Dan Falloon
Set to host
NWOSSAA
showdown
The Kenora Broncos had provided some late-season headaches for the Muskie seniors boys’ basketball team.
Kenora upset the Muskies 49-41 back on Feb. 4, and nearly repeated the feat the following week before falling 49-46.
But with NorWOSSA gold and a trip to the NWOSSAA playoffs on the line, Fort High wasn’t about to let their lofty hopes come down to a close game.
The black-and-gold scored early and often Friday in Dryden, building leads of 19-4 after the first quarter and 34-16 at the half to squash the Broncos 66-36 in the NorWOSSA final Friday and advance to the NWOSSAA championship against the Thunder Bay champs.
Muskie coach Kevin Gemmell said his brief instructions were not lost on the team: If they came out ready to play, then they would likely emerge.
“I just told them to come out focused,” Gemmell said. “And they came focused and they never lost it.
“The result shows that.”
The rookie head coach argued the Broncos weren’t necessarily doing anything differently in their last two regular-season match-ups that the Muskies really had to plan for or respond to.
He felt the key to victory was just breaking Fort High out of a stretch of lackadaisical play in those two games; that if the Muskies played up to their potential, a championship likely would follow.
“I felt it was one of our best games all year,” Gemmell grinned. “And that’s what you really want to see in a big game situation.
“The guys really brought it tonight.”
He felt his team responded well to the little bit of adversity that it faced late in the season, and felt that going out with something to prove lit a fire under his players.
“When it gets intense like that is when they really get it going. It’s just a game of emotions and they really got it going,” Gemmell enthused.
“The momentum just pushed us through the whole game.”
The highlight of Friday’s final was when Justin Anderson and Dustin Eyolfson connected for a near alley-oop that was banked off the backboard and in. The play elicited a cheer from the Muskie bench and from the stands.
“Normally it’s a dunk, but it was still a great play,” Gemmell said. “It was the icing on the cake.
“They make great plays like that and they pump each other up.”
That offensive flash was missing in the early stages of the game, however, as the Broncos gained control after the opening tip-off, keeping the Muskies from even touching the ball until more than two minutes into the game.
Kenora passed the ball around looking to penetrate the Muskie defence, and in doing so forced Fort High into three fouls before the black-and-gold gained possession.
“The first possession there, they won the tip-off and we usually win the tip-off with Josh Strain,” noted Gemmell. “We didn’t touch the ball for about two minutes.
“When you’re a skilled team, you want to get the ball and you want to get to work, but we didn’t really get a crack at it for a while.
“They were almost scared to be aggressive . . . but then we the got the ball and we got a lead, and really just took off from there.”
Fort High’s offensive outburst also was sprinkled with defensive gems as the Muskies made a number of impressive blocks on the Broncos’ forwards—swatting away shots and overwhelming Kenora’s attack.
Gemmell felt the game was an encouraging springboard to a date with Thunder Bay’s top team in the NWOSSAA championship.
“Being in that locker-room, they’ve got the attitude that anything can happen,” said Gemmell.
“We’ve just got to win two games [to advance to the all-Ontarios].”
