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Sports Oakville Beaver By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell 905-844-4444 I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D Broker of Record B R O K E R A G E SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009 25 Loyola surprises heavyweights at Catholic basketball qualifier Hawks earn berth at provincials with upset of Aquinas If the Loyola Hawks were banking on the element of surprise in their quest to win the Halton high school senior boys' basketball title, their cover is officially blown. Loyola knocked off the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders 72-69 to reach the final of Saturday's Fred Scione Memorial Catholic Cup Qualifier Tournament in Burlington, then battled the Assumption Crusaders down to the wire in the championship game before falling 66-61. "We're always the underdog, but we knew we had it in us," said Loyola's Mike L'Africain, who led the Hawks with 17 points against Assumption and was named to the tournament all-star team. "We just had to show everybody else." Each of the contenders at the Scione tournament had something to back up their status as a threat to win the event. Both Assumption and Aquinas came in rated among the top eight teams in the GTA by The Toronto Star, while the Holy Trinity Titans are the defending Halton champions. The last to establish itself was Loyola, which did so by beating Holy Trinity 66-64 in its final league game before the exam break. "We had a little bit of a slow start," said Loyola coach Gary Laurin, "but as we are getting games under our belt, we're not playing as young." Youth is perhaps the biggest reason Loyola has had to work a little harder than other teams to prove itself. There was just one Grade 12 (forward Ostap Choliy) on the floor for the opening tip Saturday. The remainder of the starters, Peter Rusic (Grade 9), Rohan Boney (Grade 10), L'Africain and Adam Presutti (Grade 11) will all be back next season. There might have been one more Grade 12, 6foot-9 Mikeal Andrews, in the starting lineup if a nagging injury had not limited his time or sidelined him altogether. Andrews saw some minutes in the final against Assumption, mostly in the second half. With him on the bench, the Hawks faced a major size disadvantage against the Crusaders' twin towers, 6foot-10 Chadrack Lufile and 6-foot-7 Matt Howlett. That did not deter the Hawks from driving to the basket, however. "We like to shoot the three, but we've putting a big focus on driving into the paint," Laurin said. "When we do that, we can always dish it off or kick it back outside." It's an effective strategy as Loyola has a number of threats for the long ball (four different players hit threes against Assumption). Choliy's three pulled the Hawks within a point, 62-61, in the final two minutes but the Crusaders made a couple of clutch stops down the stretch. The Crusaders noticed a big difference in Loyola since a 12-point win over the Hawks in RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER BALL HAWK: Loyola's Adam Presutti (right) drives past Assumption's Matt Howlett during Saturday's championship game at the Fred Scione Memorial Catholic Cup Qualifier Tournament in Burlington. See Hawks page 27 OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB www.oakvillesoccer.ca EFFECTIVE JANUARY 22, 2009 THE OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB WILL BE IN ITS NEW HOME AT FOR FACILITY INQUIRIES: CONTACT THE PINE GLEN SOCCER CENTRE DIRECT @ 905-815-6161 MEN'S LEAGUE (1991+) DAY OF PLAY: SUNDAY 8PM/9PM/10PM/11PM 12 WEEK LEAGUE ­ 6 V 6, FEBRUARY 8 ­ MAY 3 (BYE WEEK-APRIL 26) $2100.00/TEAM REGISTRATION ONLY (MAXIMUM 12PP - ADDITIONAL PLAYER $40) IF YOUR ADULT TEAM HAS ALREADY REGISTERED FOR ANOTHER NIGHT OF PLAY WITH OSC AND WISHES TO REGISTER FOR THE SUNDAY ADULT LEAGUE $1500.00/TEAM REGISTRATION (MAXIMUM 12PP) (NO TRANSFER OF DAY OF PLAY ALLOWED-NO EQUIPMENT PROVIDED) 1520 PINE GLEN ROAD, OAKVILLE, ON L6M 4P4 · TELEPHONE: 905-849-4436 · FAX: 905-849-3677 · www.oakvillesoccer.ca THE PINE GLEN SOCCER CENTRE PINE GLEN SOCCER CENTRE ADULT LEAGUES SUNDAY SUPERSAVER CO-ED LEAGUE (1991+) DAY OF PLAY: TUESDAY 9PM/10PM 12 WEEK LEAGUE ­ 6 V 6 FEBRUARY 2 ­ APRIL 20 $2100.00/TEAM REGISTRATION (MAXIMUM 12PP - ADDITIONAL PLAYER $40.00) (MINIMUM 2 FEMALE ON FIELD) REGISTRATION IN PERSON AT OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB AVAILABLE UNTIL JANUARY 28TH @ 5PM SIBLINGS OF RETURNING MEMBERS MUST REGISTER IN PERSON AT THE CLUB (PROOF OF BIRTH REQUIRED) OPEN REGISTRATION JANUARY 31ST & FEBRUARY 7TH · TOWN HALL - SOUTH ATRIUM 9AM ­ 12PM (PROOF OF BIRTH REQUIRED) ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR RETURNING MEMBERS The Oakville Beaver A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club Sponsored by: