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Junior
Boys Basketball
Jr. Knights
chalk up fourth straight win over rival Tigers
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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 The
St. Peter Knights Brandon Farquarson sticks his head into the chest of a
St. .Matthew Tiger player during their junior boys baskeyball match-up on
Wednesday. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The St. Peter
Kinghts junior boys basketball team improved their regular season record
to 4-1 with a 41-33 win over a game but overmatched St. Matthew Tigers team
on Wednesday.
It was the fourth
time this season that the Knights have bested their east end rivals including
twice in tournaments.
Despite their
poor record against the Knights, the Tigers have reason to be optimistic.
Wednesday's game was the closest they've played them and Ben Rozman, who
is arguably their best defender, wasn't in the lineup.
Even wirthout
their top efender, the Tigers played up to their team name with a level
of intensity that was lacking the last time the two teams met in early December
when the Knights barely broke a sweat in cruising to a 15-point win.
Since then the
Tigers had reeled off eight straight wins, including a pair of tournament
titles at Sacred Heart High School in December and the Hoops for Hope tournament
in Belleville last week, before facing the Knights on Wednesday.
St. Peter, meanwhile,
suffered their lone hiccup of the season when they lost 55-38 to the Gisele
Lalonde Titans on Jan. 12 in one of the biggest upsets on the hardwood in
recent memory.
In their defence,
the Knights were coming off a grueling tournament in Toronto the previous
weekend. After losing to the Titans, they bounced back five days later to
down the Colonel By Cougars 78-22.
In round four
of the Knights/Tigers rivalry on Wednesday, the Tigers managed to hang with
the Knights through the better part of the first two quarters before St.
Pete's managed to open up a five point lead by halftime. They further extended
their lead to nine points thanks to Daniel Nwosu who scored seven of his
game high 21 points in the third quarter.
Neither team
had much success in the final stanza where they managed to sink just one
basket each.
In the end the
Tigers walked off the court with a jump in their step and a boost of confidence
even though they had lost, while the Knights felt they they had won inspite
of not playing their best basketball.
Both teams will
now focus on exams for the next week and a half. When the regular season
resumes on Feb. 1, they will each have two games left before the playoffs
begin and each will have to face the Louis Riel Rebelles who are undefeated
in league play thus far this season.
Knights coach
Mark MacKay says the exams will be a welcome break for his exhausted team.
"The break
is coming at a really good time for us. We've played a lot of basketball
in the last couple of weeks and the guys are really tired," says MacKay.
"The break will give us a chance to get some rest and recharge our
batteries for the final stretch."
Tigers coach
Chris Wakefield is also looking forward to a week off. Besides given his
players some much needed rest, it will also allow them to heal up some aggravating
injuries in time for the playoffs.
Both teams are
among the odds on favourites to earn a berth in the city championship along
with Louis Riel.
Whether or not
the Rebelles are a serious contender or merely a pretender will be determined
in their remaining regular season games against the Knights and the Tigers
on Feb. 1 and Feb. 9.
Click
here to view additional pictures from the game...
(Posted 6:30
p.m., Jan. 21)
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