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Medals on minds of Trinity squads Continued from page 18 19 · Wednesday, February 27, 2013 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com ing to the hoop in the early going), Tonnos had few answers on the defensive end. Only the rebounding of Colin Corrigan and Trevor Kennedy kept the game from getting completely out of hand. When Nick Ernest, who led the Titans with eight rebounds, began winning those battles, it was over. Trinity went on a 13-2 run -- with Tonnos' only points coming on a technical foul -- in the final minutes of the opening half, sending the Titans into the half with a 45-26 advantage. In the third quarter, the Titans put on a shooting clinic, firing five of their 11 three-pointers. Mackenzie hit his fifth of the game at the buzzer, capping the third quarter just as he had the first. Regis Ivaniukas and Orlita, who had nine points and five rebounds off the bench, also hit from beyond the arc when Tonnos paid too much attention to the Titans' point guard. "It's great to know we've taken another step," said Trinity coach Andrew Saulez. "The first goal was to win Halton, then it was to go back to OFSAA. It's definitely nice to have that taken care of." Mackenzie said the win was bittersweet, only because it moved his high school career one game closer to its conclusion. But he said there is still one more objective for the team. "We want a medal," the Lakehead University-bound Mackenzie said. "I think anything else would be disappointing." If the Titans can reach that goal, they'll have not only secured their spot in the school's sports history, but also have set the bar for future Trinity teams. The Titans hosted Hamilton's Cardinal Newman yesterday (Tuesday) evening in the GHAC final. Both teams had already qualified for OFSAA, but last night's result will factor into their seeding. Trinity girls aiming high at OFSAA volleyball Holy Trinity's senior girls' volleyball team also qualified for its OFSAA AAAA tournament Monday, overcoming an opening-set loss to defeat host Cardinal Newman 23-25, 25-12, 25-11, 25-15 in the GHAC championship game. "We were taking a look at what our opponents were doing and what they could come up with (in the first game)," said Titans co-coach Vesna Brnadic. "(Newman) didn't know what hit them after the second game. They thought basically that they had us, but no. We showed them who we really are." Prior to the GHAC final, Trinity dropped the Halton championship game 2-0 last week to Burlington's Assumption, a AAA school. But Brnadic said confidence wasn't an issue for the Titans Monday, even after dropping the first set to Newman. "That game in the finals was far better than (we fared against defending OFSAA AAA champion Assumption) in league play," said Brnadic, whose team was without two starters for the Halton final because of rep team commitments. Trinity will be back at full strength for the OFSAA tournament, which will take place next week in Mississauga. Sheridan College will be one of the tournament's venues. Brnadic isn't timid about what she expects from her team, which reached the quarter-finals at last year's OFSAA tournament. "Our goal is gold this year," she said. "It's a rarity with teams, but the group of girls I have this year is a phenomenal group of girls. Every single one of them is talented." Cavaliers qualify for A basketball tournament With the absence of public schools forcing them to face much bigger Catholic schools in Halton league play, the King's Christian Collegiate Cavaliers took their lumps at times this boys' basketball season. Monday, King's was rewarded with a trip to the OFSAA A tournament, clinching a spot with an 87-54 rout of Brampton Christian. "We got knocked around, but we kept our eye on the goal of OFSAA," King's coach Eric Bulthuis said of his squad, which was outscored 507-320 while losing seven of eight league games. "We got a lot better playing those tough teams. Now, playing against teams our size, we realize how much better we've gotten." Carter Smith, a Grade 10 student, led King's with 17 points Monday. All 12 players on the Cavaliers roster scored at least one point. The provincial A tournament will be contested in North Bay. Bulthuis is expecting a smaller-than-usual field for this year's tournament because of the number of public A-sized schools in northern Ontario that aren't participating this season. King's, Aquinas also headed to volleyball provincials Two more local girls' volleyball teams -- King's Christian and St. Thomas Aquinas -- had already qualified for their respective OFSAA tournaments before Monday's action. King's earned its berth in the A tournament in Lakefield by defeating Hamilton's Academie Catholique Mere-Teresa 3-2 in the GHAC final last Thursday. The Raiders basically locked up their OFSAA spot the first time they stepped on the court this season, since there were no other AA-sized schools competing in GHAC. Aquinas will compete in the AA tournament in Ottawa. -- With files from Jon Kuiperij GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @HALTON_PHOTOG ROAD BLOCK: St. Thomas Aquinas player Yama Sakha (right) tries to get a shot around the block of Academie Catholique Mere-Teresa opponent Junior Mukuna Monday at Aquinas. Raiders overpowered in AA basketball final The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders kept things close for a while but were eventually overpowered by a strong Academie Catholique Mere-Teresa Jaguars squad from Hamilton in Monday's GHAC AA boys' basketball final at Aquinas. ACMT led 25-16 at halftime before opening the second half with a 15-1 run, going on to defeat the Raiders 67-43. "We struggled scoring, but we did what we wanted defensively in the first half," said Aquinas coach Joe Polizzi. "We were in over our heads at times." ACMT reached the final of its Hamilton Catholic league, facing AAAA school Cardinal Newman in the championship game. Polizzi expects the Jaguars to medal at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA tournament next week in York Region. Owen Coulthard -- who Polizzi said may be playing Canadian university ball as early as next season -- paced Aquinas Monday with 14 points, and Yama Sakha added 10. -- Jon Kuiperij Friday Mar 1 at 7:30 PM at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex (Game 2) Tuesday Mar 5 at 7:30 PM at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex (Game 4) Friday Mar 8 at 7:30 PM at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex (Game 6) Wednesday Mar 27 at 7:30 PM at Herb Carnegie (Game 1) Sunday Mar 3 at 3:00 PM at Herb Carnegie (Game 3) Wednesday Mar 6 at 7:30 PM at Herb Carnegie (Game 5) Sunday Mar 10 at 3:00 PM at Herb Carnegie (Game 7) Adults $10, Students/Seniors $2, Kids FREE Any MOHA/Hornet players FREE, All MOHA/Hornets Coaching Staffs $5, Oakville Blades Alumni $5 HOME GAMES: AWAY GAMES: Sign Up At oakville.ca/culturerec/march-break-camps.html Don't Miss Out On Our March Break Camp!