Royals fall just short in bid for basketball medal
The Lajeunesse Royals could not find a rhythm from start to finish all day and with it went the team’s hopes for an OFSAA boys’ A basketball medal.
The No. 3-ranked Royals watched a nine-point lead disappear in the fourth quarter in a 6968 overtime loss to No. 4-ranked Belleville Nicholson in the bronzemedal game at the Lajeunesse gym.
The loss followed a 76-71 defeat at the hands of No. 7-ranked Gloucester Louis Riel in which the Royals fell behind by 24 points at the half.
“Man, we had the tools to beat these teams if we played the way we could,” Lajeunesse’s Andreas McBounds said. “Our energy just wasn’t up.”
McBounds was hoping the Royals would carry some momentum from the morning comeback into the bronze-medal game.
“I don’t know what happened,” said McBounds, who finished with 16 points in the bronze-medal game. “This morning, we were down 26 and got down by (five) at the end and I thought we’d bring that energy to this game and we didn’t.
“We were trying to extend (the lead) and keep it going, but our energy started going down. They were playing well. They were playing harder than us.”
Ahmed Abou El Hassan had 23 points for the Royals against Nicholson while Elio Skaf chipped in with 13 points and Ali Aoude 11 points.
OFSAA SWIMMING
The Riverside Rebels finished second overall in the team standings as the OFSAA swimming championships wrapped up at the Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre on Wednesday.
Leamington’s Maddy Lavoie set a new meet record in winning the open girls’ 100-metre individual medley in 1:04.01.
Riverside’s Moeno Katsura took a silver medal in the girls’ 15 and under 100-metre freestyle in 1:04.40. Riverside’s junior boys’ 14 and under freestyle relay team of Josh Hugli, Sam Letwin, Brett Parent and Wyatt Albano also won a silver medal in 1:52.15.
Walkerville’s Madeleine McDonald took silver in the open girls’ 100-metre backstroke in 1:02.18.
Villanova’s Billy Grebe won the boys’ 50-metre para freestyle in 33.28 and was second in the para 100-metre freestyle in 1:20.78.
Riverside’s Megan Land won the para girls’ 50-metre backstroke in 46.19 and was third in the para girls’ 100-metre freestyle in 1:21.43.
Westview Freedom Academy’s Julia Lane was third in the girls’ para 50-metre backstroke in 49.29, while Westview’s Trevor Leigh was third in the boys’ para 50-metre backstroke in 49.06.
CLIPPERS TAKE BRONZE
The Kennedy Clippers rebounded from a tough one-point loss in the semifinals to secure the bronze medal at the OFSAA boys’ AA basketball championship in Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday.
The third-seeded Clippers beat No. 4-ranked Kingston Frontenac 55-44 in the bronze-medal game with Ali Mansour leading the way with 26 points.
Kennedy built a 10-point lead after the first quarter and never relinquished it in erasing a disappointing loss in the semifinals.
Earlier in the day, with a trip to the gold-medal final on the line, the Clippers fell 51-50 to No. 2-ranked Thornhill Thornlea.