By Larry Moko
Everything was going right for Keegan Green and the Bishop Tonnos Titans.
Tonnos led Wednesday's Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic junior boys' high school basketball championship game, 40-8, early in the second quarter.
And Green could do no wrong. He poured in 19 points in the first eight minutes of play, including four three-point baskets and all three of his free-throw attempts.
One of those long bombs was a runner that found the mark as the buzzer sounded.
Propelled by that blazing start, the Titans went on to an 85-73 victory over the Cathedral Gaels -- the first junior boys' hoops title in the Ancaster school's history.
However, despite the huge deficit, Cathedral almost pulled off a miraculous comeback. The Gaels won three of the four quarters and were five points from tying the score in the late stages.
"I honestly thought we were going to run away with this one," said Green, a Grade 10 point guard who sat out most of the second half with an ankle injury.
He finished with 23 points.
"We shot well, but team defence and just energy in general won us this game," Green added.
First-place Tonnos -- 11-1 during the regular schedule -- also got 20 points by Peter Eshelt, 18 by Christian Ball and 13 from Jasiah Ampansah.
The second-place Gaels -- 10-2 during the regular season -- replied with 19 points by Nikita Whitlock and 18 by Moses Emmanuel. Kaiden White and Adriano Dipelino chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
It was the third consecutive victory this season by Tonnos over the defending champions from Cathedral.
Ball -- Most Valuable Player of the recent Father Kennedy Memorial tournament that Tonnos won -- scored nine of BT's final 11 points after the visitors made the score 74-69 with three minutes, 10 seconds remaining.
"We just hung on," Tonnos coach Wayne Comeau said. "When Cathedral is down 10 or 15 points, they have another gear. You never know when it's going to come.
"A 30-point game is a bit of a cushion so when Cathedral did their push we weathered the storm."
The quarter leads for Tonnos were 38-8, 55-31 and 66-55.
"Keegan came out fast, then he sprained his ankle," Comeau said. "Luckily, coach (Steve) Maga taped it up for him so he was able to finish the last six minutes."
Green recalls a somewhat similar situation when the two teams played at the Cathedral gym on Dec. 11.
"We had a 20-point lead and ended up winning by one," he said.
"Their comeback today was mainly on their full-court pressure. It really stumped us. We ended up handling it after we adjusted."
Cathedral went on an 18-1 second-quarter run to narrow the gap to 43-28. But by the intermission Tonnos rebuilt the lead to 24 points.
"We kept up the defensive energy, basically getting points off their turnovers," Gaels coach Danielle Pinto said of her team's valiant effort. "We struggled in the first quarter."
As the game progressed, the Gaels' bigs grabbed more rebounds, blocked shots and pushed the ball up court on fast breaks.
"And we were able to convert on our layups," the Gaels coach said.
Pinto said it was a great season overall for Cathedral. "We were also champions of the Saltfleet tournament."
According to the Tonnos coach, his team showed maturity and mental toughness this season.
"The kids respect each other," Comeau said.
In the semifinal playoff round, BT topped the St. Thomas More Knights, 89-66, while Cathedral downed the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals, 74-37.
Other Tonnos players included Zidane Khan, Jordon Taylor, Holden Mullen, Owen Subay Joel Oshodi and Quinn Couture.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
More photos on HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page
