Turnovers help carry Simcoe past Raiders
Sean Fior has fond memories of the Tribune Boys Basketball Tournament.
While he attended high school in St. Catharines, the winner’s circle on the final night of the mid- season showcase in Welland was his home away from home for three memorable years running.
From 1998 until 2000, the Governor Simcoe Redcoats won it all at Ontario’s oldest high school tournament, much to the chagrin of St. Catharines Collegiate and, on two occasions, host.
After all these years and the many teams that have etched their name on the championship trophy, Fior can still remember the sense of accomplishment he felt when Simcoe celebrated at Notre Dame’s Dillon Hall as the last team standing.
Now that he’s head coach at his alma mater, Fior wants the players on this year’s team to experience the same satisfaction he felt “back in the day.”
“I keep on telling the boys that playing on that Saturday night, when it’s packed, is a great atmosphere,” he said. “To get there is the ultimate goal.”
The Redcoats tipped off this year’s tournament at, fittingly enough, Notre Dame, where they bounded the Holy Cross Raiders to the consolation side of the bracket with a 67- 38 victory.
Simcoe’s seniors took care of business early freeing Fior to give future starters on the roster some valuable minutes in the second half.
“Our senior players played quite well, they were very efficient at the start of the game,” he said. “We shot the ball well, and I think our pressure gave Holy Cross a lot of problems today.”
The Raiders turned the ball over 18 times in the first half alone, thanks in large part to a smothering defence that made Holy Cross see much more red than good looks at the basket.
“We try to play a trapping press and that does generate a lot of turnovers, so we try to get as many baskets off those turnovers as possible,” Fior said.
“Our press was a pretty key factor today.”
Mason MacEachern, Rahim Bardi, Simcoe’s player of the game, and Dainon Bango reached double digits in scoring for Simcoe netting 19, 17 and 13 points, respectively.
Tinashe Dandato topped Holy Cross in scoring with 11 points.
Raiders head coach Mike Hendrickse said the team came into the tournament with the immediate goal after the two- week holiday break to “get back into the swing of things, get the rust off and prepare for our next league game.”
Holy Cross wasn’t able to match Simcoe’s energy level in the qualifyinground game.
An inability to maintain possession also contributed to the loss.
“Turnovers aren’t unusual, but that amount in one half is pretty high,” he said.
“Hopefully, once we limit those turnovers, we will be able to keep games closer.
“As of right now, we just have to focus on coming out with more energy and a little more focus.”
The Redcoats are “work in progress” coming out of the holiday break with the No. 1 priority building up “team chemistry and timing.
“A lot of the plays that we run involve timing and ‘ read- and- react,’” Fior said.
“I find when guys come back from a break, they’re not exactly as sharp as they were going into the break.”
Simcoe last played in the title game in 2010 dropping a 51- 37 decision to Notre Dame.
The Redcoats’ last Tribune championship was the result of a 62- 45 victory over Saint Paul in 2004.