Win sends Arnprior to OFSAA basketball championships
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Headlining an exciting double-header on the court, Bishop Smith's senior boys basketball squad fell to the provincially-bound Arnprior Redmen.
The Crusaders were swamped in an 85-29 Arnprior tidal wave Tuesday. Outmatched in size, the home team could not contain the Redmen, who built an insurmountable 48-point lead advancing into the second half.
As a testament to the defensive wall thrown up by the Redmen, Bishop Smith sank only one basket in the third quarter. Attacking the net, the Crusaders suffered from the ball circling the rim one too many times.
The scoring drought ended three minutes into the fourth quarter when Sam Bateman solved the Arnprior defenders breaking through to finish off a hard worked layup. A minute later, Brady McNish hit a three-point shot from the field to give the Crusaders some life. He admitted later that there was a feeling of futility dealing with the bigger, more dominant Arnprior contingent.
"We tried really hard but they were a bigger, better team," explained McNish, who lead the team with 10 points. "We had a lot of passing but we couldn't get the shots."
Forced to the perimeter, the Crusaders began shooting more from the field in hopes of climbing back into contention.
"We just figured we'd shoot our threes and take our chances," said Bateman, who was held to four points, adding the injury-riddled team knew they had quite a hill to climb. "We've learned to have a love for the game and go into it with a good attitude."
In addition to Bateman and McNish, Brad Switzer, with nine points, and Brayden Neville, with five points, successfully connected at the basket. This was one of the last games of the season for both teams. Arnprior District High School will represent the region when it goes to the 2013 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations' (OFSAA) Boys 'AA' Basketball Championships in Richmond Hill next week. It will be the first time an Arnprior basketball team has gone to the provincials since 1978.
Posting 21 points, Arnprior's Mike Shoveller said his squad moved the ball well and stuck to a solid defensive strategy.
"It all starts at defense for us," he said. "We're trying to push in transition and get some easy buckets as fast as we can."
With the provincials looming, the team has become more focused in its practices, working on the field goals and ensuring they find the open man under the net. Shoveller said they are excited about their upcoming appearance at OFSAA
"It will be a really good experience for all of us," he said.
In the second game of the afternoon, Bishop Smith's junior boys battled back from a 16-point deficit to draw to within two points of tying the Redmen. Blessed with size and two healthy lines, the Arnprior squad took the initiative early.
For a while, it looked like the depleted Crusaders, taking to the court with only one line, were snakebitten at the basket with none of their shots going in. The comeback began when Brendan Lipke drove to the net to sink two quick baskets. Bishop Smith also pressured Arnprior defensively and collected some timely rebounds.
Then Lipke sank a field goal to draw the Crusaders to within three points. The Redmen's lead was cut to just two points when team captain Adam McCambridge hit one of two shots at the free-throw line. However, Arnprior's Will Ruddy gave his players some breathing room with a timely three-point basket.
Despite the late surge by Bishop, Arnprior squeezed out a 41-36 win. Later, McCambridge felt the momentum shifted early in the fourth quarter.
"We all got that extra boost of energy when we saw that there was a two-point difference," he said. "We had a good defense and they couldn't get by us."
Leading the scoring for Bishop was Lipke, with 14 points, followed by McCambridge, with seven points, and Matt Brooks, with six points. Toby Chapieski and Bailey Adshade sank two baskets. Ruddy topped the scoring for Arnprior, with 11 points, followed by Evan Schriver, with nine points. Sinking two baskets each was Jamie Preeble, Steven D'Souza and Brody Flegal. Keeton Beale and Jordan Bergsma collected two points each.
Sean Chase is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist