The St. John’s College Green Eagles played strong team defense to earn a spot in the Brant County senior boys’ basketball semi-finals.
Playing on their home court on Tuesday the Green Eagle defeated the Paris District High School Panthers 70-46. They will play the Brantford Collegiate Mustangs on Thursday at BCI at 7 pm
“We came out, we played like a team and we ran of offense,” Liam Granasiuk said following the game. “We noticed their weaknesses, exploited them and had a good overall team win.”
Defense is something emphasized at every practice, he added.
“We really strive to be a strong defensive team,” Granasiuk, who scored 13 points for the Green Eagles, said. “They’ve got some stars on that team who can make a lot of shots.
“You have to play strong defense to beat them.”
Granasiuk predicted a tough, close game on Thursday against BCI.
The Green Eagles were led in scoring by Jarvis Taylor who had 21 points including several layups from pick and roll plays with Granasiuk. TJ Taylor scored 11 for the Green Eagles.
In the opening quarter the Green Eagles dominated the defensive boards limiting the Panthers to just one scoring opportunity on offense. On offense, they took the ball to the hoop, often drawing fouls for potential three-point plays.
The first quarter ended with the Green Eagles leading 17-11. By half time, the Green Eagle led 35-18.
But the Panthers attempted a couple of comebacks in the game starting in the opening minutes of the third quarter. They scored five unanswered points in the opening minutes of the third quarter and were looking strong.
The Green Eagles found another gear however and by the end of the third quarter, the score was 51-33 in favor of St. John’s.
The Panthers came out strong in the fourth quarter with Jack Kelly scoring a couple of three-pointers. They narrowed the St. John’s lead to 13 points but the Green Eagles stayed strong for the win.
“We came out and played hard,” Alex James, of the Panthers said. “We tried our best but they’re a tough team, they’ve been strong all season.
“On the defensive end, we just gave up too many easy sneakers.”
For James, the match Tuesday was the final basketball game of his high school career. When he left the court with just a couple of minutes left all his teammates and coach Mike Wittchen stood and applauded his efforts.
Many of the fans joined in the applause.
“I really wasn’t expecting that,” James, who scored seven points, said. “That was special.
“I’ve had a great experience at PDHS. Everyone has been super nice.”
The Panthers were led in scoring by Nathan Halliday who had 17 points while Kelly, who was in foul trouble all night, had six as did Alex Eder.
The other senior boys’ semi-final will feature the North Park Trojans at home against MacKinnon Park Secondary School starting at 7 pm
MacKinnon defeated Assumption College School 55-49 in the other senior boys’ quarter-final match. The top scorers were not immediately available.
In junior boys’ basketball, St. John’s defeated North Park 61-45. Blake Krukowski scored 22 points for the Green Eagles in one quarter final game.
The Green Eagles will take on the Brantford Collegiate Institute Colts at BCI with tip off at 5:30 pm The other semi-final will feature MacKinnon Park against Assumption College at Assumption starting at 4 pm
MacKinnon Park defeated Paris 56-15 to earn its spot in the junior semi-final. The top scorers were unavailable Tuesday night.
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