TRIBUNE TOURNAMENT TIPS OFF
3- pointers send host Cougars past Gators in Tribune Tournament qualifying- round game
Welland Centennial Cougars Jorden Brewster, right, and Lakeshore Catholic Gators Sean Nazaire are shown Wednesday on the first day of the Tribune Boys Basketball Tournament in a game played at Welland Centennial Secondary School.
If a three falls through a basket and there’s a team to hear it, how much noise does it make?
On opening day of the 63rd Tribune Boys Basketball Tournament, the answer was plenty — at both ends of the court.
Five players combined to drain nine 3- pointers to give the host Welland Centennial Cougars a 43- 24 halftime lead on their way to a 66- 31 victory over the Lakeshore Catholic Gators in qualifyinground action at Ontario’s oldest high school tournament.
Lakeshore made seven threepointers in the first half, including two each from Allan Pambianco and Aiden Plante.
Cougars head coach Phil Mosley said setting the pace from beyond the three- point arc is not necessarily part of the game plan.
“But if that’s what they give us, that’s usually what we take,” he said with a smile. “Our kids do shoot the ball very well.”
“If we have open looks and they’re from outside the threepoint line, we’ll shoot them.
“That’s not something that we shy away from.”
Success shooting from the floor, especially from beyond the threepoint arc, was almost infectious for the Cougars in the opening half of a buyout game on their home court Wednesday. Led by Kennan Larmand, with 13, and Reese Radobenko, eight, in all eight players scored at least two scored at least two points and shot 15- for- 32 from the floor and 4- for- 4 from the freethrow line.
“You like to see that in the very first game of a tournament, because that means everybody is into the tournament, everybody’s into the first game,” Mosley said.
“That was very positive for us to see everybody contributing and shooting the ball well.”
Centennial was the more game tested of the two days coming into the tipoff of the 16- day, four- day showcase in Welland. While the Gators didn’t get back on the court until Tuesday, the Cougars went 1- 2 at the Tyler Grummett Memorial Tournament at Brock University during the holiday break.
“We probably did it in lieu of practising,” Mosley said. “We wanted to get the guys back on the court some way, whether it be practice or games.”
The coach suggested at this point in their development as players who have experience playing together, competing in games at tournaments is better than even the most- intense practices.
“In this situation, with this team, at this point in the season, tournament games helped us because they are high- level games that brought our level up a little,” he said.
Centennial will host the E. L. Crossley Cyclone in a championship quarter- final Thursday at 3: 30 p. m. Lakeshore will face the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons on the B side of the bracket at 5 p. m., also at Centennial.
Crossley edged Greater Fort Erie 55- 54 in other Day 1 action at Centennial.
The Cougars, who lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in last year’s Tribune Tournament final and were runners- up to the St. Francis Phoenix at the Standard, are no stranger to advancing to the final night of their hometown tournament. Since last winning it all in 2012, Centennial has played in either a championship or consolation final in four of the past six years.
While the Cougars are keeping their calendars free for Saturday night, the notation is in pencil nor in pen. Despite their high seeding and impressive pedigree, the Cougars aren’t taking anything for granted.
“We just want to win the next game,” Mosley said. “That’s all, just the next game.”
Lakeshore head coach Wade Pychel said the Gators were able to take a lot of positives from a loss that eliminates the team from contention for the overall championship.
“When we work hard, push the ball and follow the game plan, we can hang in with some teams for a while,” he said. “I thought we played really hard.”
Defensively, the Gators gave up too many three- pointers to suit their coach.
“Centennial can shoot the lights out and we have to get a handle on those guys,” he said. “I think they had six or seven in the first quarter and we didn’t get our hands up and, unfortunately, they made us pay for it.”
Lakeshore’s performance on defensive, the coach said, was a bit of an aberration.
“Defensively, we’ve been pretty good all season,” Pychel said. “I think it maybe a little underestimating the opponent.
“Even though I stressed to these guys that this team can shoot, I think maybe in our game plan we underestimated them.”
He said it’s difficult to rebound from a big deficit.
Lakeshore trailed 27- 11 after the first quarter and 54- 28 heading into the final quarter, deficits that were too deep to overcome, Pychel said.
“It’s extremely difficult, especially if you’re not shooting the ball well,” he said. “The first half we shot the ball a lot better than we did in the second half.”
The Gators shot 9- for- 31 from the floor and 2- for- 2 from the freethrow line in the first half, and 3- for23 and 0- 2, respectively, in the final half.
Larmand, 16 points, Radobenko, 12; and Jacob Bray, nine, topped Centennial in scoring.
Pambianco led Lakeshore with 15 points. Nicholas Cryer added seven.