Local sports report: Niagara River Lions; Niagara JUEL and JUEL Prep; Festival of Lights hoops; IceDogs make donation
Maddie O’Brien, shown in this file shot, led her team in scoring all three games as the Niagara JUEL Prep girls basketball team went 1-2 in its opening weekend of league play. Photo by BERNIE PUCHALSKI.
RIVER LIONS EDGE MAGIC
The Niagara River Lions improved to 9-11 in National Basketball League of Canada action Sunday with a 97-94 victory over the visiting Moncton Magic in front of an announced crowd of 1,867.
In recording the victory, the River Lions built quarter leads of 43-40 and 73-64 after ending the first quarter tied at 22-22.
Leading the way for the River Lions were: Jaywuan Hill, 26 points on 12-14 shooting from the floor; Marvell Waithe, 18 points; Guillaume Boucard, 12 points and nine rebounds; Jaylon Tate, 11 points and nine assists; and, Connor Wood and Adam Klie, 11 points apiece.
Leading scorers for the Magic were Brent Jennings (17), Corey Allmond (15), Jason Calliste (12) and Denzell Taylor (12).
Niagara’s Sam Muldrow played only four minutes Sunday before leaving the game.
The River Lions host the St. John’s Edge Friday at 7 p.m. at the Meridian Centre.
JUEL TOPS BRAMPTON
The Niagara JUEL (junior elite) girls basketball team completed its first weekend of league play with a 77-44 victory over the Brampton Warriors.
Julia Colavecchia led the way for Niagara with 20 points. Other top scorers were Tatyana Burke (10), Beth Howlett (10) and Mackenzie Schroeder (9).
In other games, Niagara lost 64-59 to the Kitchener-Waterloo Lady Soldiers (Kaley Demont 18, Howlett 13, Burke 10) and was defeated 59-52 by Blessed Sacrament (Howlett 11, Colavecchia 9).
JUEL PREP DEFEATS KITCHENER
The Niagara Juel Prep girls basketball team opened league play in Kitchener with a 73-56 victory over the North Toronto Huskies.
Leading the way for Niagara were Madison O’Brien and Olivia Krieger with 15 points each. Other top scorers were Allison Addy (9), Emily Campbell (8), Molly Taylor (6) and Tess Puchalski (6).
In other games, Niagara lost 71-40 to Blessed Sacrament (Taylor 11, O’Brien 10, Puchalski 10) and was defeated 43-40 by Windsor Valiants (O’Brien 16, Addy 12, Campbell 6).
Following the upcoming high school exam break, Niagara is on the road again Feb. 3-4 in Windsor taking on Tri-County Thunder, Kitchener, London Ramblers and Windsor Valiants.
WEATHER DIMS FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS EVENT
Bad weather forced the cancellation of the bronze- and gold-medal games at the 15th Annual Festival of Lights basketball tournament in Niagara Falls.
In the championship semifinals, the host Saint Paul Patriots fell 61-36 to Toronto Richview. Richard Werner led Saint Paul with 15 points and Reggie Williams paced Richview with 24 points
In the consolation semifinals, the Saint Francis Phoenix pounded Peterborough T.A. Stewart 67-22. Sam Braithwaite led St. Francis with 21 points and Dawson Deck topped T.A. Stewart with nine points.
The Phoenix then won the consolation by defeating Bishop Ryan 82-63. Tyrell MacLennan topped St. Francis with 27 points while Bishop Ryan was led by T. Burtu with 11 points
Tournament all-stars were Williams of Richview, Diar Alkaldy from St. Thomas More and Ravon Young, Godwin Kumoka and Elisha Ampofo from Vanier.
ICEDOGS DONATE TO AUTISM AWARENESS
The Niagara IceDogs will be donating $15,350 to Autism Ontario-Niagara Chapter.
On Oct. 21, the IceDogs wore specialty jerseys with an Autism Awareness theme. After the game the jerseys were auctioned off in support of Autism Ontario-Niagara Chapter. Forward Akil Thomas and defenceman Elijah Roberts’ jerseys sold for $1,200 each, while goaltender Stephen Dhillon, Edmonton Oilers draft pick Kirill Maksimov, and rookie standout Philip Tomasino’s jerseys each sold for $850 respectively. Dhillon also wore a specially designed mask that was auctioned off online and sold for $1,235.
Representatives from Autism Ontario-Niagara Chapter including chapter manager Fran Chesney, fund development coordinator Jennifer Chrysler Loney, and board president Mike Gowan will join IceDogs owners Bill and Denise Burke for a cheque presentation Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the IceDogs office in the Meridian Centre.
