Patriots shine bright at Festival of Lights
Saint Paul’s Isaac Jordan came up big in the clutch last Saturday in the championship game of the Festival of Lights Basketball Tournament at Saint Paul.
“I was really impressed with the composure of Isaac Jordan (Grade 11) to come on in the fourth quarter and make two-for-two free throws with two seconds left to win the game,” Saint Paul coach Michael Doodeman said. “I was also impressed with the leadership and composure shown by experienced players, especially tournament MVP Joey Primerano.”
Jordan’s free throws gave Saint Paul a winning margin of 57-56. A.N. Myer had grabbed a 56-55 lead with 8.5 seconds left when Mani Maynard hit a three, was fouled on the play and added the free throw.
The Patriots built quarter leads of 16-12, 29-24 and 47-38 and then hung on in the final quarter for the victory.
“I think we just showed a very good team effort that was driven by belief in each other and belief in the result,” Doodeman said. “Myer has an exceptional point guard and a good supporting cast, but we handled that quite well and made sure to counter that on offence as well.”
Scoring for Saint Paul in the championship game were Joey Primerano-Williams (19), Dante De Benedetti (15), Shomari Hill (13), Jordan (5), Matteo Canakis (3) and Elijah Pappin (2).
A.N. Myer was led by Maynard who netted 33 points, including 17 in the final quarter. Also scoring for the Marauders were Sahil Rizwan (12), Benson Angervil (5), Louis Pullano (2), Ezzo Hassaan (2) and Jayke Arnold (2).
Saint Paul advanced to the final by beating West Niagara and Lasalle. Myer booked its ticket into the championship game with victories over Denis Morris and Assumption.
Assumption defeated Lasalle in the third-place game and West Niagara knocked off Denis Morris to capture the consolation crown.
Named to the tournament all-star team were Hill from Saint Paul, Maynard and Rizwan from Myer, Michael Omoseni from Assumption Burlington and Kabeer Phull from West Niagara.
Saint Paul is in action this weekend at the Ontario Catholic Classic in St. Catharines and Welland. The Patriots open with a Friday 12:30 game at Denis Morris against top-seeded Ursaline College from Chatham.
