OSBA Week 4 Highlights: A.I. Prep Remain Undefeated, Bill Crothers Win on Road

In Week four in the OSBA, we had two undefeated teams face off for top spot in the league, while Vaughn and Bill Crothers went head to head in a game that went to the wire.

Bill Crothers prevents a Vaughn comeback to claim second win of the season

In a game with two very evenly matched teams, it was surprising to see just how much Bill Crothers dominated in the early going.

With the OFSAA three-point line in effect, Bill Crothers took advantage in the first, nailing multiple three’s from distances that would normally be mid-range jumpers in the OSBA.

Nobody benefited from this closer three-point line more than Colts guard Juwan Beckford, who got hot early from the corners and stayed hot all game.

After going down 35-16 by the end of the first quarter, all seemed lost for Vaughn. But the Voyageurs managed to claw their way back into the game quarter by quarter, until a clutch corner three from James Canlas deep in the fourth, made it a two-point deficit at 93-91.

More from Toronto Sports

• How do the Buffalo Bills move on from heartbreaking loss to Chiefs?
• Suspension to Maple Leafs’ Jason Spezza shows lack of consistency
• Toronto FC: Michael Bradley puts blame on players after embarrassing loss
• Toronto Sports: 6 times fans crossed the line (on camera)
• Toronto Raptors: Depth help is reportedly on the way

The comeback was short-lived however, as Jamal Mayali and Jayden Coke each managed to get to the line with only a few seconds remaining, and sank a couple of free throws to finally seal the 95-91 win for Bill Crothers.

Oshane Taylor Douglas led all scorers with 27 points on the night, including a few clutch three’s to keep Vaughn in the game late.

Despite the poor start for the Voyageurs, they showed incredible resilience to rebound from their early deficit, while Bill Crothers seemed to have learned from their earlier blown lead in the season against A.I. Prep, and managed to pull out the win.

A.I. Prep remains undefeated, hands TRC Academy first loss of the season

In what was hyped as the biggest game so far in this young OSBA season, TRC Academy traveled to Orangeville to see if they could knock off the defending champs for their first loss of the year.

From the very start this game was a track meet, as a number of big blocks and dunks dictated the pace of the game in the first half, which ended with a 37-35 lead for the Bears.

No matchup was more compelling in this game than the battle between Syracuse commit Oshae Brissett, and Cincinnati commit Eliel Nsoseme.

Nsoseme’s length and quick feet made him a particularly tougher challenge than what the 6′ 9″ guard Brissett was accustomed to, and the result was a number of highlight reel blocks from the Bearcats commit early on.

As the game wore on though, Brissett’s sheer strength at attacking the basket eventually began putting Nsoseme in foul trouble, but not before he was able to put on an impressive offensive display of patience, footwork, and all-out effort under the basket.

The second half was much of the same back and forth battle fans had been expecting to see that night, but A.I. Prep managed to keep the Wolfpack at arms-length throughout the second half.

A couple of dagger three’s from Bears guard Jahvon Blair with under two minutes remaining in the fourth sealed TRC’s fate, and A.I. Prep moved to 4-0 on the season with the 75-64 win.

Brissett finished with a team high 18 points on the night, while Howard Washington Jr. managed 18 of his own in the win.

Other scores from Week 4:

Thornlea def. King’s Christian Collegiate 80-77

Orangeville Prep def. Father Henry Carr 111-83

Lincoln Prep def. Ridley College 93-69

Southwest Academy def. Father Henry Carr 148-142 (OT)

Lincoln Prep def. Vaughn 104-97

A.I. Prep def. Southwest Academy 109-98

Other notes around the league:

• Orangeville Prep forward Ignas Brazdiekas made an unofficial visit to the campus of Michigan this past weekend.
• Ridley College managed to win the CAIS national title for the second year in a row on Saturday.
• Orangeville Prep guard Aaryn Rai announced on Tuesday he would be attending Dartmouth in the Ivy League next year.

Highlight Of The Week

Bill Crothers point guard Stef Smith continued his hot start to the season, and bruises a few ego’s in this clip shaking a defender!

Next: Toronto Raptors Assign Jakob Poeltl to Raptors 905

As always, all results are posted on the OSBA website, while entire broadcasts of the games of the week, as well as recaps, interviews, and highlights can be seen on OSBA TV.