THUNDER BAY – For the first time in 15 years, the Westgate Tigers are senior high school boys’ basketball champions.
The Tigers rode a 20-6 advantage in the third quarter and withstood a 15-0 fourth-quarter run by their opponent to eke out a 62-60 win over the eight-time defending champion St. Ignatius Falcons on Thursday night.
It was just the third senior boys championship in school history, the last one coming in 2009, the first more than three decades earlier, in 1978.
Steve Stadey, who put up 16 points for the Tigers, including eight in the first quarter alone, said they might have been the favourites, but they weren’t worried going up against a team that ran the table in the regular season, posting a 10-0 record.
“We were the underdogs going into it, but we were confident we could pull it off,” the Grade 12 student said.
“I think we came out with more energy than they did (in the third). We stayed together and we pulled it off.”
The two teams kept it close in the opening half, with nine lead changes that ultimately saw St. Ignatius take the lead into the break, Casper Petrick burying a three-pointer just as the buzzer was about to sound.
But it didn’t take the visiting Tigers long to erase the 31-29 deficit when the third quarter opened.
Ben Keeler hit from deep to put Westgate in front 32-31 and Stadey got back-to-back buckets to up the lead to five.
It was the start of a 13-2 run by the Tigers to close out the quarter, Mitchell Papineau helping to key the success with a three pointer that upped Westgate’s lead to 45-35, the same margin they’d take into the fourth.
That’s when the nerves kicked in.
And when St. Ignatius forward Daniel Voca found his touch.
Down nine, Voca carried the Falcons back into contention, singlehandedly putting up 11 straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers, the 15-0 run landing St. Ignatius back in the lead, up 53-51.
It lasted a matter of minutes.
Nathan Vibert, who finished with 10 points, hit from beyond the arch to give the Tigers a 55-54 advantage, and after Petrick tied the game at the free-throw line, Westgate’s Holdyn Presenger put the Tigers in front for good and the rest of the match played out at the free-throw line after Gunnar White’s go-ahead three-point attempt for the Falcons went in and out, the rebound hauled in by the Tigers D.
Voca stepped to the line with seven seconds to go, his team down four, but missed both free throws, the second on purpose. He hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to close the gap to two, but time had run out.
Papineau, said winning a title for the Tigers feels pretty great.
“It’s big for Westgate,” the 16-year-old said. “The win means a lot to me, especially after we lost football in the final.”
“At halftime our coach came into the dressing room and gave us a good talk. We all came together as a group and performed as we should have.”
The coach, Cory Keeler, said it was a character win over a dominant team.
“It’s been a long time for a senior title. Some of these guys last year, they won junior, and that kind of helps a little bit, with a big of confidence. It means a lot to the school to have some success and to beat a team that’s really, really good and has been very good for a long time,” Keeler said.
The Tigers will head to the NWOSSAA championship against Sioux North on Tuesday and Wednesday, the winner earning a spot in the OFSAA ‘AA’ championships in Nepean.
