Titans get the job done in basketball final
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Holy Trinity came out on top of a 69-58 back-and-forth NSSAA basketball final against the Simcoe Sabres.
“We stuck to our game plan – defending hard, getting out in transition, and taking care of the ball,” said HT coach Nick Flynn. “It really worked for us today.”
The Titans got on the board first, but the Sabres left the first quarter up 19-18.
After a tight second quarter, Simcoe was still on top with a 31-30 lead.
“The score at half doesn’t matter when it’s that close, you know the second half is the time that matters,” said Simcoe’s coach Greg Pajor. “You’ve got to make it count, have good possessions and have good stops on defense. That’s what games come down to.”
Flynn said he had a message for his team in the locker room at the half.
“Let’s keep competing the way we want to compete, let’s stick to our game plan, and let’s come out and try to contain them on defense,” said Flynn.
After a quick halftime break, the Titans commanded the second half to come out with a 69-58 win.
Flynn added that their key players stepped up, mentioning the names of Ben Williamson, Aaron Figaro, Justus Anderson, and Ben Vanrooy.
“Ben Vanrooy played the best game I’ve seen him play in the four years I’ve coached,” said Flynn.
Vanrooy said it was no coincidence that it was his best game of his career, after netting 30 of the Titans’ 69 points.
“I really wanted to win,” he said. “We had practice on Wednesday and I stayed an hour after to put up like 500 extra shots. I was really determined.”
Holy Trinity’s only regular-season loss was to the Sabres and they had to make sure they didn’t make the same mistakes they did during that game. Vanrooy added that loss made him want to win finals even more.
The Titans will be heading off to Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association competition in Guelph at the end of the month.
“We’re really looking forward to competing against top-level AA teams in CWOSSA,” said Flynn.
He added this group was able to compete in CWOSSA in Grade 9 and now they’re able to finish off their high school basketball career the same way it began.
“It’s all a bunch of city teams and they’re pretty good,” Vanrooy said of CWOSSA competition. “We’re just going to try our best and do the best we can.”
astaylor@postmedia.com
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