Irish crowned Tribune champions

Aidan Lucchetta couldn’t have scripted it any better.

When the final buzzer sounded Saturday night, his Notre Dame Fighting Irish team had defeated the Saint Paul Patriots 82-71 in the championship game of the 68th Annual Welland Tribune Basketball Tournament and the Grade 11 student was holding the MVP trophy.

“It is like a dream. It has been my goal ever since Grade 9 watching the teams before me competing and winning the Tribune,” the 16-year-old said. “It is amazing and I wanted to put myself out there, create a legacy and win that MVP. It has been my mission from the jump.”

He ended up averaging 15.3 points per game in the tournament, including 15 in the championship game.

Andrew Lucchetta, Aidan’s father and Notre Dame’s head coach, was thrilled for his son.

“It was a great tournament for him. The kid has been working his butt off for the last four or five years nonstop to try and get to this level. He wants to be the best player. It is a credit to his work ethic. He works hard in the gym, he works hard in school and he is a team player who wants to win but he wants to do it with his teammates which is the best thing about it.”

And while Aidan Lucchetta was great throughout the tournament, Trent Groulx was a deserving choice as Notre Dame’s player of the game in the final. Groulx finished with 13 points in the game, but had upwards of 25 rebounds and was a game-changer at both ends of the floor.

“I told him at the end of the game that I had never seen him rebound like that in my life. He came out tonight and wanted the ball and wanted to win this more than anyone,” Andrew Lucchetta said.

Groulx was on the fence about even playing basketball for Notre Dame this season but his basketball coach was able to talk him into playing for the squad.

“I told him ‘This team absolutely, 100 per cent needs you and we won’t win without you.’ And I told him now ‘Remember that talk we had and look at us now. We won because you’re here. You are the backbone of this team.’ ”

Groulx was hard to miss Saturday night.

“His athleticism was unbelievable and he’s a phenomenal football player. He might go that route and I am encouraging him to play that sport because he is a tremendous athlete in that sport too,” Andrew Lucchetta said. “But the kid can play anything. He is the consummate athlete and a phenomenal team player. I told him from the start that he would lead us to victory by the way he played and his actions too.”

The Grade 12 student missed the first game of the tournament with a leg injury and after scoring five points in the quarter-finals, he led his team with 21 points in a semifinal victory over the A.N. Myer Marauders.

“It was hurting a lot so I just wanted to rest it,” he said, adding he was more than ready to go when the semifinals started. “It felt a lot better. I was icing it up at home.”

He had no idea how many rebounds he had but knew it was a lot.

“I just wanted to do it for my team. The team deserves it so much and we have worked so hard for this.”

Groulx used to play travel basketball but quit this year to focus on football. It was obviously a good choice considering he was a Niagara Catholic Athletic Association all-star and his play caught the eye of several Ontario university scouts.

His football training helps with his agility, balance and speed on the basketball court.

And while the MVP trophy was awesome, the championship trophy was even better for Aidan Lucchetta.

“This is the greatest group I could ask for, everyone from man one to man 14. We have been hooping since last year when the season ended, in the summer and in September and we have been doing everything to build chemistry. It is the hardest working, most talented group.”

The work was put in at Notre Dame after school with an eye to this season.

“Guys wanted to continue working on that craft because it was a big year coming into senior because most of our team was Grade 11s,” Aidan Lucchetta said. “A bunch of us leaders came in and said ‘Hey. Let’s keep playing. Let’s stand together.’ It was a lot chemistry and hard work that we put into it.”

The Tribune is the first step in what the Irish hope will become a season full of triumph.

“The goal is to win everything. No matter who we are facing, we are going to put up a fight and we are going to do our best to show everyone that Notre Dame Welland is the team to beat,” Aidan Lucchetta said.

Andrew Lucchetta said it was a never quit attitude that won the Irish their first Tribune title since 2019.

“You saw yesterday we were down in the third quarter and came back and today we were down again by 12 points in the third quarter and for some reason we have this energy in the fourth quarter that we have discovered,” he said. “It all goes back to what we have been doing since September. We’ve been running these guys into the ground and we keep telling them this is going to count when the big game is there and we’re in the fourth quarter and we’re down and need to come back. The guys have this energy and a willingness to sacrifice their bodies until the last whistle.”

Groulx pointed to two other things which makes the Irish special.

“We are so close as a team and our coaching staff, they are one in a million.”

The Patriots led 39-28 at the half before the Irish turned things in their favour to lead 52-47 after three quarters.

“You know, we lost a bit of focus, and when they go on runs in this gym, it’s very tough for a bunch of teenagers,” Saint Paul coach Michael Doodeman said. “We got a little tired and lost a bit of mental focus and they forced too many unforced errors. The game is four quarters, not just one half. And that mental sharpness is just as important as the physical sharpness sometimes.”

The Patriots were looking for their first Tribune championship.

“I’m pleased. Of course I wanted to win, but these guys should be proud of themselves,” Doodeman said.

In addition to being named tournament MVP, Aidan Lucchetta was selected as a First Team All-Star.

Also chosen for the First team were: Saint Paul’s Eric Kaufmann, who averaged 25.5 points per game in the tournament, including 32 in the championship game; Saint Paul’s Liam Williams, who averaged 17 points per game in the tournament, including 26 in the championship game; Notre Dame’s Groulx, who averaged 13 points per game in the tournament, including 13 in the championship game; and, Governor Simcoe’s Noah Budgell, who averaged 30 points per game in the tournament.

Selected to the Second All-Star Team were: Lakeshore Catholic’s Willy Kibowa, who averaged 27.3 points per game in the tournament, including 22 in the consolation final; Lakeshore Catholic’s Matthew Williams, who averaged 18.3 points per game in the tournament, including 17 in the consolation final; Notre Dame’s Will Benko, who averaged 13 points per game in the tournament, including 21 in the championship game; Notre Dame’s Kurt Agustin, who averaged 12.8 points per game in the tournament, including 22 in the championship game; and, Saint Paul’s Mark Cruz, who averaged 7.8 points per game in the tournament and was named the Jeff Adams Outstanding Defensive Player of the Tournament.

Winning the Caesar Hajdu Coaches Award was Andrew Lucchetta.

Centennial was named the most sportsmanlike team at the tournament and Centennial’s Nate Perna grabbed the most sportsmanlike player award.

Presented with Class of 2024 scholarship awards worth $500 each were Notre Dame’s Andrew Benko, E.L. Crossley’s Luca Burattini, Notre Dame’s Nicholas Capretta and E.L. Crossley’s Matthew Kleinsmith. 

STATS PACK

Irish 82 Patriots 71

Policella Homes Players of the Game: Trent Groulx of Notre Dame and Eric Kaufmann of Saint Paul.

For the Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Kurt Augustin 22; Will Benko 21; Aidan Lucchetta 15; Trent Groulx 13; David Babalola 7; Sean Paul Imosikeme 2. Two points unaccounted for on scoresheet.

For the Saint Paul Patriots: Eric Kaufmann 32; Liam Williams 26; Isaac Jordan 4; Jordan Lennox 3; 2 Patrick Magazzini 3; Mark Cruz 3.