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PAGE 8THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, MARCH 7,2001 St. Stephen s and Durham Christian edged in LOSSA high school basketball finals Missed it by that much BY BRAD KELLY Spoi ls Editor Two of Clarington's top boys' basketball teams came within six points of winning LOSSA championships last week. And those six points were . the combined losses of both teams. Durham Christian was edged 46-41 by Uxbridge in the junior Double A finals, while St. Stephen's suffered a heartbreaking 44-43 loss to Brock in the senior Double A finals. "It was a hard one to lose by one, knowing we could have done it. The game could have gone either way," said St. Stephen's coach Dyanne McDonald. Brock held a 28-25 lead at the half and increased it to six points by the end of the third quarter. Despite the late rally by St. Stephen's, the team fell one point short. "We were the defending champions so we expected to do well," said McDonald of the 5-3 record the team posted in the regular season. "We had a lot of juniors move up... I'm pretty excited about next year because we had such a young senior team this year." Jake Lang had 12 points in the championship game for St. Stephen's, which advanced advanced to the finals with a 51- 42 win over Uxbridge in the semis. Certainly the Cinderella story of the season had to be Durham Christian, which tried to match up against schools with student enrolments enrolments over twice the size. Durham Christian has only 135 students. "When you look at the size differential, there is a little of the David and Goliath scenario," scenario," admitted the junior team coach and principal Fred Spoelstra. Aside from the small num bers, the Bowmanville school also has to contend with the disadvantage of students attending attending the school from all over the map. Players commute commute to the school each day from Peterborough, Whitby and Port Perry in addition to those from Clarington. "It makes having practices more difficult," said Spoelstra. Spoelstra. Durham Christian finished 8-4 on the season, then scored a 53-43 victory over Port Perry in the semis to advance to the finals. In the championship game loss to Uxbridge, Spoelstra said his team made some "uncharacteristic "uncharacteristic turnovers" in the first quarter which he attributed attributed to nervousness. "I thought we played with a lot of heart." Ryan VanHartingsveldt led Durham Christian with 14 points in the loss to Uxbridge. The teams were tied 23-23 at the half. Courtice seeks gold at OFSAA Girls'volleyball team seeded sixth BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor While the future looks promising for senior girls' volleyball volleyball at Courtice High School, the team is hoping to convert its success this season into a provincial championship. championship. Despite the bulk of the lineup lineup being comprised of Grade 11 students, Courtice marched through its recent LOSSA and York playoff championships, earning a berth at the Double A OFSAA provincial championships championships that get under way today (Wednesday) in Sault Ste. Marie. Ranked sixth heading into the tournament, Courtice coach Dave Dobson is "pretty optimistic" optimistic" his team can finish in the top eight. "We are pretty focused on finishing in the top eight, which would be a first for our school," he says. "We would like to get a medal, but we have to get over the first hurdle." That first hurdle begins today with round robin action for all 17 teams. Courtice will play one game against each of the teams in its pool, which includes includes Parkside (St. Thomas), the number three seeded team; Arnprior which is seeded 11th; Plantagane (Cornwall) seeded 14th; and Ecole Ste. Marie which is seeded 16th. The top two teams in each of the four pools advances to the quarter-finals, with the medal matches scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) night. The top seeded team in the tournament is Chatham/Kent. Courtice's line-up boasts one provincial team player, Krista Klawitter, but the team has "lots of experience," says Dobson, despite its young makeup. "We have some kids who play club volleyball, but they just gelled and work well together. together. We are well-rounded and have lots of enthusiasm." The team was scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. on Tuesday to ensure it arrived in time to prepare prepare for today's opening match. Dobson didn't think the long drive would have an adverse adverse affect on his team. "We will have time for a practice when we get there before before our first match so that will give us time to get re-focused," he says. Courtice advanced to the provincials after sweeping the LOSSA championships with 2- 0 match wins over St. Stephen's and Uxbridge. Against the champions from York, with the winner advancing advancing to OFSAA, Courtice again disposed the opposition rather handily, winning both games against Sutton. This season, the team has a match record of 78-14. Kingchurch Nissan 1-800-565-6365 Ajax, Ontario 905-686-0555 1996 Chevrolet Blazer 4.3L V6, Power Windows Locks, Cruise, Tilt, Air, AM/FM CD, Tu Tone Silver/Red $15,850 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport Four Door, Automatic, Air, Windows, Locks, Cruise, Tilt 88,000 kms 1995 Ford Taurus GL Wagon Windows, Locks, Cruise, Tilt, 600 Air, Forest Green Clean 1988 Toyota Celica GT J Standard Transmission * "■< Runs Well Selling as Traded After Hours Please Call Tom Carette at 905-706-2720 Olin Cencic (foreground) (foreground) of St. Stephen's moves around an Uxbridge player during LOSSA senior boys' basketball basketball playoff action. St. Stephen's advanced advanced to the championship championship game, but were edged by Brock in a one point loss. 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