Phoenix, Flyers advance at SOSSA

Jason Carter’s final few seconds as a member of the E.L. Crossley Cyclone was spent watching the St. Francis Phoenix dribble out the clock.

Carter looked on helplessly as the Phoenix topped the Cyclone 66-55 in a Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (SOSSA) AA semifinal senior boys basketball game played before a packed house at Crossley.

The Phoenix take on the Eden Flyers at 4 p.m. at Crossley for the SOSSA championship.

Carter was naturally disappointed as he pulled off his blue, gold and white jersey for the final time.

“It sucks. It’s the last game for me,” he said. “It’s a tough loss.”

Carter admitted he allowed himself to think about winning it all at home.

“It would have been amazing with all these fans here,” he said.

Carter, who attended South Lincoln in Grade 9 before moving to Crossley, loved his time at the Pelham school.

“It’s amazing. The basketball program was so much better here,” he said. “All of my teammates and coaches were amazing.”

Carter, who plans to study engineering at Guelph next year, isn’t sure about his basketball future.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said.

Carter, Aiden Belding, Carter Teal and Jacob Pauls all played their final games for the Cyclone, which was not lost on head coach Brian Bleich.

“You’re on a high during the game and then when you walk off the floor you realize it might be the last time you every play basketball again in a controlled environment,” Bleich said. “None of them are going to play at the next level from our team this year.”

The Cyclone gave the Phoenix all they could handle and were still within striking distance trailing only by three (56-53) with 3:32 to play.

“They gave it all they had. I told them they needed to keep their heads up and be positive. They played their hearts out,” Bleich said. “We didn’t hit our shots and that happens in basketball. We didn’t give up and we didn’t quit.”

Bleich had no qualms having to take on the Phoenix in the semifinals.

“I thought about that but I think playing the harder game in the morning is better. We were on the other end last year where we played the harder game and then had to go on an it’s tough if the second game is the hardest game.”

Overall, Bleich felt the season was a good building block for the program.

“I think we had a great year,” he said. “We had a really good year this year but it’s what I see for the future. It’s a very positive thing. The experience they gained today and in the last few games in tremendous.”

Phoenix coach Jono Marcheterre liked how his team rebounded from a mediocre first half.

“We weren’t happy the way we played (in the first half),” he said. “The guys haven’t played in this gym before and maybe it was the environment with the crowd.

“At halftime, it was mainly stick to the plan. We made a few little adjustments. We knew guys weren’t going to go the whole game without hitting shots. We kept plugging away and eventually pulled it off.”

In the other semifinal Thursday morning, the Eden Flyers topped Sir Winston from Hamilton 74-47.

Scoring for the Zone 4 champion Flyers were: Trent Thorpe 21; Kyle Mulder 13; Luke Reinaerts 10; Dylan Rivett 9; Ethan Maroudas 3; Carter McMaster 3; Ashton Nieuwets 3; Wesley Hanlin 2.

STATS PACK

Phoenix 66 Cyclone 55

Johnny Rocco’s/Cracker Jacks/Mick and Angelo’s Star of the Game: St. Francis guard Igor M’Baya with 24 points.

St. Francis Phoenix: M’Baya 24; Sacade Kasamba 18; Quinton Duemo 7; Max Riddell 6; Ben Lannan 5; Allen Kalonji 3; Andres Pelaez 2.

E.L. Crossley Cyclone: Jason Carter 15; Owen Dobbie 14; T.J. Hurley 11; Riley Bleich 10; Aiden Belding 3; Luke Klassen 2.

Up next: The Phoenix take on the Eden Flyers at 4 p.m. at Crossley for the SOSSA championship.

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