Juniors cruise to home hoops title

Staying as undefeated over the weekend as they have all season, the Muskie junior boys’ basketball team pounded any competition that came their way to capture their home tournament.
After opening play Friday with a 41-23 win over the Kenora Broncos and a 43-31 victory over the Dryden Eagles, Fort High wrapped up the title Saturday afternoon with a 42-32 win over the Churchill Trojans (Thunder Bay).
“I think the key to the success this weekend was keeping it simple,” Muskie head coach Greg Ste. Croix said. “More and more guys are stepping it up and when more guys step up, we can play more guys for more minutes.”
Ste. Croix said the key to winning by broad margins in all three games was rolling with the team’s depth—knowing he could rest his starters and rely on the bench, not out of desperation but rather preparation for the next few matches.
He named Chris Legg, Josh Strain, and Justin Anderson as his three “go-to players” who performed well enough as leaders to open up the Muskie roster.
“They play a steady, consistent game, and when they play steady, it allows some players to step in and play roles,” he noted.
Anderson said he was disappointed in his own outside shooting but otherwise agreed with Ste. Croix.
“I think we played better than usual,” he remarked. “I think the post players played way better, got a lot of rebounds.
“I think Cody Brown played really well, too,” Anderson added, crediting the rangy Brown for some strong play over the weekend that often didn’t translate into points on the scoresheet.
Anderson also named Jake McIntosh, who netted 14 points in the finale against Churchill for the team-high total, as one of the weekend’s difference-makers.
The juniors will be hibernating over the Christmas break. After yesterday’s regular-season action in Kenora, the squad won’t see any competitive action until Jan. 8 for another away game against the Broncos.
But while they’re closing this half of the season looking flawless, Ste. Croix knows what this team needs to work on.
“There’s always room for improvement,” he said. “We’ve got a ways to go. Watching both Dryden and Kenora, they’re improving, they’re learning, they’re getting better.
“We’ve got to do the same,” he stressed.
While turnovers have been one of the team’s sore points, and Anderson figured team defence could be improved, Ste. Croix said that while it’s a work in progress, he likes the direction the undefeated Muskies are headed in.
“We’ve got an experienced team, we’ve got great leadership, and we’ve got some good developing players coming off the bench,” he noted.
In other matches from the four-team tournament here, Dryden topped Kenora 33-26, Churchill stomped the Eagles 41-16, and Churchill dumped the Broncos 40-22.