The Muskie senior boys’ basketball team claimed NorWOSSA gold last Thursday in Kenora with a 65-58 victory over the host Broncos in the league finale.
The black-and-gold led 20-6 after the first quarter and then 28-23 at the half, but the Broncos exploded for 23 third-quarter points to grab a narrow 46-43 advantage heading into the final quarter.
The defending champs reclaimed control in that final quarter, however, draining 22 points to record the seven-point margin of victory.
Jeremy Strain sparked the Muskie attack with 23 points while Talbot Johnson netted 12 and Garnet Cornell nine.
The win earned the Muskies a berth in the best-of-three NWOSSAA final against the Thunder Bay champs, which is set to be staged this Friday and Saturday in the “Fish Tank.”
The first game is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. The second game will go Saturday at 10 a.m., with Game 3 (if necessary) held that afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
If successful here, the hoopsters will travel to Oshawa for the all-Ontarios coming up March 3-5.
The road to Oshawa has a big roadblock however, in the form of either the Westgate Tigers or Churchill Trojans.
After dropping the opener of the best-of-three Thunder Bay league final to Churchill, the Tigers roared back with a 53-39 victory in Game 2 to force the third and deciding game last night (the outcome was not available at press time).
According to the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, regardless of which Fort William-area entry makes the trip here, it will be the first time since 1997 that one of the three Port Arthur-based schools (Hammarskjold, Port Arthur Collegiate, or the Hillcrest Colts) has not claimed the city’s senior boys’ basketball crown.
For a veteran Muskie squad, it’s the second season in a row they’ve achieved NorWOSSA gold—and the next step that eluded them last year is but two wins away.
Last February, the black-and-gold dropped a pair of games to Hammarskjold in the NWOSSAA finale, going down 64-50 and 49-27 to the host Vikings.
This season, all five starters are back bigger, stronger, faster, and likely even hungrier for an NWOSSAA crown in what could be their Muskie swan song.
Shooting guard Morgan Anderson (6’3”), point guard Garnet Cornell (6’0”), swing guard Joey Theriault (6’1”), and strong forwards Travis Stromness (6’4”) and Jeremy Stain (6’3”) all played prominent rolls on this year’s team.
The Muskies also boast a strong supporting cast that includes sixth man Talbot Johnson, along with Mike Sande, Gavin Gibbons, Kurtis Gustafson, Aaron Oakes, Kurtis Hill, and Dexter Hunsperger.
After finishing 6-1 in NorWOSSA play and 16-6 overall, it may be the strongest senior boys’ basketball squad Fort High has fielded in several years.
And with five returning grade 11s, the possibility of several Grade 12 players coming back, and a wealth of Grade 10 talent moving up, the black-and-gold looked poised to continue as a NorWOSSA basketball power.
Longtime Muskie basketball coach Paul Noonan, who has been assisted on the bench this season by his daughter, Sarah, and FFHS principal Gord McCabe, is hoping for a good home crowd for the games this Friday and Saturday.
< *c>Juniors win
The Muskie senior boys were not the only court team to strike gold last Thursday at the NorWOSSA playoffs in Kenora.
The junior boys, led by veteran basketball and volleyball coach Greg Ste. Croix, dominated the host Broncos—winning gold with a 49-33 victory.
Fort High dominated every aspect of the gold-medal game, grabbing an amazing 32 rebounds en route to their second-consecutive gold medal.
Jacob McIntosh led the way with 18 points while grabbing five steals.
Tyler Abma and Chris Legg had eight points and seven rebounds apiece, with guard Justin Anderson chipping in seven points and five rebounds and Josh Strain contributing six points and seven rebounds.
While their season is officially over (there is no NWOSSAA playoff at the junior level), the boys will be back on the court tomorrow (Feb. 21) as they travel across the bridge to face the International Falls Grade 9 squad.
A 6 p.m. start time is planned.
< *c>Spikers fall
On the volleyball court, both the Muskie senior team (headed up by Duane Roen) and the junior side (coached by Cynthia Donald, Adrian Chapman, and Summer Struve) dropped four-set semi-final matches to the host Broncos last Thursday.
The seniors split the first two sets, losing 25-6 in the opener before rebounding with a 25-20 win to even the match, then fell 25-18 and 25-10 to finish their season.
The high flying juniors, who entered the semi-final with a 4-3 league record, dropped a pair of squeakers by scores of 25-21 and 25-20 to start the match.
They won the third set 25-23 but could not keep the momentum going, losing 25-16 in the fourth set to see their season draw to a close.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
