D8: Wednesday Picks

YTD Senior:  13-2 (.867)
YTD Junior:  0-0 (.000) 

We'll add a few junior picks to the mix today, to hopefully help in keeping me sharp while we wait for the resumption of other CWOSSA leagues --- such as WCSSAA --- in the new year (fingers crossed).

Senior - 3:30pm Games

St. Mary's (4-0) at St. Benedict (3-1)
My Pick:  SMHS by 32
Yes, these are currently the #1 and #2 teams in the D8 standings.  And yes, I'm picking the Eagles to continue their streak of 30+ wins in D8.

Monsignor Doyle (2-2) at Resurrection (2-2)
My Pick:  RCSS by 22
Look for the Phoenix to get back in the win column at home today, provided they don't overlook this year's surprise junior team, the Monsignor Doyle Mustangs (double OT loss to SDCSS and 9-point loss to SMHS show that they're vastly improved).

St. David (3-2) at Woodland Christian (0-4)
My Pick:  SDCSS by 33
The Celtics can make it four straight here today with a win against Woodland.  Look for them to do just that.

Junior - 5:00pm Games

St. Mary's (4-0) at St. Benedict (3-1)
My Pick:  SMHS by 3
Should be a very competitive game over in Cambridge, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Saints pull it out.  I'll go with the Eagles, though, in a close one.

Mons. Doyle (2-2) at Resurrection (1-3)
My Pick:  RCSS by 6
The winner of this game will put themselves in fourth place in the D8 standings heading into the "second round" of the D8's schedule.  Big game for both clubs; slight edge to the homecourt Phoenix.

St. David (4-1) at Woodland (1-3)
My Pick:  SDCSS by 32
Glad that I don't have to pick three nail-biters today in my D8 junior debut; the junior Celtics should post a comfortable win over the Cavaliers.

D10: Tuesday Results

Here's a look at scores from around the D10 league yesterday, starting in senior:

Senior

JF Ross 81, Orangeville 56
My Pick:  JFR by 18
Mike Friesen put home 23 points as the Royals moved back above .500 (3-2).  Deysean Thompson had a game-high 29 points for the Bears.

Bishop Mac 65, St. James 39
My Pick:  BMAC by 9
The Celtics pulled away in this rivalry game, posting a comfortable win.  Mitchell Wood put home 25 and Jesse Kendall added 19 for BMAC, while Ryan Morales had 8 for St. James.

Lourdes 47, CWDHS 16
My Pick:  OLOL by 15
What a defensive performance by the Crusaders, who held the Falcons to just 16 points in this one.  Max Raab (15) led Lourdes while James Scott had 12 for CW.

Junior

JF Ross 51, Orangeville 24
Daniel Street had a season-high 25 points for the Royals as they posted a big win on the road on Tuesday.

Bishop Mac 51, St. James 47
Five players ended up in double-figures in this one, with Bishop Mac having three of those (Jake Chaput 15, Lukas Wood 13, Jack Morris 12) and St. James two (Izaiah Farrell 18, Jack Tersigni 11).  Most importantly, it was Bishop Mac that snuck out the road win here.

Lourdes 55, CWDHS 39
Craig Valeriote continued his hot start, pumping home 23 points in the win while Alex Hudecki added 9 for Lourdes.  Mackenzie Mathers (12) and Chuck Alexander (9) led the way for the Falcons.

UGDSB Update: Extracurricular Activities

Many people have been asking me how the situation in Guelph differs from that in, say, WCSSAA (Kitchener-Waterloo).

As most people know, Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) has a contract ratified by their teachers.  

That being said, the Minister of Education has not "officially" signed off on their contract so it's not as "black and white" a situation as some might think.

As such, some teachers have withdrawn themselves from participating in volunteer activities; however, teachers are "not in a position for action as a collective group".  In fact, some coaches have suggested that they should support the other school boards and withdraw services, while others feel that they should honour their commitment.

Sidebar:  Teachers on LTO ("temporary") contracts are not part of the teacher's union, so they are withdrawing services.  As such, there may be some schools that will lose coaches and, therefore, teams.

So, that's a quick summary to help you understand the situation over in Guelph and area as I see it.  I'm not an expert by any means (nor am I involved directly), so take the above with a grain of salt.

Basically, games are currently moving forward "as they appear" on the schedule.  However, there may be individual teams affected and the entire situation is certainly "subject to change".

D10: Tuesday Picks

Like their Upper Grand DSB counterparts in the D4 league, games will go on as scheduled today (at least that's what I've heard.....for now) as well in D10.

So, here's a look at today's scheduled games:

JF Ross (2-2) at Orangeville (1-3)
My Pick:  JFR by 18
The Royals should get back in the win column today, provided they don't overlook the ODSS Bears.

Bishop Macdonell (4-1) at St. James (3-1)
My Pick:  BMAC by 9
Always a good rivalry game here, and I'll pick the visiting Celtics to pull out the "W" today.

Guelph CVI (0-5) at Centennial (4-0)
My Pick:  CCVI by 27
The Spartans are the only unbeaten team, and the Gaels are the only winless team in D10.  Don't look for that to change after today's game.

Lourdes (2-2) at Centre Wellington (1-3)
My Pick:  OLOL by 15
Two teams that could certainly use a win here today; Lourdes seems like the better club on paper so I'll go with them to win this one.

D4: Show Goes On For #2 Royals

As a result of the UGDSB's ratified contract agreement, it looks like play will continue this week in the D4 and D10 leagues.

Here's a look at Monday's results from D4, starting in senior:

Senior

Centre Dufferin 70, Emmanuel Christian 32
The Royals got 23 points from Dhruv Patel, 11 from Marco Zanette and 10 from Hayden Hooker in their latest lopsided D4 win.  Casey Vanleeuwen had 10 for ECHS, with John Nobel adding 8.

Erin DHS 34, Westside 29
Matthew Napier (12) and Austin Blackwell (11) posted double-digit efforts as the Raiders moved to 2-1 on the year.  Connor Clark (10) and Riley Crean (7) led WSS.

Wellington Heights 36, Norwell 33
Luke Hogg had 10 and Cole Rooney 8 for the Wolverines who won this North Wellington rivalry game.  Justin Davidson and Tyler Pronk had 11 each for the Redmen.

D4 Senior Standings
T1.  Wellington Hts. 3-0
T1.  Centre Dufferin 3-0
3.  Erin DHS 2-1
4.  Norwell 1-2
T5.  Westside 0-3
T5.  Emmanuel Christian 0-3

Junior

Centre Dufferin 55, Emmanuel Christian 14
CDDHS:  Brandon Richardson 24, Silas Sales 16
ECHS:  Marty Westrik 10

Norwell 44, Wellington Hts. 22
NDSS:  Tom Langille 25

D4 Junior Standings
1.  Centre Dufferin 3-0
T2.  Norwell 2-1
T2.  Wellington Hts. 2-1
4.  Emmanuel Christian 1-2
T5.  Westside 0-2
T5.  Erin DHS 0-2

D8: Monday Results

Senior

St. Mary's 78, Resurrection 47
My Pick:  SMHS by 28
The Eagles got a monstrous effort from Telloy Simon, who poured in 34 points in the win to keep St. Mary's atop the D8 standings --- and firmly at that (they have won all four games by at least 30 points).  Jacob Gilbert (11) and Patric McGlynn (10) led the Rez scoring.

St. David 61, Rockway 52
My Pick:  SDCSS by 18
The Celtics made it three in a row on Monday afternoon, thanks in part to a 16-point outing from guard Jake Winter.  Simon Pudwell had 16 for Rockway in the loss.

St. Benedict 57, Woodland 29
My Pick:  SBCSS by 45
The Saints coasted to a comfortable win over the Cavaliers, with Spencer Marshall knocking in 28 points in the win.  Josh Znidaric added 10 for SBCSS, while Connor Nusselder led WCHS with 6.

Standings
1.  St. Mary's 4-0
2.  St. Benedict 3-1
3.  St. David 3-2
T4.  Resurrection 2-2
T4.  Mons. Doyle 2-2
6.  Rockway 1-4
7.  Woodland 0-4

Junior

St. Mary's 54, Resurrection 49
The Eagles picked up another single-digit win to stay in first place in the D8 standings; they were led by Adham Eleeda (18) and Barnaba Neil (10).  Jake Rush had 14 for Rez, while Ali Rashid and Joseph Hunter added 9.

St. Benedict 49, Woodland 11
No trouble at all for the Saints who cruise to a win over Woodland.  Evan Rodenburg had 8 for SBCSS while Shane Clarke led Woodland with 4.

St. David 57, Rockway 37
George Dumitru had 16 while fellow Celtic Mitchell Lavigne added 12 more as the Celtics moved to 4-1 in league play.  Connor Huxman had 16 and Isaac Regier 12 for Rockway.

Standings
1.  St. Mary's 4-0
2.  St. David 4-1
3.  St. Benedict 3-1
4.  Mons. Doyle 2-2
5.  Resurrection 1-3
6.  Woodland 1-3
7.  Rockway 0-5

D8: Monday Picks

YTD:  10-2 (.833)

All games are 5pm starts today in the D8 senior league.  They are:

Resurrection (2-1) at St. Mary's (3-0)
My Pick:  SMHS by 28
The Eagles have dominated D8 opposition to this point, having won their three games by an average of 62.6 PPG.  Now, I think this one will be a bit closer but I still look for St. Mary's to win comfortably.

St. Benedict (2-1) at Woodland (0-3)
My Pick:  SBCSS by 45
The Saints shouldn't have much trouble today handling the Woodland Cavaliers, which will be welcomed after several hard-fought tournament games this past weekend.

St. David (2-2) at Rockway (1-3)
My Pick:  SDCSS by 18
The Celtics can make it three in a row at the expense of the Rockway Flames --- and I think they will.

Junior CWOSSA "Top 10": WCSSAA, D8 Teams Lead The Way

Two new entries to this week's top 10 (Eastwood CI and St. Benedict CSS) now make 5 WCSSAA schools and a surprising 4 D8 entries in the CWOSSA top 10.

Brantford St. John's is the only non-Waterloo Region school in this week's top 10, although three D10 schools (St. James, JF Ross and Centennial) are knocking on the door as honourable mentions.

Speaking of honourable mentions, a special shout-out to a new entry in that category this week, the Monsignor Doyle Mustangs out of Cambridge.  The 'Stangs haven't seen much success on the basketball court in recent years, but have a strong junior team this season that fell last week to St. David in double overtime and also played a very tough game against St. Mary's (CWOSSA #6), losing 49-40.

Here's this week's ranking:

1.  Cameron Heights CI / Kitchener (#1)

2.  Sir John A. MacDonald SS / Waterloo (#2)

3.  St. John's College / Brantford (#3)

4.  Waterloo Collegiate / Waterloo (#4)

5.  Grand River Collegiate / Kitchener (#6)

6.  St. Mary's CHS / Kitchener (#7)

7.  St. David CSS / Waterloo (#9)

8.  St. Benedict CSS / Cambridge (HM)

9.  Eastwood Collegiate / Kitchener (HM)

10.  Resurrection CSS / Kitchener (#8)

Honourable Mentions / "On The Radar"
Centennial CVI / Guelph
St. James CHS / Guelph
John F. Ross CVI / Guelph
North Park CVI / Brantford
Forest Hts. CI / Kitchener
Monsignor Doyle CSS / Cambridge

Senior "CWOSSA" Top 10: Gaels Move To Top Spot

They won't have any games for the next few weeks, but the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels have moved into top spot in the weekly CWOSSABasketball.com Power Ranking, following an impressive week.

The Gaels defeated Galt Collegiate (CWOSSA #10) 78-39 in league play and then posted a key win over Brampton Campion (GTA #7) in tournament action as well as a close loss to Brampton D'Youville (GTA #6).

Here's a look at this week's senior ranking, with last week's in brackets:

1.  Cameron Heights CI / Kitchener (#2)

2.  Centre Dufferin DHS / Shelburne (#1)

3.  St. Mary's CHS / Kitchener (#3)

4.  Grand River CI / Kitchener (#6)

5.  Waterloo CI / Waterloo (#4)

6.  Huron Heights SS / Kitchener (#7)

7.  Centennial CVI / Guelph (#9)

8.  Bishop Macdonell CHS / Guelph (#5)

9.  North Park CVI / Brantford (#8)

10.  Galt Collegiate / Cambridge (#10)

Honourable Mentions / "On The Radar"
St. James CHS / Guelph
Bluevale CI / Waterloo
Eastwood CI / Kitchener
St. John's College / Brantford
Assumption College / Brantford
John F. Ross CVI / Guelph
 

Junior: Highlanders Cruise to Timmy Rose Title

The SJAM Highlanders (CWOSSA #2) flexed their muscle with some impressive weekend results at the St. David CSS "Timmy Rose Memorial" Tournament.

The Landers went 4-0 in the four team round-robin, with their closest game being a 69-56 win against Resurrection CSS.  Forward Nedim Hodzic had a most impressive stat-line in that game, going off for 33 points and 19 rebounds.  Joe Hunter had 12 for Rez in the loss.

Resurrection and St. David (playing without James McBride) both posted 2-2 records.  The Phoenix got past the Celtics in the finale of the tournament 67-57 (Ali Rashid, 23 points).  

Guelph schools St. James and Centennial both posted 1-3 records.

Here's a recap:

Friday
SJAM 67, St. David 37

St. James 59, Resurrection 58

Centennial 56, St. James 46

SJAM 59, Resurrection 46

Saturday

St. David 60, Centennial 43

SJAM over St. James

Resurrection 64, Centennial 57

St. David 62, St. James 46
SDCSS:  Alec Scheffler, 21

SJAM 57, Centennial 33

Resurrection 67, St. David 57
RCSS:  Ali Rashid, 23

Standings
1.  SJAM 4-0
2.  Resurrection 2-2 (H2H over SDCSS)
3.  St. David 2-2
4.  Centennial 1-3 (H2H over STJ)
5.  St. James 1-3             

Senior: Cameron Heights Impresses at Campion Showdown

Despite being without a couple of notable players (Nem Simic - illness & Jason Thompson - injury) this past weekend in Brampton, the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels had some impressive results at the annual "Campion Showdown" Senior Boys' Basketball Tournament.

The Gaels started their tournament by defeating St. Aloysius Gonzaga SS (Mississauga) by a 68-37 count.  Milos Jovkovic (14) and Vladimir Matovic (13) led the way in that one.

This matched-up Cameron Heights with the hosts Campion (#7 ranked GTA team) in the second round.  Despite playing in front of a raucous home crowd, the Gaels were able to prevail 66-59.  Vedran Dmitrovic (26) and Vladimir Matovic (26 Pts., 12 Reb., 5 Blocks) were the co-high scorers.

The Gaels then defeated Western Tech 60-45 in one semifinal, with Vedran Dmitrovic pouring home 37 points.

That win advanced Cameron through to the final, where they fell in a hard-fought battle to D'Youville (Brampton) 75-66.  Dmitrovic (21) and Matovic (14) paced the Gael attack, and were both later named to the tournament all-star team.

Kitchener Grand River CI also participated, going 1-1 in their pool with a 67-50 win over Philip Pocock (Mississauga) and a 78-58 loss to D'Youville.

The Renegades defeated Barrie Central 83-56 in their final game of the tournament. 

Here was an impressive highlight (well, maybe not if you're a Cameron fan) from the tourney final:
 

Senior: CDDHS Captures Resurrection Invitational

The Centre Dufferin Royals captured their second tournament championship of the season, posting a 61-46 victory over Bishop Reding (Milton) in the championship final of the Resurrection CSS Senior Invitational on Saturday.

The Royals actually enjoyed a 52-30 advantage after three quarters before resting several starters in the fourth, where Bishop Reding trimmed the deficit.

Daniel Craig (15), Marco Zanette (12) and Doug Costanzo (10) were all in double-figures for CDDHS while Mike Borlongan had a game-high 27 for Bishop Reding. 

The Royals also defeated Kitchener Eastwood (Semifinal - 67-54) and Owen Sound CVI (First Round - 67-58) over the weekend.

Here's a recap:

First Round
Bishop Reding 72, Resurrection 52
Essex DSS 52, CWDHS 42
Centre Dufferin 67, Owen Sound 58
Eastwood 73, Lourdes 43

Second Round
Bishop Reding 66, Essex 56
Centre Dufferin 67, Eastwood 54
Resurrection 56, CWDHS 51
Lourdes 66, Owen Sound 60

7th Place
CWDHS 46, Owen Sound 41

Consolation Final
Lourdes 48, Resurrection 36

3rd Place
Essex DSS 61, Eastwood 55

Championship
Centre Dufferin 67, Bishop Reding 53

SOSI (Senior): CWOSSA Results

FYI -- of note is that the WCI Vikings were without starting F Jacob Ranton this past weekend.

First Round

ACMT (Hamilton) 72, Bluevale (Waterloo) 22
BCI:  Garrett Large 6

WCI 59, St. Thomas Aquinas (Oakville) 50
WCI:  Dani Elgadi 26

Herman (Windsor) 60, Galt Collegiate 51
GCI:  Jack Simmons 21

Second Round

Ursuline (Chatham) 45, Bluevale CI 44
BCI:  Jeevan Sidhu 17

Collingwood 53, Galt CI 51 (2 OT)
GCI:  TJ Lall 20

Mount Carmel (Mississauga) 58, WCI 55
WCI:  Adam Anagnostopoulos 14

Third Round - All "Friendlies"

Nelson (Burlington) 59, Galt CI 51
GCI:  TJ Lall 22

WCI 50, Ancaster 36
WCI:  Zach Totzke 14

Bluevale 48, St. Thomas Aquinas (Oak.) 41
BCI:  John Efechaobor 18

Senior: Late Rally Sinks Green Eagles at Southwood Classic

The St. John's Green Eagles played great basketball for three quarters on Saturday evening at Southwood Secondary School in Cambridge.

Unfortunately for St. John's, a fourth quarter rally by Sarnia St. Christopher allowed them to capture the Southwood Roundball Classic in a 61-59 thriller.

The Green Eagles led 47-36 after three, but St. Christopher went on a 15-3 run capped by an Eric Steeves three-pointer that gave the Cyclones their first second-half lead at 51-50.

The teams would swap leads before Josh Elsely hit a three-pointer of a nice find from Mike Rocca which gave St. Christopher a 56-54 edge (1:45 left).  

The Cyclones would take a 4-point lead before Tim Dawson hit a three-pointer and :20 on the clock.  However, Rocca was able to dribble off 13 seconds (and pass off to Elsely) before St. John's was able to foul.  Elsely made one-of-two for the final margin as St. John's was unable to get a shot off on their last possession.

Rocca finished with 22 points to lead St. Christopher and all scorers while Tim Dawson had 19 for St. John's.

In earlier results:

3rd Place:  St. Benedict 48, Southwood 45
St. Benedict was fouled on a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left and made all 3 FTs for the win.  Brenden Flannigan had 15 for SBCSS while Zac Sauer led Southwood with 20.

Consolation Final:  KCI 48, Preston 35
KCI:  Stefan Simic 19
PHS:  Nathan Walsh 16

7th Place:  Brantford CI 59, Woodstock 56
BCI:  Chris Gorski & Ben Candy 16

Early Saturday Results
St. Christopher 63, Southwood 41
SSS:  Zac Sauer 17

St. John's 65, St. Benedict 64
STJ:  Connor Kuzmich & Cam Post 13
SBCSS:  Tyler Moulton 28

Preston 59, Woodstock 43
PHS:  Patrick Iskat 21

KCI 70, Brantford CI 47
KCI:  Sasha Simic 19
BCI:  Chris Gorski 13

First Round:  Friday Results
St. Benedict 52, Brantford CI 50
SBCSS:  Aaron Zammit 17
BCI:  Chris Gorski/Ben Candy 12

St. John's 69, KCI 49
STJ:  James Terejko 22, Tim Dawson 19
KCI:  Amanj Saber 13

Southwood 52, Preston 34
SSS:  Riley Clipper 15
PHS:  Tanner Derjugin 13

St. Christopher 56, Woodstock 24 

Senior: Southwood Roundball Classic Draw

Games go today and tomorrow at Southwood SS in Cambridge.  Semifinals tomorrow are at 12pm and 1:30pm, with the championship final at 7:30pm.

Today:  First Round
3:30pm - St. Benedict's vs. Brantford CI
5:00pm - KCI vs. St. John's (Brantford)
6:30pm - Preston vs. St. Christopher (Sarnia)
8:00pm - Southwood vs. Woodstock CI