Niagara Falls wasn’t the only thing that was wet over the OBA weekend – the EY Midget Boys were raining 3s, dishing dimes, sweating up a storm, having fun, and making their parents both happy and nervous in the process!
In the first game on Friday night the team faced Ancaster and played well in the early stages. They took a good lead into the fourth quarter only to see it whittled away by their opponents as the period progressed. The Ancaster team tied it up late, and EY had the ball and a chance to win it outright with seconds left, but the crowd was in for a treat as the boys would have to go to overtime to decide this one. And one OT period would not be enough, as it turned out! In fact, the boys needed an unbelievable put-back buzzer beater play to take the game into a third OT frame! Once the third OT period started the boys decided it was time to get’er done and pulled away for a well deserved 85-72 victory. Whew!
Saturday’s first game pitted the lads against Brantford Rep #1 and, once more, the team focused on defence and pulled ahead as the game progressed. But, as in the first game of the tournament, playing not to lose rather than playing to win would make things more interesting than perhaps the crowd felt was necessary. From the 6:40 mark in the fourth quarter on the team only managed one point and we were off to OT again tied 44-44. The OT was a defensive battle as each team had trouble scoring, but a critical 2pt FG in the last 30s of play allowed the team to squeak out a narrow 49-48 victory. The crowd had more than a few cardiologists on speed dial towards the end of that one readying themselves for the call…
The last game of pool play would decide which team would have the chance to play for Gold as the boys faced off against Orillia. Both teams had 2-0 records coming into the contest and, as was their pattern, the boys pulled away in the first three quarters and lead by as much as 12 points in the second half. However, the Orillia team was carried by some unbelievable shooting from beyond the arc and a few treys that hit the front of the rim and still went in to tie the game late and, you guessed it, put the game into OT. In fact, Orillia pulled ahead late and EY needed a late basket to tie the game just for the opportunity to play the extra frame! Unfortunately, the boys showed courage and guts after so many stressful situations, but ran out of gas and lost the contest 60-53 in the end to book their ticket to the Bronze Medal game on Sunday.
The coaches and the team decided that the parents had finally had enough from a heart health perspective and in the Bronze Medal game played their most complete game of the entire year. Turnovers were kept to a minimum, the defence was focused and intense, the ball was shared like a bowl of Cherios at a preschooler convention, and the shots all seemed to find nothing but net. Even when the team from Oakville made a bit of a run in the second half to pull within 10 the boys never panicked and went on a run of their own in the fourth quarter to seal the deal with a final score of 85-65. What a great way to end what was a huge season for all the athletes! The progress from day one to the final buzzer was huge! Head Coach Leo and Assistants Liam, Luke, and Malik did an amazing job of guiding the team throughout the year and making this a truly memorable experience for everyone. Congratulations!
Division 6 Results:
EY vs. Ancaster 85-72 3OT (Win)
EY vs. Brantford 49-48 OT (Win)
EY vs. Orillia 60-53 OT (Loss)
EY vs. Oakville 85-65 (Win – Bronze Medal)
