Markham keeps tournament title
Host Adam Scott falls back after halftime lead
Despite home court advantage the Adam Scott Lions couldn’t prevent Middlefield Collegiate from defending the Green & White Senior Boys’ Basketball Tournament title.
Clutch fourth-quarter shooting led the Markham-based high school to a 66-58 win over the host Lions in the tournament final on Saturday afternoon.
It’s the second straight year Middlefield has won the tournament and handed the Lions their lone loss. They beat Adam Scott, the 2016 champions, in the opening game of the 2017 tournament.
The Lions led by four at halftime but a seven-point run to start the third quarter put the visitors up 39-36. The Lions got it back to even at 42-42 but an eightpoint run early in the fourth quarter gave Middlefield a lead they didn’t relinquish.
Daniel Schultz hit a three to close the gap to 56-53 and later finished a set-up from Zach Deline to make it 61-58. The Lions forced Middlefield to the free throw line in the dying minutes but Raeshawn Washington was five-for-six from the line to keep the Lions at bay.
“It was a well-played game on both sides,” said Lions head coach Steve Deline. “We had a bit of a lapse early in the fourth quarter where we got stymied a bit on our offensive movement and got a little bit out of sorts and scrambled. We settled down and got some good looks down the stretch but they weren’t dropping for us. They came out and stole the lead to start the third and swung the momentum,” said Deline. “That’s always tough. To be able to maintain that energy coming out of a half-time is something you just have to continue to work on.”
Schultz led the Lions with 22 points while John Parsons had 10 and Zach Deline eight. Henry Liao and Washington had 17 each for Middlefield.
“It was a good game,” said Schultz. “The other team played really well. They had a little bit more size than us and were very athletic but I thought we held our own pretty well. There are definitely some things we need to work on. They had some shots that went in that we didn’t have. They definitely shot a higher percentage from three than we did. Their jump shots were going in more than ours.”
It was Middlefield’s fifth visit to the tournament, in its eighth year.
“We’ve made it our home away from home,” said Middlefield coach Nigel Escoffery. “Steve Deline is a great coach and great for the community. When you have someone like that run an excellent tournament on a regular basis you want to be a part of it as much as possible. We took our licks and were close and these last two years we were able to get over the hump.”
He said the Lions pushed them to the end.
“A team like Adam Scott doesn’t roll over. They don’t ever think it’s over and keep pushing at you. They’re a reflection of their coach,” said Escoffery. “We focused on three things going into the second half; being disciplined on defence; boxing out for rebounds and getting over screens. We made those adjustments really well in the second half and I think the results show.”
Whitby’s Henry Street won the consolation title defeating Bowmanville 46-37 in the final. The two other Kawartha teams in the tournament, the St. Peter’s Saints and Thomas A. Stewart Griffins, finished with 0-3 records.