Newman defeats STM in Semi Finals
In a hard fought, mostly defensive struggle, the STM Knights were defeated by Cardinal Neman 52-43 in the Catholic semi finals. Newman led for most of the first half, taking a 28-20 lead into halftime.
The Knights fought back appeared to swing the momentum and take the lead when Xzennis Brereton stole the ball and went in for a dunk, energizing the crowd and giving More a 1 point lead. However, a technical foul was called by the trail official, negating the momentum, giving Newman an extra 2 shots, and giving Brereton his 4th foul, forcing him to the bench for the final 5:42 of the third quarter. Replays will show a player clearly under Brereton as he finished the dunk.
The rest of the game was a back and forth affair, Newman, however, made more of their opportunities down the stretch than did the Knights and were leading 46-43, with the ball, with 2 seconds left, when the referees called several technicals on the Knights, even though, it was clear by that point, that Newman had won the game and would be moving on to the finals. Congratulations to Cardinal Newman and good luck to both Newman and Cathedral in the finals. We look forward to an entertaining and well played game.
The team would like to thank its graduating seniors – Lamar Barr, Xzennis Brereton, Santino Pecora and Paul Petruccelli – for their outstanding efforts and leadership this year. Though the team suffered through much adversity to due an unprecented bout of injuries this season, the players never stopped working and are to be proud of their second place League finish. Good luck, as well, to any graduating grade 12s who will not be returning next year. These decisions, of course, are still to be made as the University acceptance process is just now beginning, and the team wishes all players all the best in their future goals and endeavours.
