Phoenix fall in SOSSA final
The Saint Francis Phoenix senior boys basketball team’s post-season run came to an end with a 71-53 loss to host Sir Allan MacNab in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA basketball final Thursday in Hamilton.
MacNab built quarter leads of 17-8, 34-20 and 50-34 en route to the victory and a berth in the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Associations championships March 3-5 in North Bay.
“I’m happy with the effort our boys played with until the end. We lost to a great team today. They were better,” Saint Francis head coach Rich Anderson said. “We wish them all the best at the OFSAA competition. We know they will represent SOSSA well.”
Scoring for the Phoenix in the SOSSA final were: Awab Ali 22; Elijah Quissua 11; Austin Hinds 6; Jack Ciocca 4; Jalen French 3; Marley Smith 2; and, Nawaf Kigab 1.
Top scorers for the winners were Jacob Walker with 27 and Noah Smart with 17.
Sir Allan MacNab advanced to the final with a victory over the Westlane Spartans while the Phoenix advanced with a 73-37 triumph over the Governor Simcoe Redoats.
The Phoenix built quarter leads of 24-8, 44-22 and 58-30 on the way to the victory over the Redcoats.
Recording points for Saint Francis in the victory were: Andrew Ens 19; Ciocca 16; Hinds 13; Trent Dobson 5; French 5; Quissua 4; Kigab 4; Christian Ibriham 3; Mike Arewa 2; Max Cataldo 2; and, Sam Riddell 1.
Scoring for the Governor Simcoe Redcoats were: Noah Budgell 18; Ari Steenhuis 10; Reid Oates 5; Anderson Blanchard 2; and, Nate Vander Meer 2.
