Bears Outlast Eagles at Rimrocker Basketball Final
Bears Outlast Eagles at Rimrocker Basketball Final
For the second straight year, the Region of Peel has won the senior boys St. Francis Xavier Rimrocker basketball tournament.
Led by the play of Devonte Daniels and CJ Bennett, Brampton’s St. Edmund Campion Bears outlasted Waterloo’s St. John’s-Kilmarnock Eagles in a thrilling 55-49 overtime victory last night.
In what was mostly a one basket game throughout, only a couple late free throws separated these two teams from one another. Campion went four-for-six from the charity stripe in overtime, while SJK missed both of their free throw attempts. The Bears would go on to outscore SJK 6-0 in the extra quarter, and finish with a 55-49 victory.
Campion’s Devonte Daniels scored a game-high 14 points in the contest, highlighted by two free throws in overtime.
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Both teams made adjustments throughout the game, as SJK head coach Borko Popic, and St. Edmund Campion head coach Omar Miles, helped their teams adjust to one another.
After starting off slow in the first quarter, Popic had his team switch to a 2-3 zone in the second quarter. The defensive change disrupted Campion in the half court set and helped spark the Eagles on a 19-7 run that saw them hit five three-pointers in the second quarter alone. Sharpshooter Saajan Arora led the Eagles with 13 second quarter points, including three baskets from beyond the arc.
Trailing 27-29 at halftime, Campion head coach Omar Miles made adjustments to combat against the 2-3 zone. Grade nine point guard Joel Brown handled the ball up top and worked off of high ball screens to open up the zone, while Marcus Anderson provided the scoring with seven points in the third quarter.
The change of pace would help Campion regain the lead, as the Bears led SJK 38-35 entering the fourth quarter.
Both teams exchanged baskets throughout the fourth quarter, tying things up at 49 a piece with 12 seconds left to play.
The Eagles would have a chance to win the game late, but the Bears defence stood tall, forcing SJK into a tough shot to win the game. From there, the Bears controlled the extra quarter, en route to a 55-49 final.
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North Pole Hoops Canada has both teams ranked within the top four of the country, as Campion is ranked fourth, and SJK is ranked second.
Earlier in the evening, St. Francis Phoenix of St. Catharines took home the bronze medal with a 70-41 victory over Brampton’s Notre Dame Knights. Phoenix guard Abu Kigab was named to the tournament all-star team.
Hosted each year by St. Francis Xavier, the 16-team Rimrocker tournament draws some of the best talent in Ontario, as scouts from across the country were in attendance to watch the much-anticipated tournament.
The junior boys instalment of the Rimrocker tournament will take place January 8-11. St. Francis Xavier, Phillip Pocock, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Marguerite D’Youville will host the 32-team tournament. For more information on the upcoming tournament, be sure to follow @XavierRimrocker on Twitter.
Game Notes:
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– Tournament MVP CJ Bennett (St. Edmund Campion) scored 14 points
– Marcus Anderson (St. Edmund Campion), Saajan Arora (SJK) and Mike Blumel (SJK) were named tournament all-stars.