St. Marys Minor Basketball Association held its second annual “Championship Night” last Thursday, March 4 at DCVI.
The following are some highlights of the evening.
In the girls’ consolation final, the Mercury scored a convincing decision over the Sky. Nicole Marriott was the leading scorer for the Mercury, who were narrowly edged in the previous week’s semi-final.
Mia Valcke and Nathalie Bettger also scored some big baskets after penetrating the Sky defence. The Sky exhibited excellent sportsmanship, as they have all season.
Claire Hutton, Maia Moore and Annalee Leavitt provided relentless defensive pressure despite the fact that the team trailed for most of the game. Coaches Rebecca Wilcox and Bobby Hutton were both proud of their respective teams’ efforts.
The girls’ championship game provided the fans with end-to-end action.  In the end, it was the Mystics who prevailed over the Sparks by a count of 20-14.
Cassie Fenz controlled the ball during the hectic closing minutes. Clair Thomas played her finest game of the season and contributed some key baskets after creating a number of turnovers.
Sparks had a number of chances to close the gap in the final minutes, but the basketball just didn’t seem to want to fall through the hoop. April Clark played another outstanding game in a losing cause.
The Junior boys consolation final was a thriller. In a back-and-forth tilt, Mustangs prevailed over the Gryphons by a count of 22-20.
Sam Thorup was the offensive star as he scored more than half of his team’s points. Houston O’Hara was an energizing presence for the Stangs. The Gryphons hung tough throughout the affair as the Watt brothers — Jake and Mitchell — played strong games in their return from a recent vacation. Jacob Milne and Alex Horenberg contributed solid minutes as well.
Big upset in Junior boys
The Junior boys championship game provided the evening’s biggest upset.  
Warriors, who finished in last place during the regular season, emerged as league champions after a tremendous playoff surge that culminated with a 26-18 decision over the Lancers.
Jordan Keeler was the star of the show for the Warriors, but Brandon McMurray scored some key baskets for the victors as well. Hayden Moore and Nick Ross kept the game close for the Lancers.
The Intermediate boys’ consolation final provided the most exciting finish of the night. The Eskimos, who trailed by nine points in the early going, staged a furious rally to upset the Stampeders 22-20.
Jaxon Valcke scored some big inside baskets after Luke Harmer’s three-pointer changed the momentum of the game. Brady St Louis contributed solid outside shooting in a losing cause, while Bryce McKnight provided a strong physical presence inside.
The Intermediate boys championship game almost provided the shocker of the season as Tiger-Cats traded points for most of the game with the league-leading Argonauts.
In the end, the absence of leading scorer Trent Dundas was too much to overcome and the Ti-Cats could not stop Brandon McCurdy who led the way in a 25-18 decision.
Brett Murray and Chris Day provided exceptional rebounding for the double blue, while Ben Frehner scored 10 points for the Tiger-Cats.
News and notes:
•St. Marys minor basketball announced their all-star team for each of the three divisions:
Girls all-stars - Abbey Thorup, Cassie Fenz, Janieka Droog, April Clark and Nicole Marriott.
Junior boys all-stars - Jordan Keeler, Sam Thorup, Hayden Moore, Jake Binkley and Mitchell Watt.
Intermediate all-stars - Brandon McCurdy, Shawn O’Connor, Luke Harmer, Brady St Louis and Bryce McKnight.
•Steve Goforth, from St. Michael Catholic Secondary School, and Andy Hairsine, from DCVI, served as guest referees for the Intermediate championship.
Ken Thorup, Jeff Swan, Dave Harmer and Gregg Blackler also offered their services as referees for the evening.
•St. Marys Minor Basketball Association would like to thank Ian Moore and the staff at DCVI for the use of their fine facility all season. The availability of the large gym has made basketball accessible and affordable for over 120 youngsters this season.
They would also like to thank the staff of Holy Name Catholic Elementary School who make their gym available for the younger players on Tuesday evenings. Rob Wrigley — the co-ordinator of the Grade 3/4 group — reports that they will have their final night pizza party on Tuesday, March 23.
Parents still have one more opportunity to register their son/daughter for the 2010-11 season on Tuesday, March 23 at Holy Name when the association holds their final early registration night.
The program is for youngsters in Grades 3-8 and the cost of the program is $40 per participant. Registration includes a T-shirt and a basketball.
•Some of the players have also been participating on various select travel teams that play against other communities in Southwestern Ontario as part of the Stonetown Schleprocks. A Grade 4 team travelled to Goderich and defeated the Goderich Thunder 29-7 last Monday evening.
Ryan O’Connor, Max Boonstra and Mia Valcke sparked the offence for the Schleprocks.
•A number of student volunteers from both DCVI and St. Michael have volunteered to help out with the program this year. Justin Marriott, Matt Van De Walle, Justin Benner, Ryan Fennema, Lucas Jeffery, Cory Hunter, Rebecca Wilcox, Bobby Hutton, Jacara Droog and Laura Van De Walle did an outstanding job as student volunteers with the program this past year.
•St. Marys minor basketball continues to look for volunteers who might be interested in assisting with the program. Administrative volunteers, coaches and referees are always needed.
Please contact Tim O’Connor at thetimbits@bell.net if you are interested in getting involved.