The Muskie senior boys’ basketball team has been all but unstoppable so far this season–and they’re hoping it will stay that way at the all-Ontarios in Timmins.
“We have been focused on it [OFSAA] all year,” noted head coach Paul Noonan. “I still think we are good enough to compete.”
The black-and-gold, ranked 11th out of the 16 teams competing at the ‘AA’ tournament, took to the floor for their opening game at 12:15 p.m. (EST) today against top-ranked Chatham MacGregor.
If they win, they’ll play again tomorrow at 1:15 p.m. (EST) against the loser of the game between sixth-ranked Woodroffe (Ottawa) and 16th-ranked Theriault (Timmins).
If they lose today’s game, they’ll face the winner of the Woodroffe-Theriault contest tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.
The quarter-finals are slated tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., with the semi-finals set for Friday at 10:15 a.m. and noon (all times EST).
The finals will go later Friday.
Noonan is confident the Muskies will do well in Timmins. “I think they will do good. I have full confidence we can go down there and play well,” he enthused before the team left Monday afternoon.
But he also admitted everyone’s a little bit nervous, too.
“I think they will be excited [to get to OFSAA]. They are still excited from the NWOSSAA victory,” Noonan said.
As reported in Monday’s Daily Bulletin, the Muskies advanced to the all-Ontarios after sweeping Hillcrest (the Thunder Bay champs) in the best-of-three NWOSSAA final last weekend in the Lakehead.
They squeaked by the Spartans 56-52 in the opener Friday night, then cruised to the gold medal with a 60-31 rout on Saturday morning.
“It was an excellent weekend–it couldn’t have been any better,” said Noonan.
John Sivonen led the way with 16 points in the second game, followed by Evan Woodland (15), Jamie Algie (10), Gary Wager (seven), Jock Gemmell (six), Mark Mercure (four), and Travis Derkson (two).
Sivonen also paced the attack Friday night with 21 points. Woodland was next with 14, followed by Wager (eight), Algie (seven), and Gemmell (six).
“I was never worried we would lose,” Noonan said despite the close margin of victory. “We should have won by 20 points.”
Still, with less than two minutes to go in regulation time, the Muskies found themselves clinging to a 50-49 lead.
“In the last minute-and-a-half, we were leading 50-49 and I said to the guys, ‘I don’t want to sit on a one-point lead.’
“Evan [Woodland] went out and sunk a three-pointer, then Hillcrest had to come at us and they fouled us [and it was all over],” Noonan recalled.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
