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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 28, 2010 · 26 Good things Bruin at River Oaks School wins another Halton basketball championship By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER COMING AROUND: Kyle Bekker of the River Oaks Bruins (with ball) attempts to get around Aldershot Lions defender Connor Newcombe during Thursday's Halton District School Board boys' basketball Division 1 championship game at White Oaks. Bekker scored 10 points to lead the Bruins to a 26-21 victory and River Oaks' second Halton championship in three seasons. Ryan Bekker and Gord Ferguson have different theories on what makes River Oaks Public School's basketball program so successful. "It's our coach," Bekker said. "He pushes us hard. He makes us run. It's good, though." Ferguson, who has coached River Oaks basketball for the past 11 years, sees it a little differently. "I'm just lucky to get kids that follow the plan and work their butts off. They work so hard all the time," said Ferguson. "You're as good a coach as your players are, and I've just been fortunate to have really hard-working kids who want to win." Whatever the recipe is, it's working. The Bruins won their second Halton District School Board boys' basketball Tier 1 championship in the past three years Thursday at White Oaks Secondary School, defeating Burlington's Aldershot Lions 2621 in an exciting and competitive contest. Aldershot, making its first-ever appearance in the Halton championship game, was down 23-21 and had the basketball with 35 seconds left. After the Lions missed a potential game-tying shot, River Oaks clinched the title as Bekker made an athletic lay-up while being fouled and then sank the freebie from the line to give his team a five-point advantage with 21 seconds to go. The three-point play capped an impressive second half by Bekker, who was frustrated with his own play in the opening 12 minutes but finished with a game-high 10 points. "My coach talked to me and that's what really got me coming back," said the Grade 8 student, who will attend White Oaks in the fall. "I wasn't making my layups. They weren't going in. I just focused on the rim, knew I could play to my full potential and just did what I did." Twin tandem Bekker also got some help from the twin brother tandem of Jordan and Evan O'Dell. Evan was River Oaks' primary ball handler throughout the game, setting up Jordan and Bekker in the post. Jordan took advantage of his size to score six points inside. "They're just really good together," Ferguson said of the twins. "Evan... is the more skilled player, but when Jordan gets it down in the post, he's hard to stop. He's very skilled under the basket." Kyle Shannon added six points and Chantz O'Donnell contributed two for the Bruins, who led 12-8 at halftime. Most of Aldershot's points came from the perimeter as Jordan Lyons (seven points) and Connor Newcome (six points) showed off their outside games. "I think we're a better guard-oriented team," said Lions coach Nick Manojlovic. "To me, the difference in the game was free throw shooting and missing some gimmes down low. "I thought, overall, we played well. (The players) are young. They panic a bit, but what can you expect? It's elementary basketball... the fans were into it. It was a fun game." Nathan Cooper chipped in four points for the Lions while Lavrier Mantell and Prabhdeep Badheesha each contributed two. Thunderbirds taking flight quickly One of Oakville's newest schools appears to be quickly building a quality basketball program as well. In only its second year of existence, Emily Carr Public School won the Halton Central Division Tier 1 boys' championship this season. The Thunderbirds went 7-3 in regularseason play, then defeated Pine Grove, Forest Trail and Pineland in the playoffs. Emily Carr's hopes of reaching the Halton final were ended in the regional semifinals with a 28-25 loss to Aldershot. Making the Thunderbirds' season even more remarkable is the fact that last year's team, which had no Grade 8 students, went winless in its 10 games. "It was a little bit more of a fair fight this year," said Trevor Dykstra, who coached the team along with Jayne Hahn. "Last year we lost every game and every game we'd lose, their confidence would drop down a bit more and more. This year, when they started winning, it had the opposite effect and they started just feeding off that confidence." Dykstra said this season's showing is something to build on for next year, when many of the core players will be in Grade 8. "We're probably going to be able to carry that momentum," said Dykstra, who highlighted Nick Howie, Darryl Jean and Jared Hines as major contributors to the team's success this season. -- Jon Kuiperij GOALIES NEEDED The Burlington Women's Recreational Soccer League is looking for goalies for its Sunday (19 and over) and Tuesday (30 and over) leagues. There is a reduced rate for full time goalies. If interested please call 905 632 4035 or visit www.bwrsl.com for more info.