The Lockerby Vikings had already upset the Lasalle Lancers in SDSSAA Boys Basketball semi-final play (63-62) and, truth be told, they put themselves in a position to take a shot against the defending champion Lo-Ellen Park Knights last Saturday afternoon.
True, it would be naive to ignore the impact of Lo-Ellen being without multi-sport standout Quin Mazzuchin for most of that game, but it certainly is not as though the Knights' cupboards are bare without their star player.
When the gap narrowed to just five points on a couple of occasions in the second half of the eventual 64-53 Lo-Ellen victory, one could point to one specific factor, above all others. When Lo-Ellen pulled away, the same factor was most typically in play.
“We’ve got to shoot the ball a little better,” noted head coach Mac Bertrand, his team surviving a scare and now preparing to try and earn a trip to OFSAA, competing at the NOSSA tournament in Sault Ste Marie.
“Our defense has been good but our shooting has been up and down. When we shoot the ball well, we’re hard to beat.”
After not sinking a three-point basket in the first half, senior Will Church racked up five in the final 16 minutes of play, including four in the fourth quarter alone, finishing the contest with 20 points for the Knights. Noah Skrobot (13), Brayden Legendre (12) and Hunter Laplante (8) also chipped in nicely for LEP while Zeb Aulenbach was a one-man wrecking crew for Lockerby, topping all players with a 21-point effort.
“Zeb is great at getting downhill and they use a lot of ball screen action, which makes it hard to guard,” said Bertrand. “We did a good job early and then it kind of broke down and he got to the rim a lot.”
Up 32-18 at the half, Lo-Ellen saw their opponents who posted a 4-3 record in regular season play make a pair of runs, cutting the deficit to just five on a pair of occasions.
“I was really proud of the boys for keeping their poise,” said Bertrand. “Will made some big shots and the guys played great down the stretch.”
The balance of the Lo-Ellen roster is comprised of: Yug Patel, Kobi Elendu, Narayan Shukla, Alexzander Stafford-Snow, Keelan Donnelly, Ethan Farrugia, Adrian Aho and coach Mac Bertrand.
Undefeated throughout the regular season, the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes found themselves in a battle in the SDSSAA Junior Division I boys basketball final on Saturday, clinging to a 33-31 lead over the Lasalle Lancers after two quarters of play and holding on to trim their resilient adversaries, 61-56.
"When you get to the city finals, everyone is going to give everything they've got," noted CND head coach Martin Nadeau, his team losing but one game all season long, that being to these same Lancers in the final of the Zenon Ziemba Tournament in Timmins.
"We knew that this was not going to be an easy game," he continued. "Lasalle rebounds very, very, very well. That's one of their strengths. And being a smaller-sized team, we knew that was going to be one of our challenges."
Thankfully, the Alouettes' nest is home to two of the top offensive threats in the city. The one-two punch of Thomas Deredin (22) and Angelo Kalonji (18 pts) were front and centre, yet again, for the Alouettes.
"They are the perfect duo," said Nadeau. "Angelo is explosive, athletic - and can get to the rim with ease. Once he gets to the rim, teams will collapse their zone and he makes the right pass to either the corner or to Tommy, who was fielding a very hot hand."
Notre-Dame Alouettes: Ethan Adou, Roland Bostrom, Carson Cook, Roman D'Aoust, Hudson Dennison, Liam Hagen, Samuel Niyonkuru, Kaleb Parent, Noah Sabourin, Eden Yedess, Thomas Deredin, Angelo Kalonji, head coach Martin Nadeau and assistant coach Logan MacIntyre.
The Lockerby Novice Vikings wrapped up a perfect season, breaking free in the second half in defeating the Horizon Aigles 51-36 after sitting tied at 19-19 at the break. Charlie Chisholm (17), Carter Brunet (11) and Preston Pitawanakwat (10) paced the offense for the winners.
Lockerby lineup: Xavier Fenske, Jawad Majdi, Connor Whitford, Szabo Aulenbach, Osaze Aibangbee, Carter Brunet, Allen Oseu, P.J. Sequina, Preston Pitawanakwat, Charlie Chisholm, Ben Cole, John Hodgins and coaches Brent Coulas and David Brunet.
The Division II senior crown was nabbed by the Hanmer Sabres, 66-35 winners over the Confederation Chargers with the gold medal winning roster, as follows: Simon Riutta, Samuel Aubin, Shawn Chiasson, Jeremy Babe-Lavoie, Mika Giroux, Ayden Courtemanche, Xavier Frappier, Raymond Gascon, Alexandre Montpellier and head coach Steve Cotnoir.
Closing things off, the Macdonald-Cartier Panthères fought back from a 20-point third quarter deficit, edging Confederation 54-52 in the Junior Division II final tilt.
ESMC Pantheres: Maxim Belzile, Declan Smith, Aiden Landry-Larcher, Alex Thomson, Chase Vandelight, Tanner Breit, Bertrand Selougou, Cole Forget, Mathieu Bélanger, Elliot Buck and coach Ron Poulin.
