Flyers get their revenge
It took the Eden Flyers a full year to finally get even with the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs.
The Flyers, who dropped a heartbreaking 66-65 double overtime decision to the Bulldogs in the final of last year’s tournament, turned the tables on Sir Winston and came away with a 60-44 triumph Friday night in a championship round semifinal game at the 67th Annual Welland Tribune Basketball Tournament.
“It felt good,” Eden guard Luke Johnson said. “It was definitely on our minds from last year. We were fighting for that to get them back.”
Johnson, a 17-year-old, Grade 12 student, admitted the loss stayed with the Flyers.
“It’s always in the back of your mind but you have to fight through it. It doesn’t matter what’s in the past, you just play in the present,” he said.
Eden coach Jonathon Thorpe naturally enjoyed the win, but was well aware it didn’t come without a top-notch effort from his squad, particularly on defence.
“It certainly feels good but credit to Sir Winston,” Thorpe said. “Their first quarter was incredible. They shot the ball really, really well. We have a bunch of stuff we do defensively and we ran through a lot of our things we do until we found something that we thought would work. It took us until the second quarter to find that, and once we did, I think they only scored 20 points after the first quarter. Once we settled in defensively, we had a great game.”
The Flyers led 20-17 after one quarter before stretching the lead to 36-26 at the half and 56-32 after three quarters.
Johnson said the Bulldogs didn’t really hit the Flyers with any surprises.
“You get to know the team, you know what they’re doing,” he said. “They may bring out one or two things to shock you but you know their style and know what they’re going to bring. You always want to start the game strong, you don’t want to get down and stay up. They were hitting shots and we had to fight back and keep shooting and making our points.”
Johnson netted 16 and said the Flyers are at their best when they score by committee.
“It’s just whoever is there, they score. It’s not a one-man team. We swing it around and try and score. Everyone tries to move it around for who’s open. It’s not one guy who scores every time,” he said.
Thorpe appreciates Johnson’s contributions.
“Luke is always steady,” Thorpe said. “That’s probably his biggest attribute. He’s a steady player who makes good decisions with the ball, can shoot the three well and is an elite defender on a perimeter player. He helps us out in all sorts of ways.”
The Flyers now have an opportunity to capture their first Tribune Tournament championship in their third trip to the finals. They lost last year and also in 2013 to Notre Dame.
“This is what the guys have been targeting all season, championship games in tournaments. That’s been the objective to get to the championship game and then put our best foot forward when we get there. The guys are ready,” Thorpe said.
Flyers 60 Bulldogs 44
Mountainview Building Group Players of the Game: Eden’s Kai Schatz and Sir Winston’s Jared Cook.
Eden Flyers: Chad Thorpe 20; Luke Johnson 16; Kai Schatz 15; Luke Midgley 7; Dylan Durlov 2.
Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Will McAlpine 14; Sawyer Neufeld 11; Danial Nunez Colome 9; Matteo Scaglione 5; Jared Cook 4.
Up next: The Flyers advance to the championship final Saturday versus A.N. Myer at 7 p.m.
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