THUNDER BAY – The Westgate Tigers are senior boys’ basketball champions for a second straight year.
Powered by Nathan Vibert’s 20-point performance, the Tigers used a 14-point run to end the third quarter on Thursday night to turn a two-point contest into a 17-point rout, and went on to defeat the St. Ignatius Falcons 61-41.
For Vibert, the win marked four championships in four years at Westgate, adding a pair of senior titles to the two he won as a junior.
What a way to go out, the 17-year-old senior said.
“It feels amazing. The last two years we had to play at Iggy and we still won. It was nice to play at home this year, being our graduating year and we got to win,” said Vibert, who put up seven of his 20 points in the opening quarter, which saw the Tigers take a 20-16 lead, and eight more in the third, when they put it away.
“We’ve won all four years now, so it feels pretty good.”
It’s been a great run, he added.
“We had a great squad of guys coming up and we all worked hard all season and we pulled through in the end,” Vibert said.
Papineau, who starred at quarterback for the football Tigers, said the team played well at both ends of the court.
“We really locked in on defence and our offence was clicking, making shots. I think everyone just played their role and did great and we came out on top.”
Things got a little hairy late in the second and early in the third, after Westgate jumped in front 31-20, only to see the Falcons cut it to six at the half.
After the break, St. Ignatius’ Cristiano Riccio hit a quick basket and Daniel Voca, who led the Falcons with 21 points, added another, the Westgate lead trimmed to 33-31.
Vibert’s response?
He buried a three and the Tigers were off to the races, leading 50-33 by the time the quarter came to a close.
St. Ignatius never crept closer than 16 points down in the fourth.
The two teams entered the playoffs as the top two seeds, both finishing 9-1 during the regular season.
Westgate coach Cory Keeler said back-to-back titles is a feather in the program’s cap.
Keeler said after the Falcons climbed to within two, he told them to keep focus on the task at hand.
“We kind of have just been talking about their attitude and their effort. You can control your attitude, you can control your effort, and just have a next-play mentality,” Keeler said. “That was really all we were talking about all season, the next play.”
Next up for the Tigers is hosting the NWOSSAA championship next weekend against Sioux Lookout’s Sioux North squad. Games are expected to take place on Friday and Saturday.
