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18 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell 905-844-4444 I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D Broker of Record B R O K E R A G E SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010 Three local teams headed to OFSAA Loyola, Aquinas, KCC all qualify for basketball provincials Oakville will be represented in three of this year's four Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) boys' basketball tournaments. The Loyola Hawks, St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders and King's Christian Collegiate Cavaliers all qualified for their respective provincial championships Monday by winning OFSAA playdown games in their own gyms. Loyola will go to the AAA tournament for the second year in a row, Aquinas is shooting for its third straight AA medal (the Raiders won gold last year and bronze two years ago), and KCC is making its first-ever trip to the A championships. All three tournaments begin Monday and conclude Wednesday. The AAA tournament is in Kingston, the AA competition is in Windsor and the A tournament is in Sturgeon Falls. Hawks sweat it out The Hawks' usually sharp shooting skills abandoned them down the stretch, but it only served to heighten the tension as they held off Mississauga's Ascension Eagles for a 77-74 win. Though the victory over Ascension could have been much easier, the Hawks have made a habit of leaving the outcome in doubt to the end. They edged Holy Trinity by two points in the Halton semifinal and needed a gametying three-pointer late in regulation before beating Nelson in overtime in the regional final. Loyola coach Gary Laurin said having come through in tough tests, coupled with OFSAA experience from last year, will benefit the team. "It will help tremendously," he said. "We'll be battletested. You have to win five games in three days and there are no softies." That will mean no allowing teams to hang around as the Hawks did Monday. During a 30-second stretch in the final minute, with Ascension trailing by five, the Eagles sent the Hawks to the line for eight shots. Loyola, which was 8-for-10 from the line the rest of the game, capitalized on only two. Only Loyola's defence, which yielded just one point on four Ascension possessions during the same stretch, kept the Hawks in front. Ascension pulled to within 75-72 with seven seconds left, but Loyola's Mike Andrews hit a pair of free throws to put the game away. The Hawks' Mike L'Africain led all scorers with 28 points. Adam Presutti scored 14, Ryan Stevenson had 13, Rohan Boney added nine and Andrews netted eight. Raiders turn it on in third quarter The Raiders weren't ready for their season to end. Aquinas outscored Brampton's St. Famille Cougars 20-4 in the third quarter to erase a four-point halftime deficit and cruise to a 69-55 win Monday at Aquinas. "We asked the guys if this is how they wanted our season to end," said Aquinas head coach Joe Polizzi, whose team trailed the Cougars 21-9 after the first quarter. "It was an easy answer for all of them. We just made some adjustments defensively and I think our guys wanted it more." Raiders point guard Will Coulthard keyed the surge, scoring 14 of his game-high 19 points in the third quarter. He knocked down five three-pointers in the win. Matt Blaha added 13 and Dan Thompson and Charlie Drouin both scored 12 for the defending provincial AA champs. "We didn't get our heads down when we were down 12," said Blaha. "That's what helped us." Polizzi felt his team's ability to dig itself out of an early hole was a good omen for OFSAA. "It shows we have some character. (Early deficits) might happen against good teams down the road at OFSAA," he said. "We need to remain calm in those situations." Cavaliers do what it takes to win The Cavaliers continue to come through when it matters most. KCC went back and forth with its Brampton Christian opponents for three quarters Monday before pulling away in the fourth quarter and prevailing 67-55. See Cavaliers page 19 MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER OFSAA BOUND: Dan Thompson of the St.Thomas Aquinas Raiders (22) goes up for a shot against Brampton St. Famille Cougars defenders Glody Madymba (2) and Antoine Lahaie during Monday's Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) boys' basketball playdown game at Aquinas. The Raiders won, 69-55. Oakville Little League - 2010 Youth Baseball Registration Division Age Last Official Registration for the 2010 Season. Don't Be Disappointed !!! Blastball 4 T-Ball 5-6 T-Ball 7-8 Rookeball 8 Minor A 9 Minor AA 10 Minor AAA 11 Major 12 Junior 13 - 14 Senior 15 - 18 WHERE: OAKVILLE LITTLE LEAGUE FIELDHOUSE, 425 Cornwall Road WHEN: SATURDAY, March 6th, 2010 from 9:00AM to 4:00PM Oakville Little League offers: 6 6 6 6 The largest youth baseball organization in Oakville. The highest caliber, fun and fair-play house leagues. Grass infields, pitching mounds, outfield fences & dugouts for ages 9 & up. The only All-Star program to compete in Senior, Junior & Little League World Series playdowns. 6 Fees include: Major League replica uniform, individual & team photos. For more information call 905-827-1831 or register online at www.ollb.org