D10 Junior Thursday: Two 30 Point Efforts In One Game To Finish Season

There were a couple of 30 point efforts on Thursday afternoon in the D10 junior basketball league, both occurring in the same contest!

Graydon Lindsay had 31 for the Orangeville Bears and Matt Sanvido scored 30 for the St. James Lions, but it was the Lions who had more points from their supporting cast in a 73-55 win.

Michael Piovesan (15), Jeff Morales (11) and Aidan Feeney (11) were all in double-figures for the Lions as well, while Nigel Carey-Kochan had 15 for the Bears.

In other action, JF Ross finished their season with a win in a low-scoring affair, 30-19 over Bishop Mac.  BMAC's Noah Slater and Ross' Brodie Beamish had 9 each for their respective clubs.

Centennial finished their season with just one loss, following a 53-44 win over Guelph CVI.  Tommy Nield poured in 23 points for the Spartans, while Lincoln Rosebush had 18 for the Gaels.

Thursday's Quarterfinals Are:
(1) Centennial vs. (8) Lourdes
(2) St. James vs. (7) Bishop Mac
(3) Guelph CVI vs. (6) JF Ross
(4) CWDHS vs. (5) Orangeville

D10 Senior Tuesday: Lions Complete Perfect Senior Season

The St. James Lions became the first team in four years (2010-11 JF Ross) to run the table en route to a perfect 14-0 mark in the D10 Senior Boys' standings.

There wasn't much of a doubt as to the winner of their final game, as the Lions handed the 8th-place Orangeville Bears a 94-36 defeat to cap their regular season. 

Joey Hasson (17) and Alex Durigon (13) paced the way for St. James.

The game of the day, meanwhile, nearly saw the JF Ross Royals unseat the Bishop Mac Celtics for 2nd place in the D10 standings.

Going into the game, the Royals knew they had to beat the Celts by 16+ points, given that Bishop Mac had won their opening game 50-35 (and controlled most of the other tiebreakers).  The Royals came up one point short, winning 58-43, meaning that the Celts take 2nd based on the second tiebreaker of "fewest points allowed against all teams".

Jake Grant had 18 and Andrew Folkerson 15 for Ross, while Chris Poloniato led the Celts with 11.

The other game on Thursday saw Centennial cap their season with a win, 69-32 over Guelph CVI.

Thursday's Quarterfinals will look like this:
(1) St. James vs. (8) Orangeville
(2) Bishop Mac vs. (7) Guelph CVI
(3) JF Ross vs. (6) Centennial
(4) CWDHS vs. (5) Lourdes

WCSSAA & D10 Picks: Thursday

WCSSAA YTD:  50-8 (.862)
D10 YTD:  32-2 (.941)

WCSSAA
There's a couple of important games today as far as possible playoff positioning is concerned, with the biggest of them being the WCI Vikings (6-3) travelling to play Grand River (7-2).  Both teams are in contention for a first-round playoff bye (top 4 seed).

WCI has been on the upswing lately, and I expect them to keep this one close; however, I'll give the edge to the home Rens here.  GRCI by 6.

Meanwhile, another big game sees Forest Heights (5-4) travel to Eastwood (6-4).  Both of these teams will finish somewhere in the 5-8 range in the standings but are certainly teams that those in the top 4 wouldn't want to meet in the quarterfinals.  Top scorer Ousmane Kromah is out for ECI today, but with Izzy Nemeth back they should have enough to win.  I'll go with ECI by 6 today.

Other games are:

Elmira (0-10) at Jacob Hespeler (1-8)
My Pick:  JHSS by 24
The Hawks need to win this to have any shot at a playoff spot, and they should be able to do so at home.

Galt (6-3) at Southwood (2-7)
My Pick:  GCI by 18
The Sabres have been keeping many of their games respectable, especially of late, while the Ghosts haven't exactly been blowing teams out of the water (reference their 5-pt win over JHSS the other day).  Regardless, I still like Galt to win.

Preston (2-7) at Bluevale (2-7)
My Pick:  BCI by 8
The winner of this game will virtually assure themselves of a playoff berth; I'll go with the homecourt Knights.

Cameron Hts. (8-1) at Huron Hts. (4-5)
My Pick:  CHCI by 15
The Huskies are dangerous at home, having defeated KCI on their home court.  It could be interesting but I like the Gaels here.

D10
Three games to conclude the D10 schedule today:

Bishop Mac (11-2) at JF Ross (10-3)
My Pick:  BMAC by 6
The Royals can technically leapfrog Bishop Mac for 2nd, but they'd need to win by 16+, as Bishop Mac defeated them 50-35 the last time around.  The Royals have the talent to win, but I don't see this one getting away from the Celts by that much.

Guelph CVI (1-12) at Centennial (4-9)
My Pick:  CCVI by 18
Unless ODSS upsets St. James, both of these teams are locked into their respective playoff positions.  Centennial should get some momentum by going into the playoffs with a win.

Orangeville (1-12) at St. James (13-0)
My Pick:  STJ by 28
Both of these teams will likely meet again on Tuesday in the D10 quarterfinals.  St. James is looking to become the first team in four years (2010-11 JF Ross) to go undefeated in regular season play.

D8: Wednesday Results; Playoff Picture Almost Complete

A couple of games to discuss from yesterday in the D8 leagues.

As Mark Bryson's article below mentioned, it was a day off for several of the St. Mary's starters (and limited minutes for a couple others) in a 78-38 win over St. David.  Adham Eleeda (24), Henoak Abara (17) and David Nguyen (16) did much of the Eagle damage on Wednesday, while Mason Cumming had 10 and John McElroy 9 for the Celts.

Meanwhile at Resurrection, Zubair Seyed poured in 26 points to increase his D8-leading scoring average as the St. Benedict Saints slipped past Resurrection 61-58.  Muyang Iluya had 21 and Zach Holness 12 for the Phoenix, who were without Korbil Gany.

In "B" Division action, Monsignor Doyle defeated Woodland 54-45, with Ryan Stafford and Sohrob Sultani scoring 14 each.  Tristan Vanderhoef had a game-high 15 for the Cavs.

All of the senior playoff spots are decided with the exception of one.

Monday's game between Resurrection and St. David will determine who takes 3rd place in the senior standings (winner gets 3rd).  St. Mary's and St. Benedict have solidified the top 2 spots in the league, while the top two teams (who will cross-over and play a quarterfinal against an "A" team) from the B division will be Monsignor Doyle and Woodland.

D8 Senior Playoff Picture
(A1) St. Mary's - Bye
(A2) St. Benedict - Bye
(A3) Resurrection/St. David vs. (B2) Woodland
(A4) Resurrection/St. David vs. (B1) Mons. Doyle

Junior
The D8 Junior league might be home to some of the most exciting basketball around, at least in terms of tight contests.  

There were another couple of those in the "A" division on Wednesday, with Matt Raddocchia's late-game bucket giving the first-place St. David Celtics a 63-61 win over St. Mary's.

The win also clinched top spot in the league for the Celts (11-1).  St. Mary's will finish second (9-2).

Raddocchia finished with 13 while Brent Lasovich led the Celts with 22.  Kanayo Nnadi had 19 and Tyreak Farquharson had 10 for Mary's.

The Resurrection Phoenix had 3 players in double-figures --- Jamu Iluya (20), Demar Holness (17) and Jaxon Matcheski (11) in their 53-46 win over St. Benedict.  The Saints also had a trio of 10+ point scorers, Jacob Polski (14), Daniel Ziegler (12) and Gavin Douglas (10).

St. Benedict can clinch 3rd in the D8 standings with either a win (vs. St. Mary's) in their finale or a Resurrection loss (to St. David).

In the "B" division, Dylan Deveney-Reid had 23 points to help Monsignor Doyle defeat Woodland 50-45.  Jacob Vos netted 10 for the Cavs.

Rockway put up 70 points in a 70-51 win over PRDG.  Jonah Boehm had 26 and Matt Kipfer 23 for the Flames, while Pat Martini notched 26 for PRDG.

The Flames & Chevaliers have both clinched playoff berths in the "B" division, but the order of finish is still to be determined.

D8 Junior Playoff Picture
(A1) St. David - Bye
(A2) St. Mary's - Bye
(A3) RCSS/SBCSS vs. (B2) PRDG/RMC
(A4) RCSS/SBCSS vs. (B1) PRDG/RMC

The Record: Eagles Get a Lift From Silver Fox Victory

Stephenson With Silver Fox MVP

Article By:  Mark Bryson

KITCHENER — St. Mary's Eagles forward Jamari Stephenson took a seat on the bench and stayed there. 

The MVP of last weekend's Silver Fox invitational basketball tournament in Hamilton played the role of cheerleader on Wednesday during the Eagles' 78-38 win over the visiting St. David Celtics. 

Regular starters Tesloth Simon and Nathan Riley also took the day off, while Tyrick Thompson and Jermaine Lyle saw limited action, as the Eagles improved to 11-0 in District 8 senior boys league play while dropping the overmatched Celtics to 3-8. 

The Eagles were, understandably, still feeling good about themselves four days after their 58-56 victory over the St. Marguerite D'Youville Panthers of Brampton, in the Silver Fox final. 

Their win at the prestigious 20-team tournament was the Eagles' first tourney win this year after runner-up finishes at a pair of local events. The Eagles fell 64-54 to Windsor's Catholic Central Comets at the Highlander Classic and 57-52 to Toronto's Oakwood Barons at the Heinbuch Classic. 

"We were doing well in those other tournaments, but for some reason we choked in the finals," said Stephenson. 

"So winning the last tournament shows we can do it, that we just have to put a little bit more effort into it." 

The Eagles — a squad that boasts five fifth-year starters — are widely regarded as the top team in Waterloo Region and would appear to have a legitimate chance of making some noise at next month's Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association tournament in Windsor. 

St. Mary's, of course, will first have to win its fourth straight District 8 championship. It will then need to win a play-in game against a team from the Guelph area to advance to the four-team Central Western Ontario championship. 

The CWOSSA championship is a four-team tournament with the two best teams moving on to OFSAA. 

Eagles head coach Jason Hergott believes his team can play with the big boys if it reaches OFSAA for a third straight year. 

"I think we've got a legitimate shot of getting to the medal round at OFSSA. The thing is, with our league and the way it is set up, we're just one bad game from elimination," he said. 

"I'm excited and I'm just trying to keep them level because most of them have been there already, so it's just a matter of making sure we don't do anything too stupid." 

That task might not be as easy as it sounds. 

The Eagles are an emotional team and the players don't always see eye-to-eye. 

They can be the best of friends one minute and bickering teenagers the next. 

"When times are tough, it's true, we do like to argue with each other and stuff like that; but we're family and at the end of the day we love each other," said Stephenson with a smile. 

"I feel sorry for the coach sometimes. He does a lot for us and there are times that he's talking and there are 12 other people talking and trying to do their own thing." 

Hergott, as he showed during Saturday's win, isn't afraid to go to his bench if the team needs a wake-up call. He pulled all five starters in the second quarter with his team trailing by 16 and the bench players cut that lead to eight at the half. 

Grade 11 guard Adham Eleeda led all scorers in the championship game with 18 points and was also the top scorer against St. David with 24 points. Heanok Abara and David Nguyen added 17 and 16 points respectively against the Celtics. 

Mason Cumming had 10 and John McElroy added nine for St. David. 

The Eagles will continue their tournament schedule on Friday when they take part in the all-Ontario Catholic Classic in St. Catharines. 

They are attempting to become the first team from Waterloo Region to win the event since the St. Jerome's Lions in 1987 and 1988. The Resurrection Phoenix reached the final in 1997. 

This tournament features several of Ontario's best teams, including the top-ranked St. Michael's Blue Raiders of Toronto. 

Retrieved From:  http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/5322945-eagles-get-a-lift-from-silver-fox-victory/

Silver Fox: Jamari Stephenson's Game Winner

Via Hoops Hype Canada, here's a video clip of the last seconds of St. Mary's thrilling Silver Fox victory, including the game winning lay-in by Jamari Stephenson:

D8 Wednesday Picks

YTD:  17-2 (.894)

St. Benedict (8-2) at Resurrection (4-6)
My Pick:  SBCSS by 11
This game doesn't mean much, as both teams' fate is essentially sealed.  St. Benedict will finish 2nd in the standings, while Rez will finish 3rd or 4th depending on the result of their final game against St. David.  With Korbil Gany out for Rez in this one, SBCSS should have the edge, but we'll see how much these teams care about this one.

St. David (3-7) at St. Mary's (10-0)
My Pick:  SMHS by 36
I think that Coach Hergott will get some of his other guys that didn't have much "PT" over the weekend into this one, so I'm not too sure about the margin of victory but look for the Eagles to win handily.

Woodland (3-5) at Mons. Doyle (4-3)
My Pick:  MDCSS by 29
The 'Stangs will lock up top spot in the "B" Division with a win here, which they should get if they don't overlook the Cavs.

WCSSAA Senior: Ghosts, Highlanders Hold Off Upset-Minded Opposition

The SJAM Highlanders and the Galt Ghosts received a bit of a second-semester wake-up call from the WCI Vikings and Jacob Hespeler Hawks respectively on the opening day of February WCSSAA basketball.

SJAM actually trailed the steadily-improving WCI Vikings by three points after three quarters, but used a 14-5 final frame to come away with a 66-60 victory.

Nedim Hodzic was unstoppable for SJAM, recording a 27-point, 14-rebound double-double.  Brett Parrott added 16, while Simon Petrov was also in double-figures with 12.

Three Vikes also hit for double-figure scoring efforts -- Sam Sutherland (21), Nick Johnny (12) and Aaron Grubb (11).

Meanwhile, down in Cambridge, the Galt Ghosts had their hands full with the one-win Jacob Hespeler Hawks, holding them off in a 44-39 final.

TJ Lall netted 21 points for the Ghosts, with Matt Woeller adding 14.  Eric Purdy did much of the Hespeler damage, with 17.

The other games on Tuesday went generally as expected:

Cameron Hts. 60, Forest Hts. 48
Sasha Simic had 14 and Nik Farkic added 12 for the Gaels as they strengthened their hold on second place in the WCSSAA standings.  Tim Gajdos had a game-high 16 for FHCI, with Manraj Jugpal adding 10.

Eastwood 65, Huron Hts. 51
Cham Ujullu (19) and Hanani Ujullu (12) led the way for the Rebs here as they moved into 7th place by virtue of their win and FHCI's loss.  Bilal Ahmed had 19 for the Huskies.

KCI 52, Preston 25
Sam McLean and Stefan Simic had 11 each for KCI as they handled Preston with ease.  Jaskaran Attwal had 6 for the Panthers.

Southwood 53, Elmira 38
The Sabres' playoff hopes are kept alive with a win at Elmira; Moiz Masud had 11 and David Gutschon 10 in the victory.  Colin Wideman had a nice effort in defeat, pouring in a game-high 23.

WCSSAA Senior Standings
1.  SJAM 9-1**
2.  Cameron Hts. 8-1*
3.  Grand River 7-2*
4.  KCI 7-3*
T5.  Galt 6-3*
T5.  WCI 6-3*
7.  Eastwood 6-4*
8.  Forest Hts. 5-4*
9.  Huron Hts. 4-5*
T10.  Bluevale 2-7
T10.  Southwood 2-7
T10.  Preston 2-7
13.  Jacob Hespeler 1-8
14.  Elmira 0-10

** - clinched 1st round bye
* - clinched playoff berth

Brantford Expositor: T-Birds Advance to Senior Semifinals

Victorious in a game on Tuesday with a nail-bitter of second half, the Pauline Johnson Collegiate Thunderbirds move on to the Brant County high school senior boys basketball semifinals on Thursday.

The Thunderbirds earned the spot after defeating the Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs in a closely fought sudden death quarter-final on Tuesday night, with a final score of 49-44.

"It was bad the first half but we really picked it up in the second," said Thunderbird coach Kevin Monahan.

"We really fed off the crowd."

Team captain Austin Roloson said the win "was a great feeling," with the team's tough defence coming through as it had all season.

With a basket just seconds into the game, PJ posted the first three points on the scoreboard. By the end of the first period, BCI had tied it at 8-8.

The Mustangs dominated the second period, ending it with a 22-15 lead.

Although BCI was still leading 34-31 at the end of the third, the period really belonged to the Thunderbirds.

Monahan credits Swapnil Sharma, another captain, with carrying the team in the fourth.

Sharma's basket tied it at 42-42 with three minutes left in the game, followed by two successful penalty throws.

"It was a tough game," said Sharma.

"But we pulled through and showed what we can do."

In addition to Roloson and Sharma, Zach Sewell was outstanding for the Thunderbirds.

Outstanding for BCI were Tristan Almas, Noel Bomberry and Dalton Mark.

Monahan said he's confident going into Thursday's semifinal against Assumption College, which he called "the toughest team in the league.

"We can compete," he said.

"We've had some tough losses this season but we've played well.

Retrieved From:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2015/02/03/high-school-basketball-t-birds-advance--to-semis

WCSSAA Junior: Knights Escape Against Panthers

The Glenview Park Panthers have become a team to reckon with in the WCSSAA Junior Boys' basketball league.  The Bluevale Knights almost found that out the hard way yesterday afternoon.

In the end, the Bluevale Knights escaped Glenview Park with a 41-39 victory, although a scoreboard clock issue called back a GPSS two-pointer that would have sent the game to overtime.

Greg Smith was tremendous for Bluevale in the victory, pouring in 22 of the Knights' 41 points.  Will Scheffler added 6, while Huzaifa Hassan had 15 and Eman Otong 11 for GPSS.

Here's the rest of Tuesday's scores:

Cameron Heights 79, Forest Heights 36
Count me as those surprised to see that margin of victory; the Gaels put down the hammer on Forest Heights in this one.  Steven Sanders (20) and Brendan Chin-Quee (14) led Cameron, while David Peet had 16 for the Trojans.

Grand River 57, WODSS 37
The Rens keep pace with a bunch of 7-3 teams after their win here.  Luka Ninkovic had 14 while Jacob Grisold notched 12.  Jason Holmes led the Crusaders with a game-high 15.

SJAM 64, WCI 37
The #1-CWOSSA ranked 'Landers continued to roll, with Maksim Koprivica scoring 17 and Drajan Stajik adding 12.  Bryce Scarrow had 11 to pace the Vikes.

Eastwood 56, Huron Hts. 45
The Rebels kept up their winning ways, improving to 9-1.  Mubaraak Aden Ibrahim had 22 and Prabhjit Sangha 15 for the Rebs, while Kuel Thomas led the way for the Huskies with 16.

KCI 45, Preston 25
The Raiders gave their playoff hopes/positioning a big boost on Tuesday with a home win over Preston.  Aleks Novicic had 21 and Will Urosevic 13 for KCI, while Mohammed Saleh led Preston with 8.

Southwood 45, Elmira 22
Speaking of doing their playoff hopes a favour, Southwood did just that with win number three on their campaign.  Ben Corbey paced the way with 16 points, while Dexter Roth led EDSS with 7.

Galt 49, Jacob Hespeler 20
Galt picked up an important home win over one of their Cambridge rivals, keeping their playoff hopes alive.  Muhammad Irsalan and Sullivan Murphy scored 11 each for the Ghosts, while Jawad Khan and Muhammad Ali netted 5 each for the Hawks.

WCSSAA Junior Boys Standings
1.  SJAM 10-0**
2.  Eastwood 9-1*
3.  Bluevale 8-2*
T4.  Grand River 7-3*
T4.  Forest Hts. 7-3*
T4.  Glenview Park 7-3*
T4.  Huron Hts. 7-3*
8.  Cameron Hts. 6-4*
T9.  WCI 5-5*
T9.  KCI 5-5*
11.  Southwood 3-7
T12.  WODSS 2-8
T12.  Galt 2-8
T12.  Preston 2-8
T15.  Elmira 0-10
T15.  Jacob Hespeler 0-10

** - clinched first-round bye
* - clinched playoff berth

Guelph Mercury: St. James Lions Clinch First in D10 Senior Boys' Basketball

Article By: Rob Massey

GUELPH — The St. James Lions remained undefeated in District 10 high school senior boys' basketball play Tuesday, securing a first-place finish in the process. 

The Lions won their 16th consecutive regular-season game and 13th of this season when they handed the Bishop Macdonell Celtics a 61-52 setback at Bishop Mac. The loss was the second of the regular season for the second-place Celtics (11-2). 

"That's part of the motivation (clinching first), but we're just trying to keep a good season going and try to be consistent," St. James coach Bob Sharpe said. "If we do that, the result will take care of itself. Today, the result took care of itself." 

St. James has not lost in league play since the Celtics won by seven points at St. James on Jan. 14, 2014. 

Bishop Mac led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter before St. James took a 34-33 lead into the halftime intermission. The Lions came out for the third quarter determined to speed up their offence and they scored the first seven points of the quarter to pull away to a 50-36 advantage by the end of the quarter. 

"We did try to move the ball up the floor quicker, but you can only do that if you have the ball," Sharpe said. "In other words, you get it off the boards, you get it off turnovers and you get it with defensive coverage and you go to transition. If you have to take the ball out of bounds, it's hard to get the ball up the floor. Particularly in the third quarter, our defence was very strong. We took away their penetration." 

"Mr. Sharpe just wanted us to play better — defensively, particularly," Quinn Feeney said. He led the Lions with a game-high 23 points. "Our offence starts with our defence and that's when we push the ball and make it uptempo. We just talked about that and came out strong." 

However, the Celtics weren't done and, in the fourth quarter, they cut the gap back to four points with just over two minutes to go but couldn't get any closer. 

"It was good to see us finish out the game and in the last couple of minutes in particular," Sharpe said. "We got two or three open layups when they were pressuring and it was good that we went to the foul line and knocked down foul shots, which has been a bit of a problem for us this year. Our foul shooting is probably the weakest part of our game." 

A pair of baskets by Feeney who worked himself free on the baseline helped the Lions secure the win.

"They were doubling and it was communication and teammates having good court vision," Feeney said. 

The Lions also didn't crack under the pressure of the Bishop Mac comeback. 

"We just tried to keep our composure," Feeney said. "Mr. Sharpe called a time, which was a smart one, pulled us in and made us aware that we can't let this one go. We had to close it." 

"We do have a veteran team and we finished with five very senior players on the floor," Sharpe said. 

"That was really part of my strategy, plus all the guys on the floor can really shoot foul shots. They had to foul us." 

Behind Feeney, Mitch Marquis had 10 points for St. James and Erwin Tapnio netted nine. 

"Everything was flowing," Feeney said of his game. "I try to look for other players first, but if something's open, I'll take it." 

Chris Poloniato had 22 points for Bishop Mac while Lucas Wood had 15 and Jake Chaput contributed seven. 

The Lions are to complete their regular season Thursday with a home game against the Orangeville Bears in a game that could be a preview of a quarter-final match next week. 

Lourdes 59 Guelph CVI 37

Scoring details were not reported. 

Ross 70 Centre Wellington 66

Andrew Folkerson led Ross with 15 points while Jake Grant had 14 and Harris Cornett netted 12. Nate Scott had a game-high 19 for Centre Wellington while James Scott had 18 and Ty Uhrig gathered 14. 

D10 Jr. Boys' Basketball

Centennial 70 Orangeville 67

Scoring details were not reported. 

Guelph CVI 68 Lourdes 35

Lincoln Rosebush struck for 23 points for GCVI while Kyle Kush had 15 and Josh Tran collected eight. Teagan Clark had eight for Lourdes while Mateo Rogue, Geeth Kenneth, David Casupanan and E.J. Martinez each had five. 

Centre Wellington 44 Ross 26

Mitch Rose-Janes led Centre Wellington with 14 points while Cole Newton followed with 11. Brody Beamish and Vishal Pandya had six apiece for Ross. 

Retrieved From:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports-story/5320883-st-james-lions-clinch-first-in-d10-senior-boys-basketball/ 

Tuesday's WCSSAA & D10 Picks

WCSSAA
SJAM (8-1) at WCI (6-2)
My Pick:  SJAM by 19
The 'Landers match-up very well against the Vikes, as evidenced by their big win in the tourney final over WCI at the Knights-Vikes Classic in December (without Brett Parrott).  Look for them to continue their hold on first place in the WCSSAA standings today.

Jacob Hespeler (1-7) at Galt (5-3)
My Pick: GCI by 27
With Super Bowl "prop bets" still in mind, here's one for you --- what will be the higher total, TJ Lall's points or Galt's margin of victory?  Discuss.

Huron Hts. (4-4) at Eastwood (5-4)
My Pick:  ECI by 17
With Izzy Nemeth back in Eastwood's lineup, the Rebels have thrown a wrench into the WCSSAA playoff picture.  Rebs to win at home.

Preston (2-6) at KCI (6-3)
My Pick:  KCI by 33
Don't expect the Raiders to have much trouble with Preston here today.

Cameron Hts. (7-1) at Forest Hts. (5-3)
My Pick:  CHCI by 12
Could be interesting, especially on the road, but can't pick against the Gaels here today.

Southwood (1-7) at Elmira (0-9)
My Pick:  SSS by 13
The Sabres need this one to stay in the playoff hunt, and I think they'll pick up an important win here.

D10
St. James (12-0) at Bishop Mac (11-1)
My Pick:  STJ by 7
First place on the line here in the D10 league; the Lions can wrap it up with a win.  Have to go with the undefeated team despite the Celts being at home.

JF Ross (9-3) at CWDHS (7-5)
My Pick:  JFR by 4
Should be a close one in Fergus, I'll stick with the Royals to nip the Falcons here today.

Lourdes (4-8) at Guelph CVI (1-11)
My Pick:  OLOL by 22
The 'Saders need a win here to continue to hold on to 5th in the standings; they should get it provided they don't overlook the Gaels.

Centennial (3-9) at Orangeville (1-11)
My Pick:  CCVI by 24 
See pick above, substituting "Centennial", "6th", and "Bears".

Other CWOSSA Tournament News

Senior:  Assumption Nips St. James
A battle between #4 St. James and #5 Assumption certainly lived up to the hype in the championship final of the Holy Trinity (Simcoe) tournament, with Assumption coming out on top in a 59-57 victory.

Mike King averaged 24.3 PPG for the tournament, including 25 in the championship final.

King had 25 and Brandon Vincent 16 in the semifinal, a 79-21 win over the hosts from Holy Trinity.  The first-round win went down as a 63-39 win over College Avenue (Woodstock) with King scoring 23 and Andre Toic adding 16.

Junior:  CWDHS Takes JHSS Title
Centre Wellington got 43 points from Cole Newton as they defeated St. James, 77-74 (in Overtime) to take home the title at the Jacob Hespeler Junior Tournament (part of the Hawks' Junior-Senior tournament that runs simultaneously in their two gyms).

Senior Boys: St. Mary's Eagles Win Silver Fox + Other D8 Weekend Success

As you probably already know by now, the St. Mary's Eagles staged a massive fourth quarter comeback to take out the Brampton D'Youville Panthers 58-56 in the Silver Fox championship final on Saturday evening.

In the process, the Eagles became the first CWOSSA team since 1983 (Cameron Heights) to win the prestigious tournament.

The Eagles, who trailed by 17 points in the fourth quarter, rallied and got a basket from Jamari Stephenson with 4 seconds to play to win the game.

Adham Eleeda led the way for SMHS with an 18-point effort, while Stephenson was named as the tournament MVP as well as the top defensive player.

Tesloth Simon, who scored 27 (vs. Bishop Reding) and 30 (vs. St. Francis) was also named as a tournament all-star.

I'd suggest that the Eagles will find themselves in the "top ten" of NorthPoleHoops.com's next "top 25" ranking.  Over the weekend, St. Mary's (who entered at #17), defeated #23 Bishop Reding (58-50), #6 St. Francis (70-61), #16 Saltfleet (61-47) and #10 D'Youville.

St. Benedict Takes Nicholson Tournament
The 2nd place team in the D8 Senior Circuit, the St. Benedict Saints, took home the title over the weekend at the Nicholson Crusader Classic in Belleville.

The pool-play event saw the Saints take care of Holy Cross (Kingston) 48-34 and Nicholson (54-39). They defeated Sydenham in the semifinals (64-54) which set up a rematch with Holy Cross, where they were again victorious in a 45-38 game.

PG Zubair Seyed was named as tournament MVP while big-man Evan Rodenburg was a first-team all-star.

Resurrection Consolation Champs in Brampton
The Resurrection Phoenix went 3-1 over the weekend, winning the David Suzuki (Brampton) "Call of the Wild" Consolation Title.

Despite 24 points from Korbil Gany, Rez was nipped by the host Grizzlies 63-61 in their opening game, which moved them to the consolation side of the draw.

The Phoenix dispatched Mississauga Streetsville, putting up 100 points in a 100-61 rout.  The balanced scoresheet was keyed by Muyang Iluya (18) and Michael Perak (10).

In the semifinals, Rez again had their offense clicking in an 84-38 win over Metro Prep (Toronto).  Iluya notched 21 points with Perak adding 12.

The Phoenix blitzed Brampton Heart Lake in the consolation final, putting up 31 points in the opening quarter and cruising to a 71-36 win. Zach Holness led Rez's scoring with 17.

Muyang Iluya was named to the tournament all-star team.

The tournament was won by St. Thomas More (Hamilton), who defeated Burlington Assumption in the final.

Doyle Wins Consolation Title in Niagara
Monsignor Doyle also took a consolation title at the Hofland Memorial Tournament in St. Catharines, with a 46-39 win over Sir Winston Churchill (St. Catharines) in the consolation final.

The 'Stangs had earlier defeated Niagara Christian to advance to the consolation final, after losing to AN Myer in their opening game.

Ryan Stafford and Jordan Deveney-Reid both averaged 15 PPG for Doyle in the touranment.

Tourney News: TJ Lall Goes For 50 Points in Tournament Title Game

The Galt Ghosts were victorious over the weekend at the annual Jacob Hespeler SS Senior Boys' tournament, with scoring star TJ Lall leading the way with a 50-point (!) performance in the championship game.

The Ghosts knocked off EL Crossley (Fonthill) 85-68 in the championship final.  Lall scored 28 first half points, which included 20 points in the second quarter alone, including 6 three-pointers in the frame!

Lall also put home 31 points in the semifinal, a 55-42 win over Centre Wellington.  Galt's first-round game was a 58-25 win over Orangeville Westside.

Galt will finish their WCSSAA schedule with a favourable schedule that includes three of their Cambridge rivals --- Jacob Hespeler, Southwood, and Preston.