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Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012 27 Sr. Titans back on top By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER TOUGH TO STOP: Holy Trinity guard Trevon McNeil (left) attempts a fadeaway shot over Notre Dame defender Grant Mullins during Wednesday's Halton senior boys basketball Tier 1 final at Sheridan College. McNeil scored 25 points to lead Trinity to a 65-52 win. Bound for Columbia University next year, Notre Dame Fighting Irish star guard Grant Mullins has received the bulk of the attention this year in Halton high school senior boys basketball. Trevon McNeil wanted to ensure he and his Holy Trinity Titans teammates got their share of the spotlight as well. "As soon as people come to the game, everyone looks at Mullins. He's the headline for who he is, and he's a good player," McNeil said. "But he's one guy. Versus five guys, if we all stuck together, we felt we could win a championship." And that's what the Titans did Wednesday at Sheridan College, overcoming a gamehigh 26 points from Mullins to defeat the Fighting Irish 65-52 in the Halton senior Tier 1 final. McNeil led the way for Trinity, knocking down six of his first seven shots and hitting eight of 11 attempts from the field overall, finishing with 25 points. Nolan MacKenzie added 17 more -- most of them in the second half -- as the Titans were simply more aggressive than Notre Dame. "They executed very well. Our shots weren't dropping and we weren't going to the lane as well as them," said Irish coach Brian Miller. "When the fouls are 10-1, it tells you exactly what's happening." McNeil said the Titans were motivated to prove they were as good as their 12-0 record in league play suggested. "For some reason, our team's always the underdog. Even when we had the best record, people thought we would choke in the playoffs," the Trinity guard said. "I took that to heart. I wanted people to see we're as good as we think we are." Coming off a semifinal win over Loyola last week in which the Titans had to rally from a double-digit deficit at halftime, Trinity avoided another slow start Wednesday. The Titans led 20-13 after the opening quarter and inflated that advantage to 39-24 early in the second half. Notre Dame narrowed the contest to 46-40 early in the fourth quarter, but the Titans answered every Irish surge with a big play of their own. Paul Bray provided the dagger for Trinity, drilling a three-pointer with 3:10 left in regulation to give the Titans a 57-43 lead. Bray concluded the contest with 12 points. Daniel Dooley had nine for the Irish. The senior Tier 1 title is Trinity's first in four years. The Titans broke Loyola's threeyear grip on the Halton title with their semifinal win last week. "We were in trouble that game and (coming back) was a big confidence boost for us," said Titans coach Andrew Saulez. "Our guys really wanted this. They worked very hard." Holy Trinity and Notre Dame both moved on to the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference (GHAC) playoffs as they attempt to qualify for their respective Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) tournaments. Trinity will face either Cathedral or Cardinal Newman Monday in Hamilton for a trip to the OFSAA quad-A competition. "Playing in Hamilton is never easy," Saulez said. "Hopefully we can get ourselves prepared and want that game as much as we wanted this one." The Irish had to visit Hamilton's St. Mary's yesterday (Thursday) afternoon in the triple-A OFSAA playdowns. Trinity juniors conclude second straight unbeaten season By Ryan Glassman SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER An undefeated season for a team in any sport is a tremendous accomplishment. Having two consecutive undefeated seasons is simply pure dominance. The Holy Trinity Titans junior boys basketball team proved once again Wednesday at Sheridan College why it is the class of Halton league play, defeating the Corpus Christi Longhorns 64-29 to capture its third Tier 1 championship in four years and finish off its second straight unbeaten season. "I'm very happy with the way our team has played the last few years and it means a lot to be at home and have friends and family watch us play," said Titans head coach Ron Esteban. "We haven't lost a regular-season game in Halton in first, the Titans went on a 10-3 run to end the quarter. "After it was 9-9, I think our guys settled down," Esteban the last three or four years. "Our last loss in Halton play came in the semifinals three said. "The excitement of being in a championship game gave us hesitation at the beginning and once we years ago." settled into our traditional man-to-man press, The incredible feat isn't lost on the Holy "To do it two years Trinity players either. we started to feel more comfortable. in a row meant a "To do it two years in a row meant a lot to lot... it's special." "We were able to generate good scores, stop us," said Titans point guard Kimbal MacKenzie, them from getting good looks and contest who led all scorers with 15 points. "For me Holy Trinity guard everything they had." being here both years, it's special." Holy Trinity outscored Corpus Christi 13-7 Kimbal MacKenzie In last year's final between the two clubs, in the quarter to carry a 32-19 lead into halfHoly Trinity emerged with a 57-50 victory despite a late time and never looked back. fourth-quarter run by Corpus Christi. There would be no Esteban said the goal for his club was to keep the end-game flurry in this season's championship encounter. Longhorns under 40 points on the afternoon. See Opposing, page 28 With the score even at nine apiece midway through the