus Jones will join Webster, McDonald, Hamilton and Johnston in the starting lineup.

Nick Minutillo, Eric Hamilton and Varga will be the first off the bench.

The Trojans have graduated starting forwards Dave Eves and Mike Dulmage.

"We'll be a little more up tempo than we've been in previous years," Andrew said. "Obviously we're not as big with the losses of Eves and Dulmage but we'll have a more balanced attack. Each of our top seven kids is capable of scoring in double digits."

Andrew is confident the Trojans can win championships.

"There's no reason why we shouldn't be competing for a BCSSAA title as well as competing for a CWOSSA championship," he said.

The Panthers, Lions and Eagles will be very similar to the Trojans in style.

The Panthers, led by head coach Mike Wittchen, will start three guards -Josh Fabe, Jake Kelley and Adam Sharp --along with forwards Parker McIntyre and Cory Goff .

Paris District will count on forwards Taylor Shipp and Travis Taylor along with guard Scott Sippel to supply bench strength.

Fabe and Kelley are expected to be the Panthers' leading scorers but Wittchen has a warning for the opposition.

"Adam Sharp has definitely come along," he said. "Fabe and Kelley are guys that can slash and drive but also shoot. Sharp is more of a shooter."

The Panthers played North Park at The Expositor tournament.

"It was a fun game to have early in the year," Wittchen said. "North Park won but our boys felt like they could have won."

The Lions have a Grade 9 point guard in Andre Toic, a Grade 10 shooting guard in Dexter Hamilton and a Grade 10 forward Simon Sunderson.

The coaches said they felt it was better to bring them up to senior than leave them in junior for another year.

"They're more advanced than you can believe," head coach Paul Petrella said. "They're mature and definitely have the skill and ability to compete at the senior level.

"With this group of kids, we have the opportunity to compete and develop over the next three or four years, so we want to keep them altogether."

The Lions have five Grade 12 players -Jordan McCormack, Pat Wilson, Justin Robinson, Terrell Daniels and Mike Tomlinson -among their top 10. Paul Sabolski and Justin Thibideau are in Grade 11.

"We've got 10 guys who are going to contribute to the team," Petrella said.

"We have strong guard play and strong forwards. A lot of these kids have never played together but we're going to get better every single day and we'll have a great chance to compete come playoff time."

The Green Eagles, guided by head coach Nick Esposito, will use point guard Mike Perilli and shooting guard Tyler Van Leeuwen to move the ball to speedy forwards Matt Digout, Matt Kusnierz, J.P. Yurcich and Arthur Kogut.

Other key players for the Eagles this season will be Taylor Pappin, Eric Drescher, Mat Bijman, Drew Clawson and Tyler Hinds.

"We're going to be very up tempo, lots of run and gun," Esposito said. "This is probably more of an athletic team than I've had in the past. I'll tell you one thing, we don't really want to play in the half court."

Veteran head coach Bob Boos is hoping his Mustangs will be the most improved team in the league by the end of the regular-season schedule.

'We're an average team but we'll be competitive," Boos said.

"I think it's a little better team than we've had the last couple of years but we'll have to play pretty good defence."

The Mustangs will start Tyler Mirco at point guard, Robert Moxley at shooting guard, Alex Packer at small forward, Joseph Yelle at power forward and Le-Hi Milbin at centre.

Guard Brandon Moxley and forward Ben Candy will be the first players off the bench.

Retreived From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2869501

BAA Results

Senior

Owen Sound CVI 63, West Hill 54
OSCVI:  Ben Ewasko 30
WHSS:  Curtis McLeod 14

Peninsula Shores 50, St. Mary's (OS) 38
PS:  Corby Ashcroft 23
SMHS:  Nick Murphy 11

Sacred Heart 87, Saugeen DSS 38

Walkerton DSS 59, John Diefenbaker 41

Junior

Owen Sound CVI 66, West Hill 26
OSCVI:  Nathan Curry 21
WHSS:  Lucas Scheufen 8

Peninsula Shores 40, St. Mary's (OS) 34
PS:  Brandon Lancaster 17
SMHS:  Jacob Hill 11

John Diefenbaker 33, Walkerton DSS 31

Sacred Heart 44, Saugeen DSS 32

D10: Results And Standings

Senior

St. James 48, Bishop Mac 34
My Pick:  STJ
The Lions are the first team to 3 wins in the D10 league with a double-digit victory at home over the Celtics.  Ryan Higgins (14) and Alex Campagnolo (8) led the way in this one for the Lions; AJ Lacasmana had 12 for Bishop Mac.

Lourdes 63, Orangeville 34
My Pick:  OLOL
The Crusaders continue their strong play to start the year --- receiving 15 from Mike Finoro and 9 from Ben King.  ODSS was led (as usual) by Kyle Holmes with 8.

JF Ross 42, Centre Wellington 39
My Pick:  JFR
Perhaps a bit of a tournament hangover for the Royals, but they squeak past the Falcons on the road.  Shamlo Saeed had 16 for Ross, while Trey Larue was also in double figures with 10.  CW received 14 from Gavin MacNamara and 11 from Reid Giondi.

Centennial 62, Guelph CVI 51
My Pick:  CCVI
The Spartans moved to 2-0 with another key victory over an "AAAA" opponent.  Serge Khayipangi had 18 in the win, while Andrew Ellis netted 17 and Erik Sterne 15 for Centennial.  GCVI was led by Andrew Wesley-James with 13.

Senior Standings
1.  St. James 3-0
2.  Centennial 2-0
3.  Lourdes 2-1
4.  JF Ross 1-0
T5.  CWDHS 1-2
T5.  Bishop Mac 1-2
7.  GCVI 0-2
8.  Orangeville 0-3

Junior

Orangeville 39, Lourdes 38
The Bears get their first win over Lourdes in several years --- so congratulations to them on that.  Tye Tucker had 13 for the Bears, while Stephen Gade led Lourdes with 19.

Bishop Mac 75, St. James 49
The Celtics show just how strong they may be by dispatching one of the other top D10 teams with relative ease.  Jesse Kendall (25), Owen Brombal (14) and Ben Morris (13) topped the Celtic scoring, while St. James received 16 from Josh MacDonald and 12 from Zach McClenaghan.  Through three games the Celts are averaging over 85 points per game.

GCVI 74, Centennial 58
Jeremy Seed had a game-high 19 points but it wasn't enough as the Gaels pick up a key win on the road.

Centre Wellington 47, JF Ross 45
Nice win for the Falcons as they get past JF Ross at home.  Braewyn Bird had 12 in the win, while Josh McEachern had 11.  Alex Turvey had a game-high 18 for Ross in the loss.

Junior Standings
T1.  Bishop Mac 3-0
T1.  CWDHS 3-0
3.  St. James 2-1
4.  JF Ross 1-1
T5.  GCVI 1-2
T5.  ODSS 1-2
7.  Centennial 0-2
8.  Lourdes 0-3

WCSSAA Senior: Tuesday Results

Southwood 49, Eastwood 40
My Pick:  SSS
Brian Doran poured in 22 points and Mack Collins added 10 as the Sabres topped the improving ECI Rebels.  Steffan Heyliger and Jerelle Vaughan had 8 each for Eastwood.

Cameron Heights 56, Jacob Hespeler 32
My Pick:  CHCI
No trouble for the Gaels here on the road as they get the win over the Hawks.  Adnan Shah (13) and Nikola Jovanovic (12) topped CHCI's scoring while Joel Perkins (12) and Lucas Marsden (7) were the high scorers for JHSS.

Bluevale 60, Huron Heights 42
My Pick:  BCI
Nice to see Stefan Cvrkalj back in action; he led the Knights with 21 points in relatively limited minutes (with the bench seeing a lot of second-half court time).  Karsten Beney added 14 for BCI, while Huron's rookie guard Sean Samuel led their scoring with 14.

WCI 45, KCI 38
My Pick:  WCI
A bit of a defensive battle at KCI on Tuesday night, with the Vikes coming out on top.  A couple of Alexs had solid scoring efforts for both teams -- Alex Copp had 17 for WCI while Alex Galea contributed 16 for KCI.

SJAM 52, Preston 43
My Pick:  SJAM
The Panthers may have lost some key talent (i.e. 2nd team all-star Jeff Robinson) but showed they can still be very competitive this season with the guys coming back (i.e. Chris Ackie - 10 points) and key rookie Wes Meertens (9 points).  Muhammad Khalid and Ben Reyhani had 11 each for the Highlanders.

Grand River 66, Glenview Park 49
My Pick:  GRCI
It must have slipped my mind that SMHS transfer Daniel Harun is eligible this season over at Grand River now --- but he'll get a mention now since he led the Rens with 19 on this afternoon.  Osama Qahwash, fresh out of volleyball season, had 15 additional GRCI points while GPSS was topped by Erist Wame who had 12.

WODSS - Bye Win

FHCI/Galt - Not Reported

WCSSAA Junior: Tuesday Results

Eastwood 48, Southwood 34
Many are expecting the Rebels to be among the "upper tier" of teams in the WCSSAA league this year, and they got off to a nice start with a win over Southwood.  Tre Nicholson had 21 for ECI in the win, while Benoy Johnson added 9.  The Sabres received 14 from Colton Quigley and 8 from Tristan Peacock.

Forest Heights 82, Galt 48
The Trojans have shown early and often that scoring won't be an issue for them this season.  They cracked the 80-point barrier in this one, thanks to another 30-point effort from star guard Juwan Miller.  Omar Aidaruse added 15 for FHCI, while GCI received 12 from Lazar Stevanovic and 11 from TJ Lall.

Cameron Heights 66, Jacob Hespeler 43
Jason Thompson (31) and Nikola Farkic (23) combined for 54 of the Gaels' 66 points in this one as they start the season with a win.  Saajan Arora led JHSS with 17.

Elmira 45, Waterloo-Oxford 9
A year after going winless in the WCSSAA league, the EDSS Lancers put quick work to that losing streak.  Angus Docherty (9) and Lucas Nosal (6) led a balanced Elmira attack while Alex Trotter had 5 for the Crusaders.

Bluevale 57, Huron Heights 41
These teams had met over the weekend at the Resurrection tournament; this one was a little closer.  Jeevanjot Sidhu had 20 for Bluevale while Arshid Babury topped the Husky scorers with 15.

KCI 48, WCI 43
The Raiders get a big win to start their season at the expense of last year's defending WCSSAA champions.  Rade Soknic (16) and Sam Basco (10) were the Raiders in double figures, while WCI received 12 each from Bojan Vincic and Shafi Mutware.

SJAM 40, Preston 21
No scoring details were available.

Glenview Park 62, Grand River 60
Looks like the Panthers are a team on the upswing as they knock off the talented Renegades at home.  Sean Davidson had 24 to lead the way, while Chris Thompson added 18.  Chuder Teny had 25 to top GRCI; Murtada Khamis added 16.