Myer’s defensive stopper goes on offence
A.N. Myer’s Jayke Arnold is off to a great start in the 67th Annual Welland Tribune Basketball Tournament.
Playing against the Lakeshore Catholic Gators in opening round action at E.L. Crossley, the Grade 12 guard poured in 25 points to lead his team to a 77-25 victory. The six footer was named his team’s player of the game for his efforts.
“He played last year in Grade 11 and he didn’t play as much as he does this year. He has put in a lot of work over the summer and he is playing Red Raiders right now,” A.N. Myer head coach Tyler Thomson said. “He has really developed as a player and a leader and he is playing a huge role for us this year.”
Offence is not necessarily what Myer looks for from Arnold.
“He is more of our defensive guy and we go to him if we need to lock somebody down. He is also just a hustle guy. You saw in the game today that he got a lot of fast break points and he is always involved in the play one way or another,” Thomson said. “It is good to have a guy like that.”
The 17-year-old started last season as the seventh or eighth man on Myer’s roster but got a chance to start later in the season when another player was injured.
“I think since then that my confidence has gone up a lot.”
Arnold didn’t rest on his laurels from last season and put a lot of work in to get ready for his Grade 12 season.
“There was a local trainer that I went to and I went to Niagara Ignite training sessions which helped me a lot. I am also close friends with Mani Maynard (two-time winner of George Hillesheim Award) who played here last year and he helped me train. I was basically at the gym every day.”
His motivation was simple.
“I wanted to prove that I could help lead a team to wins and hopefully go far in the season.”
He scored plenty Wednesday but relishes his role as the squad’s defensive stopper.
“Most people don’t look at defence and I am not really an offensive player. Last year, I was mostly defence, getting rebounds, getting steals and being the dirty player going for every loose ball,” Arnold said. “This year is contributing that but also some offence.”
Thomson was content with his team’s performance Wednesday.
“It is always nice to come back for another Tribune tournament and I was happy with how the guys played,” he said. “I can’t complain at all.”
The Trib tourney is an important part of the Marauders’ calendar.
“We have only ever won it once and we are looking to get our second win at the tournament,” he said. “We have been coming to this tournament for more than 20 or 30 years and it is something that we look forward to. Getting to compete against the other top schools in the region is always nice.”
Thomson knows it won’t be easy to get to Saturday’s championship game.
“We are a little low now on players due to injury and other circumstances so we have to stay healthy and just focus on taking it game by game and not focus on Saturday.”
Lakeshore Catholic head coach Shy McFarlane was not pleased with how his team played Wednesday.
“A lack of in-game experience got to us. We need more time on the floor with the guys so that we can build our chemistry with one another,” he said. “Myer is a good team but I don’t think my guys came ready to play today.”
STATS PACK
Marauders 77 Gators 25
Mountainview Building Group Players of the Game: Myer’s Jayke Arnold and Lakeshore’s Olivier Michel.
For the A.N. Myer Marauders: Arnold 25; Isaiah Corsaro-Oteng 17; Noah Walters 12; Tanner Pare-Smith 8; Shahzada Haider 5; Tavish McMahon 4; Nikolas Zapata 3; Louis Pullano 3.
For the Lakeshore Catholic Gators: Michel 8; Simon Reid 6; Kaleb Garner 4; Reese Richards 3; Ivan Antonucci 2; Ethan Cooper 2.
