The North Park Trojans captured the senior boys’ high school basketball title on Thursday.
The Trojans played strong team defence, had a balance scoring attack and converted a lot of turnovers into points to defeat the Brantford Collegiate Mustangs 49-37 and win the Athletic Association of Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk title.
“It was a great game,” Kostas Poulimenos, of the Trojans said. “We’ve played them before and they’re a great team.
“But we really focused on our defense and really locked in on their two scorers Quincy (Bowen) and Emery (Bouk) and played them both extremely well.”
At the other end of the floor, the Trojans ran their offense and got baskets when they needed them, Poulimenos said.
Both teams got off to a quick start in the first quarter with Bowen leading the Mustangs with a couple of three-pointers. While the Trojans had a more balanced attack on offense
The score was tied 13-13 after the first quarter
In the second quarter, the defense took over and after the first two minutes neither team had scored. Poulimenos broke the tie at the 5:27 mark when he scored on a layup and was fouled. He missed the foul shot and the Mustangs responded when Bowen scored to make it 15-15.
There were a lot of missed shots and turnover by both teams but the Trojans were able to convert BCI’s turnovers into points and by the end of the first half, North Park led 25-16.
The Trojans had a terrific start to the third quarter while the Mustangs had a hard time scoring. By the end of the third, the Trojans had a 43-26 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs fought back hard and got to within 11 points of the Trojans with under three minutes left.
But with the score 46-31, the Trojans hit a huge three-pointer to make it 49-31 and held the lead for win.
“We came out of the change room ready to put our foot on the gas, we were determined not to let up,” Poulimenos, who had 13 points for the Trojans, said.
Although, the Trojans held back a bit early in the fourth, they got baskets when they needed them, Poulimenos said.
Poulimenos said he really enjoyed the season and the ability to be able to play with guys, teammates he has known since he was a kid.
Chris Hager scored 16 points for the Trojans while Tariq Hamed had 10.
Bowen, meanwhile, led the Mustangs in scoring with 21 points.
“We had a rough first half,” Bowen said. “We were down but you know we had an amazing season and I can’t wait to be back here next year.”
The Trojans played strong defence, especially at the start of the third quarter which forced the Mustangs into some bad situations on the floor, Bowen said.
Bouk scored 11 points for the Mustangs.
The winning North Park team also includes: Prab Hothi, Seth Hager, Max Dorris, Dantae Bisson, Noah Johnson, Ajmir Grewal, Conor Oliver, Aidan Litchfield and Derek Reibling. The team is coached by Todd Andrew and assistants Chris Maddison, Mike Doherty and Pat Woodburn.
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