Raiders knock off Tigers
Holy Cross forward Matt Ferron. PHOTO BY: BILL POTRECZ
It wasn’t easy and it certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Holy Cross Raiders eked out a win over the Ridley College Tigers Monday as The Standard High School Basketball Tournament got underway.
The Raiders prevailed 25-23, despite being kept off the board in the third quarter.
“We had our looks but we just couldn’t make our shots,” Holy Cross forward Matt Ferron said. “If we could have made our shots, we would have been up by at least 10 points and it would have been a way different game.”
Ferron led the Raiders with nine points, including a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter.
“I felt like I missed a lot of open shots but I hit my clutch shots that we needed to get back into the game,” said Ferron, an 18-year-old, Grade 12B student said.
The Raiders did manage to execute on the other side of the ball.
“We wanted to work hard. We are on a three-game win steak and we wanted to keep that up and work hard on defence and I think we did that,” he said. “Our offence still needs quite a bit of work but we locked them down pretty good.”
Holy Cross coach Mike Hendrickse appreciated how his squad managed to grind out the win.
“I was super happy,” he said. “That score was so low — we didn’t score any points in the third — but we told them they are a good team and they’re going to come back and make a run. Luckily, we came back with a run of our own and made some shots at the end to keep us in it.”
Hendrickse is confident things will improve on offence with more reps.
“We’re talented but sometimes we just don’t put it together,” he said. “When we do, it’s gratifying to see.
“I think experience is huge. None of our guys play rep basketball so we’re just trying to put them together and as time goes on, I think you’ll see some improvement.”
The Tigers were playing for the first time as a team this season.
“We’re only been together for about two weeks so I’m happy the guys were able to play some good defence and lock them down and force them to make the shots from the outside,” Ridley coach Derrick des Vignes said.
Like the Raiders, the Tiger have some work to do on offence.
“We weren’t composed offensively and we weren’t disciplined offensively so we got a little scattered. When we got the ball we didn’t make the decisions coming down at the end to shoot the ball well. The onus is on us to make better choices offensively.”
The Tigers are the defending consolation champions, but their coach isn’t thinking in those terms.
“It’s not about winning the tournament, it’s about winning each game as they come,” des Vignes said. “As long as we’re playing better, I’m happy. If we happen to lose a close game where we played really well, I can live with that. As long as we’re getting better with each game, that’s the ultimate goal.”
STATS PACK
Raiders 25 Tigers 23
BPSN Star of the Game: Holy Cross forward Matt Ferron with nine points.
Cougars 66 Patriots 12
For the Holy Cross Raiders: Ferron 9; Adrian Waszak 6; Sebastian Balsom 4; Isiah Amio 4; Tinashe Dandato 2.
For the Ridley College Tigers: Kenny Anaebonam 9; Alula Hilawe 8; Dimitri Nitsopolous 3; Kofi Osei-Opare 3.
Cyclone 45 Flyers 38
Owen Dobbie poured in a game-high 18 points as the E.L. Crossley Cyclone edged the Eden Flyers by seven.
Davison Shepherd added eight while Tyler Dobbie had six and Durieal Bell five. Josh Lahn, Ryan Dykstra, Graeme McKinley and Liam Milan added two each
Ryan Gilbert paced the Flyers with 18 while Ryan Ghosh added eight. Eddie Zhou had four, Charlie Edgar and Micah Niuewets three and Jacob McMillan two.
Up next: Centennial takes on E.L. Crossley at Eden at 7:30 p.m. On the consolation side, the Flyers meet the Patriots ay 6 p.m. at Eden.
