By Larry Moko
The St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves definitely got the message.
"I think our coaches had a great impact," Braves forward Alex Balogh-Iredale said of Tuesday's senior high school basketball game against the St. Mary Crusaders.
"They gave us a great speech at halftime and got our spirits high," Balogh-Iredale explained. "They got us to work together again."
Brebeuf, which led by only four points late in the second quarter, outscored the home team 21-4 in the third quarter en route to a 64-41 victory.
The outcome improved first-place Brébeuf's record to 12-1 in the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic standings. St. Mary, at 5-8, remains in sixth place.
"We played as a team and didn't give up on each other," Balogh-Iredale said.
Braves coach Nathan Bruzzese said increasing the energy and effort on the defensive end provided the spark that his team needed to pull away.
"To keep it simple, that was it," he said.
Balogh-Iredale led all scorers with 15 points. He also emphatically blocked a shot and excelled with his rebounding prowess.
"Alex is long and athletic," Bruzzese said. "And he's got toughness. He's someone that's willing to rebound and do the dirty work.
"If you can get all five guys to play with that much gut intensity, you're probably going to have a pretty good basketball team."
Other top scorers for Brébeuf included Connor Mayo-Petrie and Karl Belony who tossed in 11 points apiece. Alex Gray and Cian Calura each chipped in with six.
Isaiah Johnson and Frank Nabutete replied with 10 each for the Crusaders.
Said Bruzzese: "It was a close game at halftime. Then we came out with energy and effort from everybody. Even on our bench the energy was great. Every guy wearing a jersey contributed."
Balogh-Iredale, who also plays for the Hamilton U19 Elite rep team, says he doesn't take it easy during practice sessions, either. "That translates on to the court for what I'm able to do," he said.
"In this game we really stepped up our defensive intensity in the second half. We ran a lot harder and tried to hit the glass harder."
As for the Crusaders, coach Stephanie Demerjian says she wants her players to focus on having a "next play mentality."
"I tell the boys if you miss a shot ... next play. If you didn't box out ... next play. If you didn't hit a shot ... next play.
"It's getting through those lows that we have to work on."
St. Mary has shown improvement this season and Demerjian says the Crusaders are using "underestimation as a fuel" against the opposition.
"The last couple of years St. Mary hasn't had the most successful of programs," she said. "I think now that we've started to make a name for ourselves, we kind of have a chip on our shoulders.
"Regardless of who we play in the playoffs we'll give them a run for the money. Don't count us out yet."
Elsewhere in the senior boys' league Tuesday, the St. Thomas More Knights topped the Bishop Tonnos Titans, 54-47, and the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals defeated the ACMT Jaguars 71-45.
The defending-champion Cathedral Gaels will travel to Brébeuf Thursday for the final game of the regular schedule with first place up for grabs.
Quarter-final playoffs for the league's eight teams begin Monday, Feb. 9.
"I think we have a great shot at beating them (Gaels)," Badogh-Iredale said.
At the conclusion of league playoffs, St. Mary returns to action on home court for the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference AA championship on Monday, March 2.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
More photos on HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page
<
<
<
<
