Redcoats hold off Bulldogs
The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs gave the Governor Simcoe Redcoats a run for their money Thursday at the 68th Annual Welland Tribune Basketball Tournament.
The Redcoats eventually prevailed 61-50 to advance to the semifinals of the championship bracket, but not without a fight against a pesky Bulldogs squad.
Simcoe forward Ari Steenhuis said the Redcoats did not take the Bulldogs lightly.
“This year, anybody can beat anybody,” he said. “There’s a few better teams and a few worse teams, but if that worse team shows up and the better team doesn’t, the worse team is going to win. It’s pretty balanced team-wise; there’s a lot of good teams out here.”
Simcoe coach Shaun Feor said the game felt like a chess match.
“They adjusted very well so it was a matter of making adjustments to the sets that we wanted so that we could kind of pull away,” Feor said. “It was our third time playing them this year so it’s really been a chess match between the two schools. Fortunately we’ve won all three games, but every game gets a little tighter, a little more competitive. It’s because each coaching staff is making adjustments to what they’ve seen before.”
Sir Winston coach Youri Mutamba said the plan was to try and slow down the Redcoats.
“Our plan was to try to contain them, slow down their best players, force them into taking tough shots,” he said. “Rebounding was something that actually killed us. We just weren’t rebounding enough to win the game, but overall I think we did well. It’s just that second quarter, leading up to the third, got us in a hole.”
Steenhuis netted 21 for the Redcoats, who struggled with any offensive consistency early on.
“You kind of got to get over it mentally,” he said “Shoot and they’ll start to fall and if the shots aren’t going in, get to the rack and make it a little easier for yourself.”
Steenhuis did just that with three slam dunks in the first half.
“It brings energy to the bench and you know a dunk always feels good,” he smiled.
Between Steenhuis’ 21 and Noah Budgell’s 30, the Redcoats dynamic duo accounted for all but 10 of their points.
“Teams key on Budge and we rely heavily on Ari, and then even further than that, we really need scoring out of Anderson Blanchard and Reid Oakes,” Feor said. “Everyone plays a big role.”
Steenhuis is preparing for an even tougher match in the semifinals Friday.
“We have to just keep playing hard, put our heads down, play gritty, get every loose ball, get to the rack, start hitting shots, play with intensity, everything,” he said.
STATS PACK
Redcoats 61 Bulldogs 50
Policella Homes Players of the Game: Ari Steenhuis of Simcoe and Owen Scott of Sir Winston Churchill.
Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Noah Budgell 30; Ari Steenhuis 21; Reid Oakes 7; Anderson Blanchard 3.
Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Owen Scott 14; Drase Charles 12; Isaak Pino Martinez 10; DeAndre Lindsay 6; Azlan Dhami 5; Leo Uttley 3.
Tournament gate: Admission for Friday’s and Saturday’s games is $5 for adults and $3 for students, cash only.
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