Cougars novice reps win bronze in Barrie

The Caledon Cougars novice rep basketball team travelled to Barrie to participate in the Royals' annual tournament.

The first game saw the young Cougars take on the Marauders from Mississauga. The game started off fairly even but as the game progressed the Marauders proved that they were the stronger team and eventually went on to defeat the Cougars.

The Cougars faced the Orillia Lakers in game two and dominated from the opening whistle. The Cougars went on to win 28-6.

In game three the Cougars took on the powerful Wildcats from Hamilton. The Cougars fought hard and played an excellent second half but the experienced Hamilton team over matched our young Cougars and walked away with the win.

The Cougars' 1-2 record put them in the bronze medal game versus the host Barrie Royals.

The two teams were very evenly matched which meant the crowd was in for a real treat. The Cougars came out strong in the first quarter but the Royals matched their intensity and took an early 14-10 lead. The Royals opened up their lead in the second quarter and went into half time with an 18-10 lead. Kevin Tayles and Richard Doyle played hard and chipped in two points each.

The Cougars were down but not out. An excellent half time pep talk and an inspiring chant of "We're gonna win" motivated the Cougars. Solid rebounding and defensive plays by Luke Vesz, Alex Trkulja, Alex French, Harrison Dance, and Bruce Hynd helped to keep the Royals from scoring in the third quarter. Sulaiman Mahmood and Riley Boadway also came up with key steals and rebounds in the third quarter. Matthew D'Urzo had two steals and a free throw late in the third to cut the Royals' lead to seven.

The Cougars played their hearts out in the fourth quarter and rallied. Jordan Keane scored two consecutive baskets to narrow the gap to three points and ignite the crowd. Barrie answered with a free throw and a basket. Keane answered again with another basket, after grabbing a solid rebound Matthew O'Brien scored to cut the lead to two. The Cougars' tenacious defence led to a turnover and with less than a minute to play Andrew White hit an unbelievable shot from outside the free throw line to tie the game. More of the same Cougar defence led to another Royals turnover and with two seconds left on the clock Keane drove to the basket and scored to win the game. The Cougars crowd and bench went wild. The Cougars won 23-21 and took the bronze medal.

A special thank you goes out to head coach Ted Dance, assistant coach Alex Trkulja and manager Frank D'Urzo for their hard work and efforts.