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40 Sp Sports SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2011 Different ff cast, but b Hawks' k ' goal l remains the h same By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF It was a game within a game, and Rohan Boney welcomed the opportunity to go head to head with his provincial teammate Grant Mullins. "He's a good friend so it's fun to go at it out there," the Loyola Hawks forward said. "I always like to play against good players." Tuesday's showdown between Boney's Hawks and Mullins' Notre Dame Fightin' Irish also represented the first big test for a pair of teams with their sights set on a Halton senior boys' basketball championship. "I think it's a three-horse race," said Boney, who counts Holy Trinity as the other contender for the title. Many would have assumed that after consecutive trips to the provincial high school final, Loyola might not have the horses to compete for another Halton championship. After all, the Hawks lost four starters -- including their backcourt tandem of Adam Presutti and Mike L'Africain, both of whom are already starting at the university level. But led by Boney and Jake Babic, a valuable sixth man who played behind Presutti and L'Africain in the backcourt on last year's OFSAA silver medalist squad, the Hawks have again emerged as a team to be reckoned with. "Our practices have been fantastic," said Loyola coach Gary Laurin. "Rohan and Jake bring the level up. They know what it takes. They've helped the young guys. Hopefully we can build on it." Like Babic, Oliver McMayoni, Cameron Cataeno, Simon Marion and Jason Vargas are also benefitting from last year's OFSAA experience while assuming bigger roles this year. And while Boney may see just three teams battling it out, Laurin isn't about to discount a couple of Burlington teams. "I think you're going to see Nelson in that mix and Assumption is a good team, too," the Loyola coach said. "It's going to be very competitive." If Tuesday's game is any indication, it will not only be competitive, it will also be very entertaining. After trailing for much of the second half, the Irish went on a 16-5 run in the fourth quarter on its way to a 67-58 victory. The nine-point final was not an indication of a close game that saw the lead change hands 17 times and rarely saw the teams separated by more than five points. The former Ontario teammates did their part. Mullins scored 29 points -- 13 of them in the final five and a half minutes, including a trio of clutch three pointers. "You have to try to know where he is on the court all the time and put as many bodies on him as possible," Boney said. Meanwhile, Boney nearly had a double-double by halftime, finishing with 28 points and an impressive 17 rebounds. "It's his athleticism," Mullins said of what makes Boney so difficult to play against, "his ability to block shots and pass it around." While Loyola may be working new players into the lineup, it certainly hasn't hurt its offensive game. Denver Kotek, a Grade 10 student, had 13 points and six rebounds for the Hawks. Where Loyola's youth shows is on defence, where a few small mistakes allowed Notre Dame to pull away down the stretch. Boney says the team will eliminate those mistakes as players settle into their new roles. "We've got a lot of new guys coming up," he said. "They're still learning so hopefully as we get into the season we'll keep improving." How far they come could determine whether the Hawks can win a third straight Halton title. As for bragging rights with Mullins, Boney said he'd have to concede for now. "It's a team game," Boney said. "So if your team wins, you're the best player, no matter what." -- Herb Garbutt can be followed on Twitter at @Herbgarbutt TOP TALENT COLLIDES: Loyola Hawks forward Rohan Boney (left) tries to block a layup attempt by Notre Dame's Grant Mullins during Tuesday's Halton senior boys' basketball contest at Loyola. Boney and Mullins showed why they're widely viewed as the top two players in Halton, each leading their squads in scoring (Boney with 28, Mullins with 29). Mullins' Fightin' Irish, however, earned a 67-58 win over the two-time defending Halton champion Hawks. STEVEN DER-GARABEDIAN / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Titans poised to build on last year's success For the first time in a long time, the Holy Trinity Titans might not spend the Halton high school senior boys' basketball season looking up at the Loyola Hawks. The Titans have three players returning from the squad that earned Trinity's first-ever appearance at the provincial AAAA championships. Combine that with the loss of f several key players from a Loyola team that won silver medals at OFSAA the past two years, and Trinity looks like this season's top dog -- well, at least in Oakville. "We're up there, but Notre Dame (in Burlington) will be really good. And Loyola's still really good," said Titans head coach Andrew Saulez, uneager to wear the bull's eye just yet. "I think (our guys) are excited about the season and just trying to focus on being the best team we can be. We try not to focus on anybody. Loyola's been so strong over the last few years and they're still very good. So until we beat them, they're still in our minds the team to beat, up there with Notre Dame." Still, it's been a promising start to the year for the Titans, who had won 13 of f their first 16 games going into yesterday's (Thursday's) action. Trinity romped to victory in its first two Halton league games, doubling up the Corpus Christi Longhorns 72-36 last week and then routing the Christ the King Jaguars 77-34 Tuesday. "We have a lot of guys who can shoot well, and we can run the floor quite well," Saulez said of his impressions so far. See HT, page 41