Some SDSSAA championship weekends carry far more drama than others.
With the high-school boys basketball and girls volleyball banners on the line – all ten of them – this past weekend, it was the Friday afternoon triple-header at Ben Avery Gym that most kept the assembled crowd constantly on the edge of their seats.
The hoopsters were back at the same setting 24 hours later, but Lo-Ellen Park Knights dominance was the story of the day on Saturday.
Upsets, comebacks and an overtime matchup were all in order at Laurentian University to kick things off – along with an energetic crowd that thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of the Novice and Division II finals.
Fans of the junior boys division II encounter got more than they bargained for after the Confederation Chargers and Bishop Carter Gators found themselves deadlocked at 39-39 after three quarters of play and again at 50-50 when the suddenly “not-so-final” buzzer sounded.
Period five, however, belonged to the underdogs as the Chargers, who finished the season tied at 6-2 with the Hanmer Sabres, outscored the unbeaten (8-0) Gators 19-9 in OT, taking the crown with a 69-59 win.
The Chargers were led by the troika of Kaidin McFarlane (30 pts), Cameron Quesnel (16) and Zander Charlebois (12), while Bently Szwed (19) and Carter Rideout (18) countered for BAC.
Remainder of Confederation roster: Domadius Aziz, Dylan Dakin, D.J. Synonette, Aayden Robidoux, Nick Clifford, Ryder McKee, Kaden Dixon
The upset mode remained in play for the last of the three-game set on Friday as the Champlain Requins, who posted a 3-3 regular season mark to finish behind Lively, Notre-Dame and Hanmer, all at 5-1, came up big when it mattered the most.
The Requins overcame a 43-38 deficit heading to the fourth quarter of play, lighting it up for a 23-point outburst and stopping the Sabres 61-57 in the senior boys division II gold medal affair.
The champs rode a well balanced attack that would see the entire quartet of Ty O’Bomsawin (14), Tyler Young (11), Logyn Bernard (11) and Joshua Leroux (10) all hit double digits in victory.
Hanmer were paced offensively by the one-two punch of Félix Aubin and Aidan Courtemanche, combining for 29 points that were split almost dead evenly.
Remainder of Champlain roster: Hayden Purvis, Ethan Taylor, Herbert Watkins, Callum Lepage, Roch Gareau, Adrien Majcher, Miguel Boulet
With Lo-Ellen, St Charles College and Collège Notre-Dame all posting records of 8-2 this year, hopes were high that the Novice clash might come right down to the wire. The Cardinals, however, had other thoughts, blasting out to a 23-11 first quarter lead and bringing it home by outscoring the Knights 20-11 in the final eight minutes of play as SCC bounced LEP 76-62 in the final.
Will Laporte-Alexander (30) and Colton Sartor (27) accounted for exactly 75% of their team’s point production, showing the way for St Charles while Bryson Marshall (19) and Gilles Guignard (15) topped the charts for Lo-Ellen.
Remainder of St Charles College roster: Joshua Paradis, Ricardo Reid-Richard, Kingsten Pitawanakwat, Temiloluwa Olusola, Braeden Thibeault, Pierce Schinke, Zachariah Sanchu, Timi Modupe, Tomiwa Gagophien, Yvan Timbancaya, Mayokun Ogunleye, Wesley Virkki
Saturday was all Lo-Ellen as the junior Knights set the tone with an 88-67 win over St Charles College and the seniors ramped it up a notch, taking down the Lasalle Lancers 86-51. After struggling mightily from beyond the arc (2/29) just two weeks ago in a win over the St Benedict Bears, the senior Knights caught fire in a tournament that weekend in Woodbridge and continued to roll through the playoffs this week.
Quin Mazzuchin set the tone early from distance, registering 20 points by game’s end, with Will Church (21 pts – four threes) and Adam Scott (17 pts – three threes) following quickly in his footsteps as Lo-Ellen ran the table at 10-0 versus local opposition.
“We can all shoot the ball, we can all drive, we can all pass,” said Church, part of a veteran group that sees all but Adam Scott eligible to return for at least one more year at Lo-Ellen, should they so choose. “Passing up good shots for better shots, moving the ball and finding good looks, that’s how we get the job done.”
With head coach Mac Bertrand quick to give thanks to assistant coaches Mike Scott and Carter Benson – “we could not have got here without them – I’m so appreciative” – the Knights were able to pin-point keys at both ends of the court, a critical asset when you have a team that is not blessed with a traditional “big” on the inside.
“We’re all really aggressive on defense,” said Church. “We take a lot of pride in our defense – and we rebound the hell out of the ball. Finding a body and boxing out is key, but tracking the ball is also a big part of it.”
Remainder of Lo-Ellen roster: Brayden Legendre, Noah Skrobot, Hunter Laplante, Kobi Elendu, Joel Ankomah, Mishal Olanrewaju, Anderson Parent, Ethan Farrugia, Michael Seccaspina
The depth across the roster was also evident in the junior contest as five Knights hit double digits in a very high-scoring affair for this age bracket: Narayan Shukla (23); Yug Patel (18); Adrian Aho (17); Paolo Rocca (13); Jack O’Connell (11).
SCC scoring leaders were: Brett Rienguette (22) and Tyson McMahon (20)
“The best part of this team is having very well-rounded players,” suggested Adrian Aho, his team having won a big tournament in Pembroke and losing in the final of another well-attended event in Peterborough.
“I can move the ball to anyone and know that I can trust them, which is a big thing.”
Under the direction of head coach Patrick Thom, the junior Knights progressed nicely, remaining undefeated (6-0) in league action before eliminating Lasalle (79-71 – QF) and St Benedict (73-53) en route to the final.
“Our biggest improvement this year is being calm with the ball,” acknowledged Aho. “At the start of the season, we had lots of turnovers and were nervous to shoot. Now we’re all much more confident in ourselves.”
Remainder of Lo-Ellen roster: Monjed Hussam Eddin, Skyler Laplante, Levi Blouin, Alexzander Stafford, Landon Francis, Kai Kumar
