Phoenix rise to the occasion
The 57th Standard High School Boys Basketball Tournament resumes today in St. Catharines with four semifinal games.
All action on Day 3 of the showcase takes place at Ridley College, where consolation semifinals will tip off at 3 and 4:30 p.m. Games on the A side of the tournament bracket are set for 6 and 7:30 p.m.
Top seed at this week’s tournament, the two-time reigning gold medallist Saint Francis Phoenix netted an 80-48 victory on their home court over the Ridley Tigers on Tuesday night to advance on the championship side.
St. Francis, Standard Tournament champions seven times in the past 11 years, will play the Welland Centennial Cougars in the 6 p.m. game for a berth in Friday night’s final at St. Catharines Collegiate.
Fifth-seeded Centennial stayed alive by defeating the No. 4 seed Denis Morris Reds 51-47.
Thursday’s late game pits the second-seeded Governor Simcoe Redcoats against the Blessed Trinity Thunder, who entered the 16-team as the third seed.
Simcoe qualified for the final four on the championship side with a 63-59 victory over the Thorold Golden Eagles. Blessed Trinity defeated the E.L. Crossley Cyclone 69-47.
Simcoe is seeking its ninth Standard Tournament championship and first since 2010. Blessed Trinity and Centennial have yet to take a title, on either side of the bracket.
The defending consolation champion Greater Fort Erie
Gryphons punched their ticket to this year’s semifinal round with a 68-52 defeat of the Niagara Christian Navigators.
Eighth-seeded Greater Fort Erie’s opponent in the 3 p.m. game today at Ridley will be the No. 12 seed St. Catharines Collegiate Saints.
Collegiate defeated the Holy Cross Raiders 57-52 in the quarter-final round Tuesday night at Denis Morris.
Tipping off at 4:30 p.m. is the B side semfinal between the 10thseeded Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs and the 11th seed, the Eden Flyers.
Churchill defeated the Laura Secord Patriots, 47-32; and Eden came from behind to top the Lakeshore Catholic Gators, 60-53; in the quarter-final round.
Competition wraps up with a championship doubleheader Friday at St. Catharines Collegiate. Consolation final gets underway at 5:30 p.m.; championship game, 7:45 p.m.
Student admission for all games is $2. Adult admission for semifinal and final rounds is $5.