Senior Boys Basketball
Lester B. Pearson caps perfect season with 'AA' championship
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Johnny Berhane scored 21 points in Lester B. Pearson's 68-50 win over the St. Paul Golden Bears in the NCSSAA 'AA' championship on Tuesday. Fred Sherwin/Photo

It's been 20 years since a Lester B. Pearson senior boys basketball team last won a city championship.

Since then the school's soccer and wrestling programs have both excelled while the basketball program has traditionally underachieved. In fact, last year they lost in the quarterfinals despite being one of the top seeds heading into the playoffs.

Two decades of falling short of expectations were wiped out in one fell swoop at the Raven's Nest at Carleton University Tuesday night as the 2009-2010 version of the Panthers dismantled and disected an overmatched and undermanned St. Paul Golden Bears team.

Co-captain Johnny Berhane was outstanding for the blue and gold, scoring a game high 21 points as the Panthers downed the Golden Bears 68-50 to win the NCSSAA 'AA' championship.

"We were a little worried coming in. We knew they would come out strong. We played each other twice before so they knew all about us," said Berhane after the game.

Lester B. jumped out to a 19-12 first quarter lead and never trailed. By halftime they had a 14 point advantage and looked to have everything in control.

The Golden Bears, however, managed to mount a third quarter comeback, cutting the lead to just six points before the Panthers went on a 17-2 run to end the game sparked by a three-point play by Berhane.

The Panthers have been on a roll ever since the Bill Wren Invitational Basketball Tournament in December in which they lost a round robin game to Sacred Heart which kept them out of the playoffs.

After the Bill Wren tournament they reeled off 13 straight wins including a one point victory over St. Matt's in the final of the Colonel By tournament.

Panthers head coach Rob Dawson, said the team started to really gel together after suffering losses in both the Bill Wren tournament and the Referees' Tournament which preceeded it.

"Chemistry has been a big factor both on and off the court," said Dawson. "Their camaraderie has been fantastic. We showed signs of it before the season began, but it took a significant loss (to Sacred Heart) to really wake us up. And then when we beat St. Matt's in the Colonel By tournament, the guys really started to believe in each other."

After suffering last year's early playoff exit, Berhane says the entire team had only one goal this year -- to make it to the city championship and earn a berth in the OFSAA provincial championships.

"We all constantly kept reminding each other that our goal was OFSAA and know we're going. I haven't really processed it yet, but I'm really looking forward to it," said Berhane accepting the championship plaque with fellow co-captain Achuil Lual who scored 12 points in the winning cause.

Josh Kabongo also had a 12 point night, while Mike Placide added eight and Kevin Sharkey and Neil Doctor had six and four points respectively.

The 'AA' provincial championships get underway March 8 in Windsor.

In other action at the Raven's Nest, the Louis Riel Rebelles lost 47-44 to the Ashbury Colts in the NCSAA 'A' championship.

The Rebelles managed to fight back from a 29-18 halftime deficit to make it a one point game with 20 seconds left, but a crucial turnover in their own end would cost them a chance to score the go ahead basket.

In the AAA/AAAA final, the defending champion St. Matthew Tigers fell 64-49 to the Sir Robert Borden Bengals who were determined to avenge last year's championship loss.

The two teams were tied late in the third quarter befroe the Bengals went on a 10-2 run spurred by the Tigers inability to hit the outside shot.

By downing the Tigers, the Bengals earned the right to represent the National Capital Region at the AAA provincial championships, while St. Matt's will get to represent the region in the Quad-A championships.

(Posted 10:30 a.m., Feb.19)

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