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Junior
Boys Basketball
St.
Peter Knights capture junior boys
Tier 1 championship
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans
Online
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|  The
St. Peter Knights' Brendan Farquarson scores an easy layup against the Sacred
Heart Huskies as teammate Daniel Nwosu looks on.
Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The St.
Peter Knights are the National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association Tier
1 junior boys basketball champions after downing the previously unbeaten Sacred
Heart Huskies 46-42 in the final on Tuesday. Other
than early in the first quarter whe n the Huskies briefly led 5-4, the Knights
never trailed in the game. They ended the opening stanza on a 9-2 run and never
looked back. By the end of first half they had a 12 point lead, up 25-13. Daniel
Nwosu led the way for the Knights in the first half with 10 points, while the
rest of the starting five contributing on the score sheet. Defensively
the Knights did a great job keeping Keegan MacNeill and Emmanuel Kwofie in check.
The Huskies top two scorers combined for just four points in the first two quarters. MacNeill
was more of a presence in the third quarter, drawing a plethora of fouls, and
coverting on 6-of-7 free throw attempts to help keep the score relatively close. Kwofie
then helped spark a mini-comeback in the fourth quarter with six straight points
to cut the Knights' lead in half. They then got to within five on a three-point
shot by Chris Gervais. The
Knights responded with a 15-foot jumper by Nwosu, followed by an unbelievable
block on Kwofie by Brendan Farquarson who fed the ball bak to Nwosu who then hit
a 12-foot fade away to restablish a nine-point lead in less than 40 seconds. Things
got a little dicey for St. Pete's when they missed the opening shot of the bonus
on three straight trips to the foul line. In the meantime, Kwofie hit another
three to get the score back to within four. They came within two inches of making
it a one point game, but Lorne Wierenga's three-point attempt clanged off the
back of the rim. As
the final seconds wound down, Mike Zablocki went 3-for-5 from the free throw line
to solidify the win for Knights and give the school it's first junior boys basketball
championship since 2004. That team featured two of the top junior players in the
school's history in Rod Kasongo and Luc Manani. You
can now add the names of Daniel Nwosu, Mike Zablocki and Brendan Farquarson to
that list. Nwosu ended the championship game with 16 points, while Zablocki had
11. Among the remaining starting five, Sean Decloux had eight points, Jeremy Azangi
had seven and Farquarson had five. Knights
head coach Mark MacKay says he would rank this year's team ahead of the 2003-2004
based on sheer depth. "There's
no doubt this team is a lot deeper than the 2003 team. That team had a couple
of very good players, but this is a better all 'round team," said MacKay. Judging
by the talent on the junior team, St. Pete's should have an extremely competitive
senior team next year and the next. A fact that should bring a smilt to the face
of Ashley Coventry who will likely coach the senior team next year.
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| The
St. Peter Knights pose for a team photo after winning the NCSSAA Tier 1 junior
boys basketball
championship on Tuesday. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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(Posted
4 p.m., March 3) Return
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