By Larry Moko
St. Thomas More's senior high school basketball team seems to have found its 'identity'.
The third-place Knights stretched their winning streak to six games with a convincing 63-41 semifinal playoff victory over the second-place Titans at the Bishop Tonnos gym on Monday.
That sets up a Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic league championship game on Wednesday, Feb. 12 between More and the first-place Cathedral Gaels. Cathedral earned its berth with an 81-56 semifinal decision over the 2024-champion St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves.
Knights coach Stef Giovannangeli said his team travelled some "bumpy roads" at the beginning of the season when it lost two of its first three starts.
"We've been playing really good basketball lately," he said. "We just made it a goal to try and control the boards more. That's the identity we found this year. We're trying to control the boards, push the ball and make the right decisions when we're in transition. We wear down teams that way."
The Knights (11-5) never trailed against Tonnos, taking quarter leads of 17-11, 29-20 and 41-29.
The top scorers for More were Noah McNiece and Nyzaiah Bernard with 20 and 12 points, respectively. Zion Stevens added 11. Thomas Connolly chipped in with 10 points and Jamaal Ali contributed five.
For the Titans, who won 11 of their 15 league and playoff games this season, Salaman Alakoozi tossed in 18 points. Other leading scorers for BT were Jeff Ramos (eight), Jason Dryden (seven) and Yusuf Reza (six).
"You stop a good shooting team by not giving them second chances," the More coach said. "We did a pretty good job of rebounding in the first half. In the third quarter, though, we dominated the rebounding at both ends."
It was the third consecutive one-sided victory by More over Tonnos -- the first two by scores of 94-50 and 75-58.
"We were coming in with confidence," McNiece said. "I feel like we play well against BT and here in this gym."
A fifth-year player, McNiece got eight of his points by way of free throws.
Giovannangeli said the Knights depend on McNiece's veteran presence. "He knows the situations we're in and what has to happen. He's our extra coach on the floor. We trust him a lot and he delivers."
Said McNiece: "We really focused at practice on our defence and playing as a team. We knew we had to come out hot because they can shoot. We kind of ran them off the three-point line. We didn't let them get their shots.
"On offence, we pushed the ball up the floor."
Powering that fast-paced forward movement and rim attack was guard Bernard.
"He's got a first step that's lights out," Giovannangeli said of Bernard.
An example of that speed and quickness came when McNiece threw Bernard a baseball pass from the end line which he outraced a defender for and then went in for the layup.
"They (More) use their speed very well," Tonnos coach Woods Brown said. "They'll pick out mismatches and just go. We have speed on our side, too, but a lot of them hesitate and are tentative. It's a commitment thing."
Brown said More -- 11-5 on the season -- is a steady, well-coached team.
"It all comes down to defensive details and offensive execution," he said. "Today, we had it in spurts, but not as much as we needed."
During the regular schedule Cathedral defeated More 87-38 and 78-42 en route to its 16-0 record.
"This year Cathedral has been the class of the league," Giovannangeli said. "We're just happy to make it to the final. A lot of things will have to go right for us to win."
Cathedral is also coming off a championship performance at last weekend's 48th-annual All-Ontario Catholic Classic tournament in St. Catharines. In the final, the Gaels topped Windsor's Holy Names Knights, 60-57.
Photos by Richard Andoga
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