Brantford Expositor: Senior Green Eagles Enter Season With Optimism

Mark's note:  Don't have scoring details, but Assumption squeaked out a 55-52 OT win over St. John's last night in BCSSAA Senior Play.  This article appeared in Monday's Expositor.

Article By:  Brian Smiley

After claiming the championship at the season-opening Brantford Expositor Ed O'Leary Memorial Senior Boys Basketball Tip-Off Tournament, the St. John's College Green Eagles are flying into the Brant County high school season.

However, when the Eagles play at Assumption College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against the Lions in one of three season-opening tripleheaders, by no means will they be a finished product.

"I was very impressed with the team," coach Mike Doherty said of the team's performance at the O'Leary tournament. "I was really impressed with the leadership. We're really trying to establish a real hard work ethic with these guys and we got it from everybody.

"We're way ahead of where we should be but that doesn't mean we're good (enough) by any stretch. We have to build off of this."

The Eagles are building to try and win a championship but the coaching staff is looking for a lot more than wins and losses.

With about 20 players to choose from, St. John's selected 14 players for its roster. The coaches felt keeping a couple of extra players - teams are able to dress 12 - would help since players sometimes miss practice or games due to school or work commitments.

"I think the group has lots and lots of potential," said Doherty. "(Head coach) Tim (Dawson) and I are really trying to drill them about team.

"It's not about winning, it's about being successful. It's not about what you get, it's about what you give.

"I think the kids so far are buying into it."

St. John's has eight returnees, including four of their five starters from a year ago. That may have helped with the team's early season success.

"We're actually in good shape," Doherty said. "That's why I think we're a little bit ahead of everyone else."

Early season practices have been a hit so far.

"Practices have been so great," said the coach. "They're really trying to make everyone better in practice. I'm impressed with the effort."

With a we instead of me attitude, St. John's will expect some of its more experienced players to lead the way.

The team, which according to Doherty is full of guards, will be led by two back-court players in Tim Dawson and Adam Peters. The coaches are also expecting big things from post players Cam Post and Jake Brennan and so far they've been pleasantly surprised with a couple of others.

"Connor Kuzmich is playing fantastic," Doherty said. "He's a Grade 12 kid and he's really come into his own. He's really improved quite a bit.

"Adrian Mendoza, he's a Grade 11 kid. I've been very impressed with Mendoza's leadership this year. He's really buying into it."

Overall, Doherty said the team has a pretty good look to it.

"I think we are balanced," he said. "I don't think we have that true superstar. We think that we do but we don't.

"I think if the team can buy into that giving, giving, giving . . . I think that's what's really going to help us be successful."

St. John's, which will look to build an identity on defence, can push the ball up the floor if necessary. But just like the entire season, the coaches will preach patience.

Doherty said he expects the Brant County league to be "very competitive."

"The sky's the limit for any team."

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/12/02/senior-eagles-enter-basketball-season-with-optimism

D8: Wednesday Picks

A few 3:30pm games on schedule for today in D8:

Rockway (0-2) at St. Mary's (2-0)
My Pick:  SMHS by 65
As a result of D8's new "tiering" system, we're likely only going to see one RMC-SMHS game this season.  Given that Resurrection won against Rockway 90-21, I'd expect a similar scoreline here. 

St. Benedict (1-0) at Resurrection (1-0)
My Pick:  RCSS by 23
I look for the Phoenix to move to 2-0 at the expense of the St. Benedict Saints today.

Woodland Christian (0-2) at Mons. Doyle (1-1)
My Pick:  MDCSS by 26
The Monsignor Doyle Mustangs aren't quite at the level of Resurrection or St. Mary's, but they could still certainly make some noise as a darkhorse in D8 and, potentially, AAA CWOSSA should they advance.

WCSSAA Senior: Tuesday Results

KCI 68, Forest Heights 42
My Pick:  KCI
Matt McKinnon (13) and Marko Malovanovic (10) were in double figures for KCI as the Raiders evened up their record at 1-1 on Tuesday.  Manraj Jugpal had 9 to lead the Trojans.

Huron Hts. 56, Preston 54
My Pick:  HHSS
Tight one in Kitchener, but the Huskies survive thanks to 17 from Darcy Jacobs and 12 by Evert Davy.  Lucas Moffitt had a game-high 20 for the Panthers, with Tanner Derjugin adding 14 more.

Eastwood 56, Glenview Park 41
My Pick:  ECI
Ousmane Kromah and Sydney Stewart had 14 points each as the Rebels moved to 2-0 after overcoming a 20-point outburst by GPSS' Sean Davidson.

Grand River 90, Southwood 48
My Pick:  GRCI
Chuder Teny knocked home 20 and Miro Iliev 18 as the Rens routed the Sabres on Tuesday.  David Gutschon (13) and Riley Clipper (12) were the top Southwood scorers.

WCI 69, Galt 65
My Pick:  GCI
Said I wouldn't be surprised to see this one go either way, and it went the way of the Vikings in a high-scoring tilt.  Shafi Mutware pumped home 25 points and Nick Johnny added 18 in the win; TJ Lall had a game-high 28 for Galt with Lazar Stevanovic adding 13.

Bluevale over Jacob Hespeler (Score Not Reported)

WCSSAA Junior: Tuesday Results

Preston 51, Huron Hts. 46
Jaskaran Attwal knocked home 15 points and Mitchell Devonish added 13 as Preston evened their record at 1-1 while dropping the Huskies to the same.  Ben Jenkins and Kuel Thomas each had 13 for Huron.

Cameron Hts. 63, WODSS 24
Osama Al-Shaikh had 18 and Mohammed Hameed was also in double figures with 10 as the Gaels won their second straight league game.  Jason Holmes led the Crusaders with 9.

KCI 44, Forest Hts. 25
Abdul Adan put home 18 points for the Raiders with Sam McLean adding 8 in the victory.  Nigel Majoni was the top Trojan, with 8.

Eastwood 49, Glenview Park 46
The Rebels survive an upset bid by Glenview Park thanks to 10 points from Romy Simpson and 8 by Hanani Ujullu.  Huzaifa Hassan had a game-high 17 points for the Panthers, with Austin Eaves adding 9.

Grand River 59, Southwood 42
Alexs Cvrkalj had 25 for the Rens in their first WCSSAA game of the season, a victory over Southwood.  Cody Hall had 24 to lead SSS.

SJAM 38, Elmira 22
The 'Landers cruised past Elmira thanks to 10 points from Nino Spasik, and 6 more by Nik Malosevic.  Ryan Bauman was the top Lancer, with 9.

WCI 55, Galt 26
The Vikes move to 2-0 after a comfortable win in Cambridge.  Aaron Grubb (19) and Adam Piazza (12) were the top WCI players on Tuesday, while Hayden Merkir had 8 for Galt.

Bluevale 43, Jacob Hespeler 23
Scoring details weren't posted to the WCSSAA website, but the Knights did move to 2-0 at the expense of the Hespeler Hawks.

D10 Junior: Tuesday Results

St. James 53, Lourdes 44
The Lions stay atop the D10 standings with a 3-0 record after a win over rival Lourdes.  Alex Durigon (19) and Keegan Feeney (12) led the way for St. James, while James Gerstenkorn had 16 and Sean Gade 9 for Lourdes.

Centennial 65, Orangeville 63
The Bears continue to prove that they're for real this year, dropping their first game of the year --- barely --- to AAAA rival Centennial.  Harman Goyal had 22 points to lead Centennial, while Shan Lekhi had 20 to pace the Bears.

Guelph CVI 53, JF Ross 44
The Gaels pick up their first win while dropping Ross to 1-2.  Kevin Duong (15) and Lincoln Rosebush (12) led the way for the Gaels, while Curtis Gordon had 14 and Mengis Hiyabu 9 for Ross.

CWDHS 54, Bishop Mac 44
Eli Hesse (13) and Nate Scott (11) both had double-digit efforts in CW's win over Bishop Mac.  Jack Morris (12) and Greg MacEachern (7) led the Celts on Tuesday.

D10 Junior Standings
T1.  St. James 3-0
T1.  Centennial 3-0
3.  Orangeville 2-1
T4.  JF Ross 1-2
T4.  Lourdes 1-2
T4.  Guelph CVI 1-2
T4.  CWDHS 1-2
8.  Bishop Mac 0-3

Guelph Mercury: Ross Royals Taking Pride In Their Defensive Play

Article By:  Rob Massey

GUELPH — The Ross Royals scored 70 points in winning Tuesday, but feel their defensive play will be the key to any success they achieve in District 10 senior boys' basketball this season.
                          

"We're really working hard on our defence," Ross coach Bill Price said. "I feel that we're a bit bigger than we've been the last couple of years, which is nice, but I also feel that we're deeper athletically so we want to up that ante and defence has a lot to do with that. If you're athletic, you can play better defence … Offence can come and go, but if you're always strong on defence then you're in a good position, usually."

                          

"Or identity this year is definitely defence," Ross captain Kristian VandeKemp said. "We're a very, very good defensive team when we put our heads to it. Our offence hasn't always been there, especially the first game (a 45-44 win over the St. James Lions), but we've always been able to fall back on our defence."

                          

The Royals led all the way Tuesday as they dropped the Guelph CVI Green Gaels 70-34 for their third win in as many league outings. Ross held quarter leads of 19-9, 30-14 and 54-25.

                          

VandeKemp led the Royals with 19 points while Khalil Smith had 13 and Ryan Stulp netted 12.

                          

Jonah Hopkins had seven for GCVI while Spencer Swan collected six and Tyler Beaton had five.

                          

The Royals are usually one of the final teams to get all their players out to practice due to the annual success of the school's football team. Quite often they've held practices with only a handful of players and had pre-season games with a short bench. This year, they decided to do things a little differently.

                           

"After years and years and years waiting for football to end and being a coach at football, usually, I decided that we're not doing a pre-season," Price said. "We'll just practise."

                          

A factor in making that decision might have been the experience level of the Royals.

                          

"We have a bunch of guys who've been together for a couple of years," Price said. "A bunch of these guys also played on (Guelph Youth Basketball Association's) under-17 team so there's a nice unity and some chemistry."

                          

As Price also coaches that under-17 team, he knew what to expect of most of the Ross players and they also knew his style.

                          

"They're all friends. They've all been together for a while and they've been with me for a while," he said. "That's always helpful. The words I'm using, they understand. The terminology we're using in practice, I can say it to anybody and they get it and that's nice."

                          

"The intensity is different," VandeKemp said of this year's Royals. "Last year we had a lot of guys who were new to senior basketball. This year it's like we've all been here, we've been around."

                          

Centennial 65 Orangeville 57

Matt Cimino had 18 points for Centennial and Deysean Thompson had the same total for Orangeville.

                          

Lourdes 47 St. James 45

Lourdes received 16 points from Kevin Roche and 13 from Kevin Khayipangi while St. James got 16 from Zach McClenaghan and 12 from Mitch Marquis.

                          

Bishop Macdonell 64 Centre Wellington 39

Jesse Kendall connected for 19 points for Bishop Mac while Evan Hosker added 17. Ty Uhrig had 15 and James Scott eight for Centre Wellington.

 

Retrieved From:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports-story/4252827-ross-royals-taking-pride-in-their-defensive-play/

D10: Monday Result & Tuesday Picks

YTD:  4-0 (1.000)

One game to discuss from yesterday, where Centennial got past Centre Wellington by a 60-44 final score.

Harnoor Samra (20) led the way for the Spartans, while Ty Uhrig had 13 for CW.

In today's games:

Centennial (1-1) at Orangeville (0-2)
My Pick:  CCVI by 21
Playing league games on back-to-back days isn't always easy, but I still look for Centennial to handle the Bears on the road here today.

Lourdes (1-1) at St. James (1-1)
My Pick:  STJ by 3
Game of the day material here, with two teams projected to be among the league's "upper tier".  I'll go with the Lions in a close one.

Bishop Mac (2-0) at CWDHS (1-1)
My Pick:  BMAC by 25
The youthful Celtics should continue their strong start with a win against the Falcons.

JF Ross (2-0) at Guelph CVI (0-2)
My Pick:  JFR by 17
The Gaels are usually solid at home and could keep things interesting against JF Ross but the talent depth of the Royals will get them the win here.

WCSSAA Picks: Tuesday

YTD:  4-1 (.800)

Bluevale (1-0) at Jacob Hespeler (0-0)
My Pick:  BCI
A bit of a rebuilding year for the Hawks; look for the Knights to move to 2-0 at their expense today.

Forest Heights (1-0) at KCI (0-1)
My Pick:  KCI
Should be a good battle here; I think the KCI Raiders have the slight edge, especially on their home floor.

WCI (1-0) at Galt (0-1)
My Pick:  GCI
Wouldn't be surprised to see this one go either way but I'll go with the Ghosts over the Vikings at home here.

Glenview Park (1-0) at Eastwood (1-0)
My Pick:  ECI
Two teams that could surprise a few this season; edge to ECI.

Preston (0-1) at Huron Heights (0-1)
My Pick:  HHSS
I think the Huskies will be the team that picks up their first win of the year here today.

D4 Monday: Wolverines Win Overtime Thriller

The Wellington Heights Wolverines handed the Centre Dufferin Royals their first D4 league loss in several seasons after a 43-42 overtime victory yesterday at CDDHS.

Scoring details weren't immediately available.

In other senior D4 action on Monday afternoon, Norwell picked up a 54-37 win over Erin DHS, with Travis Soehner leading the way (11 points).  Matt Napier had a game-high 16 for EDHS.

Also on Monday, Westside took out Emmanuel Christian by a 41-27 final, with Connor Clark pacing the Thunder (8 points).  Casey VanLeeuwen had a game-high 11 for EC.

In D4 junior action on Monday, it was Westside 54, Emmanuel Christian 15; Erin DHS 35, Norwell 25; and Centre Dufferin 42, Wellington Heights 34.

Erin DHS' Daniel Napier had the top junior scoring performance of the day with an 18-point effort.

D8 Monday: Eagles Struggle Early, Pull Away Late

In my picks column yesterday, I alluded to the dreaded "tournament hangover".

You could certainly say that was a factor for the St. Mary's Eagles early on in their game against the St. David Celtics; the Eagles led 25-23 before waking up and finishing the game on a 40-11 run to win going away (65-34).

Telloy Simon (23) and Tyrick Thompson (9) led the way for St. Mary's, while James McBride was the top scorer for St. David with 10.

In other senior action:

St. Benedict 50, Woodland Christian 20
My Pick:  SBCSS by 16
No trouble for the Saints here, as they were stout on the defensive end.  Tyler Moulton netted 10 to lead the Saints while Tristan VanderHoef also had 10 for St. Benedict.

Monsignor Doyle 73, Rockway 46
My Pick:  MDCSS by 29
Jamal Bell poured in 26 points and Uzair Khan added 13 for the Mustangs in their first win of the season.  Connor Huxman (19) and Michael Born (15) led the way for Rockway.

D8 Senior Standings
1. St. Mary's 2-0
T2.  Resurrection 1-0
T2.  St. Benedict 1-0
T4.  Mons. Doyle 1-1
T4.  St. David 1-1
T6.  Rockway 0-2
T6.  Woodland 0-2

Junior

St. Mary's 71, St. David 41
No trouble for the Eagles here as Adham Eleeda (16) paced the way in the win.  Mason Cumming led the way for St. David with a 15-point effort.

St. Benedict 82, Woodland 23
The Saints won their first league game in convincing fashion, with Devante Hudson leading the way (24 points).  Isaac Klooster had 10 for Woodland.

Rockway 55, Mons. Doyle 49
The vastly improved Rockway Flames picked up their first win of the year with a home win against MDCSS.  Jesse Reusser (17) and Nathan Bender (14) led the way for RMC; Jordan Deveney-Reid had a game-high 25 points for the Mustangs.

D8 Junior Standings
1.  St. Mary's 2-0
T2.  St. Benedict 1-0
T2.  Resurrection 1-0
T4.  Rockway 1-1
T4.  St. David 1-1
T6.  Mons. Doyle 0-2
T6.  Woodland 0-2

District 8: Monday Picks

YTD Picks:  2-0 (1.000)

We're back to action today in the D8 league, with three games scheduled on the senior circuit.

Here's a look:

St. Mary's (1-0) at St. David (1-0)
My Pick:  SMHS by 32
There might be a bit of a "tournament hangover" for the Eagles, but look for them to be able to handle St. David with ease.

St. Benedict (0-0) at Woodland Christian (0-1)
My Pick:  SBCSS by 16
The Saints should pick up win #1 at the expense of the Cavaliers in Breslau.

Monsignor Doyle (0-1) at Rockway (0-1)
My Pick:  MDCSS by 29
Fresh off of a tournament championship at home (beating Jacob Hespeler in the final), the 'Stangs should be able to pick up league victory #1 here today. 

D8 vs. D10 - All-Star Game Recaps

Last Wednesday, the University of Guelph played host to the annual D8/D10 Junior & Senior Girls' All-Star Games.

The junior game was closely contested with D8 winning over D10, 40-37, thanks in part to a big fourth quarter comeback. 

For D8, their game MVP was Megan Goar (St. David) and they were led on the scoresheet by Afifa Salaad (St. Benedict) with 9 and Krissia Vasquez (Resurrection) who had 8 points.  D10's game MVP was Carter Godman (CCVI) and leading scorers were Rainey Psenicka with 9 and Godman with 7.

Also announced for the D10 was the junior league MVP for the past season:  Rainey Psenicka from Our Lady of Lourdes.

In the senior game, the D10 had their way to the tune of 74-33, backed by 14 points from Emma Cain (CCVI) and 13 more by Sydney Wilson (Guelph CVI).  Beth Zebib (St. Mary's) led the D8 with 10 while Kayla Leusink (SBCSS) chipped in with 6.

Also announced during the game was the D10's Senior MVP for this past season, Rebecca Morris of league champion Bishop Macdonell.

SJAM Juniors Take Thrilling Finale at Resurrection Tournament

Last year's top team in CWOSSA, the SJAM Highlanders, lost a couple of key pieces to their senior team but still showed that there's a lot of talent left on their roster as they went 4-0 this past weekend to take the title at the Resurrection Junior Boys' Tip-off Tournament.

The championship finale was a thrilling 81-74 victory over Resurrection that saw a little bit of everything.

Rez raced to an early double-digit lead, which the Highlanders cut to 8 (37-29) at halftime.  A hot-shooting third quarter allowed SJAM to tie things up entering the fourth, where they continued their strong offensive performance en route to a late 9-point lead with 2:00 to go.

To their credit, Resurrection didn't give up and played the "foul game", where they were able to eventually get things to within 2 points on an Alexis Garcia three-pointer and :35 left on the clock.  However, that was as close as they'd get as SJAM converted five more free throws in the final seconds to round out the scoring.

In a game that took nearly two hours to complete, free throws were certainly a common characteristic of this one.  SJAM actually attempted 52 (yes, 52!) free throws, making 33 of them.

In total, five Resurrection players, and one SJAM Highlander, fouled out.

Devon Gallivan led the way for SJAM with a 20-point performance, while Karan Heer added 17.  Kiern Lack-Shane (11) and Justin Hardy (10) were also in double-figures.

Rez received a double-double (23 points + 10 rebounds) from Muyang Iluya, while Ali Rashid contributed 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Prince Dang was also in double-figures for Rez with 10 points.

The final standings of the round-robin tournament went as follows:

1.  SJAM 4-0
2.  Resurrection 3-1
3.  Bluevale 2-2
4.  Eastwood 1-3
5.  Huron Heights 0-4

Tournament All-Star Team
Justin Hardy, SJAM
Devon Gallivan, SJAM
Ali Rashid, Resurrection
Muyang Iluya, Resurrection
Prince Dang, Resurrection
Romy Simpson, Eastwood
Ahmed Kanu, Eastwood
Greg Smith, Bluevale
Matt Wyman, Bluevale
Kuel Thomas, Huron Heights
Ben Jenkins, Huron Heights

Senior: Lall Shines, But Ghosts Fall Short in Championship Final

TJ Lall scored 34 points (15 in the first quarter alone) to help the Galt CI Ghosts defeat Centennial CVI at the Cameron Heights Invitational Senior Tournament this past weekend.

As noted, the Gaels were not participating in their own tournament due to their Heinbuch Invitation.

The Ghosts and Spartans were the only two CWOSSA teams in the tournament.  Centennial defeated Strathroy and Galt CI got past Windsor Riverside in their respective opening games.

Galt dropped the championship final to Hamilton Westmount.

Lall was named to the tournament's all-star team, along with Centennial's Harnoor Samra.  Nemanja Ilic of Westmount was the tournament's MVP.

TheRecord: Oakwood Barons Earn Another Heinbuch Title

Article By:  Record Staff

Brody Clarke scored 17 points as the Oakwood Barons captured their third consecutive Heinbuch Classic basketball championship on Saturday night with a 69-57 win over the St. Mary's Eagles.
                          

Tournament MVP Dwan Williams added 15 and Russell Baker had 14 as the Barons won for the fourth time in the past five years.

                          

The Barons led the Eagles from start to finish, building a 33-25 halftime lead and stretching it to 50-41 after three quarters.

                          

Tesloth Simon was the top scorer for St. Mary's, hitting four three-point shots on his way to a 17-point performance. Jermaine Lyle added 16 and Tyrick Thompson chipped in with 13.

                          

Thompson and Lyle were named to the tournament's first-team all-star unit along with Clarke from Oakwood and Clifton Palmer from Scarborough's Mother Teresa Titans.

                          

The Eagles reached the final with a 61-55 win over Windsor Herman Green Griffins and the Barons advanced with a 65-52 win over the J. Clarke Richardson Storm of Ajax.

                          

The Grand River Renegades captured the consolation final with a 72-47 win over the Waterloo Vikings. Second-team all-star Chuder Teny had 24 points for Grand River and Shafi Mutware had 12 for the Vikings.

                          

Trevelle Blythe of Windsor's Herman Green Griffins was also a second-team all-star along with Matt Minutillo of Brantford's North Park Trojans, Marcus Ottey of Ajax's J. Clarke Richardson Storm, and Filip Vujadinovic of Burlington's Nelson Lords.

                          

Hamilton's St. Thomas More Knights won the bronze division final by a 41-36 margin over North Park. Ryan Doornick had 17 for the winners and Jon Dulmage replied with 16.

                          

Jalen King and Brandon Persaud both had 16 points for Mother Teresa in a 67-60 win over the Nelson in the silver division final. Stefan Duric had 22 points for Nelson.

                          

Mother Teresa and Nelson both advanced to the silver final by defeating local teams. Mother Teresa scored an 80-75 overtime win over the Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders and Nelson beat the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels 71-63.

 

Retrieved From:  http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/4249024-oakwood-barons-earn-another-heinbuch-classic-title/