Clippers on fire from the start at OFSAA
The Kennedy Clippers got off to a quick start at the OFSAA boys’ AA basketball championship in Timmins on Monday. Kennedy, which is the No. 1 seed in the tournament, won 8455 in its first game over the No. 19-ranked Brockville Thousand Island Pirates.
The Clippers jumped to a 26-7 lead after the opening quarter and were never threatened. Guard Akot Aken led with 24 points while guard D.J. Simonato finished with 23. Next up for the Clippers is a quarter-final match with No. 17 Sudbury Lo-Ellen Park.
KNIGHTS CLOSE
The Holy Names Knights put a scare into the No. 1-ranked team to open play at the OFSAA boys’ AAA basketball championship in Stoney Creek.
The Knights, who are seeded No. 11 for the tournament, stayed close all game before falling 67-61 to Ajax Pine Ridge. Mehkai Barnett had 20 points for the Knights while Andre Familia had 17, and Rodi Mazloum scored 12 with 10 assists. Holy Names will face the host Saltfleet squad on Tuesday needing a win to stay alive and advance to quarter-final play.
FALCONS FALL
The Lamothe-Cadillac Falcons also drew the top seed for the OFSAA boys’ A basketball championship, which opened Monday in London.
The Falcons, who are seeded No. 19, fell 55-25 to No. 1-ranked Timmins O’Gorman, which is seeking its second title in four years. Oumarou Assoumi led the Falcons with eight points.
The Falcons then fell 62-52 to No. 14-ranked Gravenhurst, which ended the club’s title hopes.
WILDCATS WINLESS
The Villanova Wildcats are winless after two matches at the OFSAA girls’ AAA volleyball championship in Burlington. Villanova, which drew the No.17 ranking, fell 2-0 by scores of 25-8 and 25-10 to No. 4-ranked Iroquois Falls and 2-0 to No. 10 Hamilton Westdale by scores of 25-20 and 25-20. That puts the Wildcats in must-win territory to close out pool play on Tuesday, needing wins over No. 13 North York Havergal and No. 7 Scarborough Sir Oliver Mowat to have any hope of reaching quarter-final play.
ROYALS SPLIT
The Lajeunesse Royals split a pair of pool games on Monday at the OFSAA girls’ A volleyball championship in Kenora. Lajeunesse, which is the No. 14 seed, fell 2-0 to No. 3. St. Marys District Collegiate by scores of 25-19 and 25-16, but rebounded to beat No. 8 Richmond Hill Holy Trinity 2-0 by scores of 25-4 and 25-14. The club closes pool play on Tuesday against No. 9 Durham Christian. The winner of that game will advance to the quarter-finals.
SWOSSAA HOCKEY
The Belle River Nobles won the SWOSSAA boys’ A/AA hockey title on Monday with an 8-0 win over Chatham McGregor. The L’Essor Nobles took the SWOSSAA girls’ A/AA hockey title with a 3-2 win in overtime over Wallaceburg. Both teams now advance to OFSAA later this month.