OSBA Week Two Highlights: TRC Dominates Thornlea, Lincoln Prep Over Southwest In OT

Week two of the OSBA season saw a couple of blowouts and a couple of close contests from some of the best schools in the province in boy’s basketball.

Thornlea’s tired legs get routed on the road by TRC Academy.

After a very promising performance at the Father Henry Carr Early Bird Invitational last weekend, things seemed to be getting on the right track for Thornlea S.S.

However, the tournament silver medalists had played five games in six days before heading to Brantford to take on TRC Academy, while the home team had gotten a full weeks rest after taking down Hamilton’s Lincoln Prep in week one.

Thornlea’s short bench and fatigue was a glaring footnote in a game many had expected to be close, but ended up never being in question for TRC Academy.

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In the early going, Thornlea guard Shawn Miller-Moore had trouble finishing in the lane due to TRC Academy’s impressive length up front, while point guard Jordan Henry just couldn’t get anything going consistently from behind the arc.

With a full bench and plenty of rest, TRC Academy took a commanding 51-27 lead at the half and never looked back.

Adong Makuoi of TRC was a force in the paint with a bunch of offensive boards and uncontested jams, while Adam Francolini and Julian Walker were firing at will from deep to keep TRC up by double digits at all times and eventually gained the 106-63 win.

You can chalk this one up to fatigue versus fresh, but in the end it will still go down as a loss for Thornlea and another big win for TRC Academy as they now improve to 2-0 on the season and sit atop the OSBA standings.

Lincoln Prep Outlasts Southwest Academy in overtime.

In a young season that has had no shortages of close games, Lincoln Prep once again found themselves in an instant classic, just like they did in week one.

This time, however, they would find a much more favourable result, overcoming last-minute  heroics by London’s Southwest Academy and getting a close win in overtime.

With only a few seconds remaining in regulation and the score 95-93 for Lincoln Prep, forward Zach Datars only needed to make one free throw to make it a three-point game and possibly seal the win.

Datars couldn’t convertand with time ticking down, Southwest’s Xavier Ochu sprinted down the floor off the rebound and managed to lay in the tying basket with a defender all over him, sending the hometown crowd into a frenzy as the buzzer sounded.

As Lincoln Prep had done in week one, however, they would not go away. The difference this time would be Lincoln Prep’s ability to hold onto the lead in the extra period and manage to escape London with a 108-105 victory.

With the result, both teams are now sitting at 1-1 on the season and find themselves currently tied in the standings.

Other Scores from Week 2:

Orangeville Prep def. King’s Christian Collegiate 87-54

Vaughn S.S. def. Ridley College 72-69

A.I. Prep def. Father Henry Carr 118-70

Ridley College def. King’s Christian Collegiate 79-69

Other notes around the league:

• Orangeville Prep’s Oshae Brissett made his college commitment announcement on Saturday night during the Raptors halftime show, selecting the Syracuse Orange as his landing spot for next season.
• Bill Crothers’ Stef Smith also announced earlier on Saturday, that he will be attending the University of Vermont next season.
• A number of the young ladies from the OSBA also announced their commitments for next season this week. Durham Elite’s Shaina Pellington has committed to the Oklahoma Sooners, while her teammate Tiarra Davis has decided to join Robert Morris for next season. Bill Crothers’ Emma McCamus also committed to Central Connecticut,
• Father Henry Carr picked up Bronze at the Humber Classic this past weekend with a win over Martingrove. Anthony McNish finished with 15 points in the game, while 6-foot-4 unsigned senior Mychael Paulo picked up a tournament All-Star nod.

Next: OSBA Week One Highlights: A.I. Prep Comeback, TRC Wins In OT

All live streams, highlights, as well as player interviews are available on the OSBA TV channel on YouTube.