Redcoats go down swinging
The Governor Simcoe Redcoats senior boys basketball team saw its Cinderella season come to an end Monday morning with a 56-53 loss to the visiting Dundas Valley Gryphons in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA challenge game.
After recording a single win last season, the Redcoats came oh so close to qualifying for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association AA playdowns March 4-6 in Ottawa against a Dundas Valley team that blew a 12-point fourth quarter lead in the SOSSA semifinals last week against the defending OFSAA champion Saint Francis Phoenix.
The game might have been the most exciting and competitive high school boys basketball game played all season and it was in doubt until the final buzzer.
Dundas Valley led 15-12 after one quarter and 36-32 at the half to set the stage for a wild and crazy second half that featured nine lead changes and two ties.
The Redcoats led 47-46 heading into the final quarter only to see the Gryphons built a 56-50 lead with 2:06 left in the game. Noah Budgell hit a buzzer-beating three with 1:17 left to cut the lead to three but he was unable to convert a highly contested three pointer as time expired to force overtime.
“The boys left it all out there. Heart, grit, soul and I couldn’t ask for anything more as a coach,” Simcoe head coach Shaun Feor said.
He agreed the Redcoats went above and beyond his expectations this season.
“We kept on trying to set the bar higher and higher for every game and we wanted to get even better and keep improving. I am extremely proud of the boys.”
Feor felt the turning point in his squad’s season was a 57-54 loss at home to the Thorold Golden Eagles on Jan. 17.
“I feel that was our wakeup moment where we really needed to turn the screws and turn things up as a team. At that point, we went on a tear.”
Feor likes where the program is heading.
“We just want to keep building and getting better. The guys coming from junior will need to learn the work and dedication it takes to get to this level and the guys who are coming back I know they are going to be hungry and geared to compete.”
It was a great season for the Redcoats and the future looks bright. More than three quarters of the team will be returning next season. A graduating player who will be missed is Lochlan Belliveau, who netted 11 points in the loss Monday.
“He is an exceptional lacrosse player and I can’t wait to see what these guys do on a lacrosse field this year,” Feor said.
He was also a key part of the basketball team.
“He is our guts. He is as tough as nails and sometimes his emotions get the best of him but I will take that any day over someone who doesn’t play with heart and passion. He is the pulse of our team.”
The 17-year-old is off to study sports management at Brock University in the fall and he enjoyed being part of the Redcoats revitalization this season.
“It was most definitely the team chemistry. We all played together on the junior team when I was in Grade 10 and we have a lot of good teamwork and we are all good friends,” the St. Catharines Athletics junior B lacrosse player said. “Last year was up and down but this year coming back we all knew each other very well and we worked well together.”
The Grade 12 student also credited the coaching of Feor.
“Having him really helped us a lot with how we play the game, our tempo and the plays.”
Belliveau loves being referred to as the guts of the team.
“I play a physical game just like I do in lacrosse. That is how I play. I always take the biggest guy. The contact in lacrosse definitely helps with basketball.”
He will have lot of memories of his final year of Redcoats.
“It will be SOSSA, having this close game and the exciting crowds.”
STATS PACK
Gryphons 56 Redcoats 53
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Simcoe’s Noah Budgell with 18 points and a strong game at point guard.
For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Budgell 18; Anderson Blanchard 14; Lochlan Belliveau 11; Ari Steenhuis 10.
For the Dundas Valley Gryphons: Josh Verschoor 23; Tyrus Maga 12; Grant Fairley 9; Luke Mega 7.
Up next: Dundas Valley advances to the OFSAA AA championships March 4-6 in Ottawa.
