Senior hoopsters looking past NorWOSSA

The Muskies senior boys’ basketball team capped off a perfect regular season here yesterday afternoon by drubbing the Kenora Broncos 69-36.
The black-and-gold clinched first place in NorWOSSA with their 8-0 record and an automatic berth into the league final to be played here a week from Friday (Feb. 25).
They’ll meet the winner of the semi-final game between Dryden and Kenora.
But the Muskies are looking well past NorWOSSA. In fact, they’ve already set their sights on possibly playing the Hammarskjold Vikings (Thunder Bay) for the right to advance to the all-Ontarios.
“Without sounding too cocky, it’s safe to say were looking ahead to NWOSSAA,” Muskie co-coach Paul Noonan said after yesterday’s overpowering win.
“NorWOSSA is a step on the way to the all-Ontarios,” he added.
And who can blame the Muskies for being confident. Their past few league games have been lopsided affairs to say the least.
Yesterday, they opened up a 30-9 lead to put the game out of reach by the end of the first quarter.
“We bought our ‘A’ team to the floor in the first quarter,” said Noonan. “Sometimes [bringing in our bench players] interrupts our rhythm.”
The Muskies then outscored Kenora 8-2 in the second quarter, and quietly dominated the second half, using their size to their advantage against the Broncos.
They also showed off their outside shooting, landing a trio of bombs from three-point land.
Jamie Algie and Evan Woodland both finished with a team-high 14 points. Lucas Curshellas had a strong game coming off the bench.
The Muskies did much of the same last Thursday in Dryden, when they trounced the Eagles 58-28 up there. Doug LaBelle led the way with 16 while John Sivonen netted 15 and Woodland added 12.
Muskie co-coach Al McManaman said that size, and the fact they will be playing the NorWOSSA final on home court, bodes well for their chances of competing for the NWOSSAA crown.
“We’re very happy about [having home-court advantage],” he said. “It will save on travel time and we’re hoping to get some fans out.”
< *c>Juniors fall short
In junior action here yesterday, the Muskies played their second-straight game to be decided by a basket or less. Only this time, they came up on the short end of the score, losing 43-42 to Kenora.
They had nipped the Eagles 24-22 in an offensive snoozer up there last Thursday.
The loss dropped the Muskies to an even 4-4, meaning they’ll face Dryden in the semi-finals here Feb. 25, with the winner going on to face the Broncos.
Despite the tough loss, the Muskies proved yesterday they can play with Kenora. Early in the season, the Broncos prevailed by some lopsided scores but the black-and-gold slowly have closed the gap.
Using a full-court, man-to-man defence, the Muskies played a very strong game against Kenora.
“The defensive intensity has increased,” head coach Greg Ste. Croix said. “It was a good effort by everyone.
“As a coach, I would have liked the win but we’re knocking on the door and ready to bust through,” he added.
Geoffrey Gerley led the Muskies with 13 points while Dan Poperechny had nine and Vern Pham seven.
Yesterday’s loss came just a day after they dropped a tough 58-55 decision here to Sioux Lookout.
Poperechny was the Muskies’ scoring star in that one, pouring in a game-high 34 points. Gerley also had a strong game to finish in double figures.