Senior hoopsters break even in Thunder Bay

After two days of going full speed, a gas shortage stalled the Muskies’ machine.
The senior boys’ basketball squad were on a roll early but sputtered late as they finished with a 2-2 record at the Thunder Bay Basketball Officials Association tournament last weekend at Fort William Collegiate Institute.
“We were tired out,” Muskie co-coach Paul Noonan said about his team frittering away leads in both their final games after winning their first two.
“Mental and physical fatigue was too much for us to handle after playing four games in two days,” he added.
The Muskies had opened action with a spine-tingling 65-58 overtime win against St. Pat’s (Thunder Bay).
Cullan McGinnis, who led all Muskie scorers with 21 points, drained two three-pointers in the final minute, including one with five seconds left in regulation time to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Kevin Gemmell added 19 points for the black-and-gold while Vern Pham had 15.
Nipigon-Red Rock was the next team to wither in the face of the Muskies’ momentum. Gemmell netted 19 points, and Keith McKay chipped in 14, as Fort High took a 56-47 decision.
Bill Whitecrow added eight for the black-and-gold.
“In both those contests, we had a good transition game going with a lot of fast breaks and good ball distribution,” noted Noonan.
In what he coach called their toughest test, the Muskies led the St. Ignatius Falcons (Thunder Bay) 29-27 at the half. But an offensive drought after the break buried the Fort High crew as the Falcons soared to a 52-43 win.
Gemmell led the Muskies with 14 points while McKay had 12.
The team’s tourney finale against Manitouwadge was an instant replay of the Falcons’ game, as the Muskies let a 32-26 halftime lead slip away before falling 63-41.
“There’s no way we should have lost that game,” said Noonan. “We’ll face them again this season. We’ll see what happens.”
With exams starting this week, the Muskies won’t lace up their shoes again until Feb. 4 against the Eagles in Dryden, before attending the Beaver Brae Invitational tourney in Kenora on Feb. 7-8.
Their next home game is slated Feb. 13 against Dryden.