Dan Falloon
Just moments after a heart-breaking 50-49 loss at the hands of the Sir Winston Churchill Trojans in the third-and-deciding game of the NWOSSAA final here Saturday afternoon, the Muskie senior boys’ basketball team already was looking on the bright side.
Muskie sharpshooter Justin Anderson, who helped keep Fort High close in the fourth quarter along with Josh Strain, felt he had reached another level of basketball ability—confident in every shot that he took.
“That was the best game of my life,” enthused Anderson, who tallied 13 points in Game 3.
“I’ve been there before, and this time I wasn’t thinking, I was just playing,” he explained.
“I didn’t think anything, I just went and did it,” he stressed. “It just got to the point where I knew everything was going to go in.”
That was one of the positives Anderson was taking from the Game 3 loss, which gave Churchill a 2-1 series win and earned the Trojans a berth at the all-Ontarios later this month.
But the way the game ended was as tough for the Muskies to stomach as the loss itself.
With seven seconds to go, Strain hit a jumper, was fouled on the play, and made the ensuing free throw to nudge the Muskies ahead 49-48.
The black-and-gold faithful roared their approval, but Strain said the final seven seconds felt like an eternity.
“I knew it wasn’t over,” he admitted.
But Strain was pleased he didn’t feel any late-game jitters, sinking the free throw easily after struggling at the line throughout the series.
“I’d missed every free throw in the series so far,” he recalled. “I always thought I was not clutch at all.”
Now trailing by one point, the desperate Trojans surged up the court and were forced to in-bound the ball with 1.5 seconds left.
The buzzer sounded, seeming to signal a narrow one-point victory, but a foul was called on the in-bound play, giving Trojan Tim Baxter two free throws.
Baxter sank both—earning the Trojans a trip to OFSAA over the stunned Muskies.
Muskie coach Kevin Gemmell would not comment directly on the call, but did admit feeling strange that his team’s season ended so suddenly.
“I’ll say this: the call was made and we lost. That’s all I can say about that,” the downtrodden rookie coach lamented.
“Basketball’s a funny game, and after this particular game, it’s hard to believe that you’re not going to practice on Monday.
“I feel for the kids,” Gemmell added. “They deserve that, and a lot of them think that something was taken away from them, but what are you going to do?
“The ref saw a foul and made a call.”
But it’s not as though the black-and-gold didn’t have chances to put the game away earlier.
Fort High had led 25-14 at the half, and were presented with a golden opportunity to expand their lead as Anderson had two free throws to start the second half but missed both.
Churchill came out possessed in the third quarter, tying the game at 36-36—challenging the Muskies to a run-and-gun, shot-for-shot contest in the final frame.
And in that Wild West shootout, the black-and-gold came up just a point short.
The Trojans’ comeback was sparked by Brandon Mylata, who netted 20 points before fouling out late in the game.
“I thought I was going to have a heart attack after that,” exclaimed Gemmell.
“In the huddles, the biggest thing was the focus,” he noted. “You
always have to try to maintain that focus.
“I was telling them that when I call time-out, ‘I want you to come over like dogs.’
“They’re attentive,” Gemmell added. “They’re just looking at you like ‘I’m ready to play.’”
The Muskies’ late-game strategy was simple: make shots and force the Trojans to hit theirs from the foul line.
“I told them to take the first open shot, knock it down, foul the ball quick,” Gemmell explained. “If you can foul one of their bench players, then make him go to the line instead of one of their shooters.
“And that’s what they did.”
Strain and Anderson, who sunk a pair of late three-pointers to help the Muskies keep pace, were Fort High’s two best players when they had to be—and both will be back for another run next season.
“They’re big-time players, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them win it next year,” Gemmell lauded.
The Trojans also played more aggressive defensively, hawking for the ball and breaking up three Muskie passes by leaping into their paths.
“It was just their energy,” noted Anderson. “We tried to slow everything down, hold on to your passes a little longer.”
Gemmell also said the Trojans had solved the Muskie defence late in Game 3, and were infiltrating it easily. Combined with the turnovers, he felt his squad spent too little time with possession of the ball late in the game to give them a fair shot at winning.
“When you have to play defence twice as much as the other team, for the sole reason that you’re not getting on the ball well and you’re not getting the bounces, it makes it two times harder,” bemoaned Gemmell.
Fort High had won Game 1 on Friday night by a score of 48-41 before Churchill knotted the series with a 39-35 win in Game 2 on Saturday morning.
After Friday’s game, Gemmell felt his team had shocked the Trojans with their talent, but also came out with more hustle and willingness to win.
“It just came down to desire,” he stressed. “More than anything, we had guys who stepped up.
“Justin and Josh controlled the game, but even guys coming off the bench, they were ready to play.
“Hats off to them,” Gemmell remarked. “They did the work, and they impressed me.
“They deserve that one.”
The Muskies drew impressive crowds for all three games, including a packed gym for the Game 1 win. Gemmell was thrilled with the intensity of the fans—fired up by Strain’s slam-dunk in the first half of the opener.
“The crowd was amazing,” he praised. “And right when Strain got the ball, you knew he was going to do that.
“I’ve told him all year about the skill he has and the ability he has to just ignite a crowd.
“That was 200 people and he just lit them up.”
Even in the face of a crushing defeat, Gemmell’s enthusiasm at the prospect of another OFSAA run next season wasn’t dampened.
“There’s nothing more you can say other than next year we’re going to be there again,” he reasoned.
