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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 27 | Friday, April 12, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" MEMBERSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE! St. Andrew sweeps Catholic basketball finals It took St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School 14 years to win its first Halton basketball championship, and less than two hours to win its second. The Avengers claimed both the Halton Catholic District School Board girls' and boys' elementary titles Wednesday evening at Corpus Christi Secondary School in Burlington. The girls earned St. Andrews' first-ever title, defeating neighbourhood rival St. Marguerite d'Youville 23-20. The Avengers boys then downed Burlington's Canadian Martyrs 43-29 to conclude an undefeated season. "Certainly, the players on the teams (played a role)," Avengers girls' co-coach Hayley Bowles said when asked how a school that had never won a basketball championship ended up winning two on the same night. "And at St. Andrew, we do have an extremely strong staff that supports each other and helps each other out." Girls motivated against Magic St. Andrews entered the girls' final with just two losses on the season. Both were at the hands of the St. Marguerite d'Youville Magic, a two-point loss in their first meeting of the season and a one-point defeat in the second. "Our girls were very pumped up to play them," said Bowles. The intensity on both sides led to a defensive struggle, with the Avengers holding an 8-7 lead at halftime before the points came a little more easily in the second half. Hannah Temple and Fiorella Granda led St. Andrew at both ends of the floor, as Bowles said they have all season. "They never got down on anybody," Bowles said. "They always had a positive attitude that showed on and off the court." Megan Goulart was also a key contributor offensively for St. Andrew. Isabel Violin, Amanda Byj and Megan Rykhoff were St. Marguerite's top scorers. Other members of the Avengers are Victoria Trojko, Beverly Acelar, Haley Langdon, Tiffany Chappell, Brooke Davis, Alexa Miller, Madison Seaver and Haley Montague. Jessica Garvey is also a co-coach of the team, and Chris Hundt was an assistant coach. Boys led by star Brazdeikis The Avengers boys rode a 27-point effort from Ignas Brazdeikis to easily defeat Canadian Martyrs. "He's by far the best player in our board," said St. Andrew boys' coach Jason Tallevi, whose team finished fourth in Halton last season. "I would suggest he'll probably play senior basketball next year (in high school)." St. Andrew scored the first eight points of the game, led 12-7 after the first quarter and held a 26-15 advantage at halftime. The Avengers won all their regular-season and playoff games in Halton play while also claiming gold in all the tournaments they entered. Their closest test was a six-point victory over St. Mark in the playoff quarter-finals. Also scoring points for St. Andrew Wednesday were Bryan Lourenco (five), Vincent Ruso (four), Andrew Deligero (four), Anthony Castricone (two) and Ryan Curran (one). Two of the team's starters -- Deligero and Castricone -- are Grade 7 students, leaving Tallevi reason to believe the Avengers should have a decent chance to defend their title next season. Other contributors to St. Andrews' perfect season were Tommy Odentuente, Robert Guianta, Dario Granic, Angus Guerin, Damian Lee, Jakob Erceg, Patrick Henry, Liam O'Brien, Daniel Sunga and Glen Irayc. -- Jon Kuiperij 2220 Speers Road, Oakville www.AdvanceHockeyAcademy.com St. Andrew won both the girls' and boys' finals of the Halton Catholic District School Board's elementary basketball championships Wednesday in Burlington. In top photo, St. Andrew player Megan Goulart (with ball) fights off St. Marguerite's Nicole Cherepacha (left) in the girls' final. In bottom left photo, the Avengers' Bryan Lourenco puts up a shot over Canadian Martyrs opponent Thomas Kelly in the boys' title game. St. Andrew was led in the boys' contest by Ignas Brazdeikis (with ball, bottom right), who had a game-high 27 points. | photos by Nikki Wesley -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog