Local basketball notebook

At the Ontario Basketball Association provincial championships in Ottawa this past weekend, the Midget Boys Cougars Basketball team finished with a 1-2 record.

To open the tournament against the third-ranked Mumba Basketball squad, the Cougars dropped a tough 70-60 decision in a well played game. Tom Campana led the Cougars, who were tied 28-28 at the half, with 19 points while Josh Martella added 14.

The Cougars rallied in the second game for a 52-45 win over Core City Hoops, who whipped the Cougars by 25 points last season. Seth Whitley converted a three-point play with a minute left on the clock to seal the locals win. Martella led with 22 points while Campana added 11.

In their final game, the Cougars fell 62-55 as turnovers down the stretch allowed the Malton Mavericks to rally for the win in the final 2:50. The Cougars trailed 32-18 at the half but stormed back in the third quarter and eventually took the lead early in the fourth. Martella scored a team high 20 points while Campana dropped 18 more.

*** MAJOR MIDGET COUGARS:

The Sault Cougars Major Midget Boys basketball team attended the OBA's provincial championship Ontario Cup in Ottawa over the weekend.

The grade 10 local team was ranked 50th in the province out of a field of 84 club teams.

The Cougars lost their first match 51-25 against the Hamilton Eagles. Deno Bergamin led the Cougars with eight points and Chris Hunt added seven. In their next game, the Cougars were defeated by East Gwillimbury 61-40 with Hunt hitting for 20 points and Bergamin seven.

In their final game against the Oakville Vytis, the Cougars came out strong and led 21-18 at the half but ended up on the losing end of a 52-36 score. Hunt paced the locals with 13 points in the loss while Josh Findlay added seven.

*** SHARKS WIN SILVER AT PROVINCIALS:

Two weekends ago, the Sault Sharks Major Midget Girls Basketball team captured the silver medal at the Ontario cup in Ottawa.

The Sharks dropped a heartbreaker in the championship game 33-32 to the Barrhaven Blue Devils. The Sharks were down by two points with 20 seconds on the clock when Jessica Bauer grabbed a huge rebound and passed to Kelsey Foster, who drove through three players to score a lay up to tie the game.

A Blue Devils player was then fouled and hit one of two shots from the free throw line for the win in a contest with constant full court pressure, plenty of three point shooting and a quick transition game.

Bauer, from the Korah Colts, led the Sharks, who dominated the tournament in rebounding, with 12 points. Liz Gagnon, also from Korah, was given the Hustle Award for effort and leadership.

The Sharks entered the tournament as the fifth ranked team in the province in their respective division.

To advance to the final, the Sharks beat the York South Silver Knights 42-31 in the semi-final. Bauer led with 11 points while Katie Babcock added 10.

In the preliminary rounds, Babcock scored 11 points in a 41-35 win over the London Titans before Allison Marinich dropped 10 points in a 53-18 romp of the Dunnville Encores. In a 41-17 victory over the Bayside Red Devils, Marinich led with 13 points while Foster added nine. In their fourth game against the Thunder Bay Wolves, Bauer scored 15 points to pace the Sharks to the 47-33 decision.

To see a picture of the provincial silver medalists, click the following link to the photo gallery.

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