Eagles makes statement in senior boys basketball

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The St. John’s College Green Eagles have done something no other Brant County senior boys basketball team has been able to do in several years.

Playing on Tuesday night, the Green Eagles defeated the North Park Collegiate Trojans 61-50, ending NPC’s 51-game winning streak within the county.

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That regular-season victory was preceded by another Green Eagles win against the Trojans in the final of the Ed O’Leary Memorial Senior Boys Basketball Tip-Off Tournament late last month.

“It’s nice to have a little pre-season success,” SJC coach Tyler Leyzer said of tip-off championship.

“Winning the tip-off was a good confidence boost for them —  to let them know they can compete with the other teams in the (county).”

He said the Eagles got a “big confidence boost” from beating the Trojans.

“Even though North Park graduated three players to post-secondary teams, it’s easy for them to have a little bit of a dropoff but they still have players who know how to win,” said the coach.

“There’s still a lot of talent there but it’s a big mental hurdle for my guys to know that they can compete with them.”

Even before the first basketball was dribbled this season, Leyzer was optimistic about his team and its chances for success this season.

“I knew that from what we had returning from last year and a few of the Grade 11s moving up that skill-wise, we should be better than we were last year,” he said.

“And I knew we would have a chance to compete with the other teams in the (county) if everyone bought in to what we had to do. Compared to last year, the expectations are a little bit higher.”

But Leyzer knows championships aren’t won in November and December. While he likes his team’s effort at practice so far and the fact the players are buying in, the message to his team is that there are good coaches and players in Brant County who are going to improve as the season goes on.

So, he has told the Eagles they can’t let off the gas pedal and his senior leaders – Ray Haynes, Josh Reed and Nate Martin – have pushed their teammates.

“What I like the most is the leadership among the team,” said Leyzer.

“During games and practices, they’re starting to coach each other and pick each other up when mistakes are made.”

With returning players Dylan Szczur, Ryan Speight, Ethan Barr and Owen Marcos joined by junior graduates Liam Granasiuk, Rona Vezsenyi, T.J. Taylor, Simon Yung, Evan Bailey and Yovan Stewart, Leyzer said the team will have to work on its composure within games.

He said the players have to maintain the same mindset from the start of the game to the end and avoid peaks and valleys so they can make good decisions at all points.

If they can do those things, he likes his team’s chances of getting into a position to win a championship.

“It should be a fairly competitive season,” he said. “It’s a little different then the way it’s been the last few (seasons).

“If we look at the season as a marathon instead of a sprint and that even though we got out of the blocks pretty good to start, we still need to continue to get better, we should have a pretty good chance of making it to the final.

“With the talent we have, our goal is to get to the final.”