Lucas Punkari
After waiting around for nearly the entire day for their 8 p.m. tip-off of the NorWOSSA senior boys’ basketball final, the Muskies were a bit slow out of the against the host Kenora Broncos on Tuesday afternoon.
But after finding their legs, the black-and-gold showed why they were the top team during the regular season as they went on to capture NorWOSSA gold by a score of 50-23.
“Waiting around all day gave us a sluggish start, and they [Kenora] went on an 8-0 run before we got our first points on the board,” recalled Muskie head coach Paul Noonan.
“Once we got into the second quarter, we got rolling and outscored them by a 17-4 margin, which allowed us to then pull away for the win,” he added.
Justin Anderson led the way with 20 points while Josh Strain and Caleb MacIntosh added 12- and 10-point performances, respectively.
The Muskies now will face the Superior Gryphons in the best-of-three NWOSSAA final this weekend in Thunder Bay with a berth to the all-Ontarios in North Bay from March 7-9 on the line.
The Gryphons, who went undefeated en route to their first-ever senior boys’ crown, are led by the sharp-shooting Alex Robichaud, originally from New Brunswick and who is committed to play for the Lakehead University Thunderwolves next season.
“He’s someone that we’ll have to key on, along with a couple of their three-points shooters, to try and slow down,” Noonan explained.
“We’ve played them twice already this year and lost both games by double digits, so we’ll need to make sure we get out to a quick start and play strong defensively,” he stressed.
The series will open tomorrow at 2 p.m. (ET) at the Superior gym, with Game 2 scheduled for 10 a.m. (ET) on Saturday.
Game 3, if necessary, will go Saturday at 2 p.m. (ET).
Meanwhile, the Muskie senior girls’ volleyball squad also will be vying for the NWOSSAA title this weekend as they host the St. Ignatius Falcons (Thunder Bay) to determine which team will head to OFSSA on March 8-9 in Ottawa.
The best-of-three series opens tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Fort High, with Game 2 starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Game 3, if necessary, is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Fort High fell to Dryden in four sets in the NorWOSSA final on Tuesday in Kenora but earned the right to battle for the NWOSSAA berth at OFSSA because Dryden already qualified by virtue of their runner-up showing at the all-Ontarios last year.
Both junior Muskie court teams were eliminated in the semi-finals at the NorWOSSA playoffs Tuesday in Kenora.
The junior boys’ hoops squad were edged 42-40 by the host Broncos while the junior girls’ spikers lost to Kenora in four sets.
