Senior

North Park 40
St Johns 29


Trojans win 'sloppy' in opener Expositor
Posted By DARRYL G. SMART

Despite an undefeated regular season record and breezing its way to the senior boys basketball final, Dave Eves said it's still a long road to the title for him and his North Park Collegiate Trojans teammates. "We can't take this game for granted," Eves said after the Trojans beat the St. John's College Green Eagles 40-29 in Game 1 of the city final. "St. John's is always a tough team to beat. We have to come back Thursday and play a lot better." Despite the win, Eves said he and his teammates weren't very satisfied after the game."It was a sloppy game," Eves said. "We didn't play to our potential at all. We need to do a much better job if we want to win this thing." He did admit that because they were in a rematch of last year's final against the defending champs, there were some nerves despite being a veteran team. "Last year was on our minds a bit, even though this year we're the team that's being chased," Eves said.

Eves, who led the Trojans with 11 points said they were playing as individuals and coach Todd Andrew in the dressing room hammered that home after the game."He told us we have to start playing as a team," Eves said. "That's how we win games."Eves said the Trojans only highlight of the game came from the free-throw line, where they amassed 20 points. Cale McDonald scored eight for the Trojans, while Mike Dulmage added six. Brandon Webster scored four and Mark Dickens had two.While the Trojans went home wanting to improve on its subpar performance by their standards, Green Eagles coach Nick Esposito had only one message for his team after the game. "We just have to put the ball in the net," Esposito said. "You can't win games when you score 29 points." Although the Green Eagles had a tough time putting the ball in the net, they limited the Trojans to only 40 points, which is something the Green Eagles hope to build on in Game 2 Thursday.

"Our defence was great," Esposito said. "When you limit that team to that many points, you're doing something right. Now we just have to settle down and start scoring."
J.R. Gallarza led the Green Eagles scoring nine points, while Shawn Hill had six and Joe Dalia added five. Justin Chan added four points, while Matt Digout had two and Brett Burleigh netted one.

Game 2 is 8 p.m. Thursday, at St. John's.




Junior

St Johns 72
North Park 34

Trojans get a chance for some redemption
Posted By DARRYL G. SMART Expositor

It's gut-check time for the North Park Collegiate Trojans.After looking as though they were deer in the headlights in a 72-34 loss to the St. John's College Green Eagles Tuesday during Game 1 of the junior boys high school basketball final, the post-game message was simple. "This game is over and it's on to Game 2," Trojans coach Adam Petersen said. "It gives us another chance to redeem ourselves. "

In Game 1 at St. John's, the Green Eagles beat their guests in every facet of the game. By halftime, the Green Eagles had a 36-16 lead that had Petersen shaking his head and his players looking for answers."You have to really hand it to St. John's, they out-worked us and we couldn't match their intensity," Petersen said. "For us to be successful, we need to use our speed and our intensity. Hopefully, the guys can learn from this and move on."

While the Trojans were looking for answers after the game, Green Eagles coach Matt Lynch told his players to not dwell on their solid performance."I was really happy with the way we came out tonight," Lynch said. "We felt this was the best effort we've had against them this year. "I told them after the game we can't be just satisfied with this win," Lynch said. "We have one more to go."

Tyler VanLeeuwen led the Green Eagles, scoring a game-high 30 points. J.P. Yurcich scored 12 points, while Mike Perilli netted eight and Matt Bijman scored seven, with Tim Dawson adding four.Eric Drescher and Cam Post scored two points each, while Adam Peters had one.
Marcus Jones led the Trojans' scoring 11, while Vishal Brar and Chris Silva added four each. Jon Dulmage scored three, while Eric Hamilton, Nick Minutillo, Simon Sunderson and Brodi McIvor added two each