St.Patrick Irish (Ottawa)

Varsity Boys Basketball News

Tournament and Exhibition News
The 2011-2012 St. Patrick’s Varsity Boys Basketball Team kicked off their exhibiton schedule with an exhibition home game on November 1st versus Louis Riel. As both teams got their feet wet in the early season it was a seesaw battle with Louis Riel holding a 28-20 advantage at half. In the second half the Irish found their composure and began to exert pressure on the opposition eventually leading to 60-51 win. The team next made their annual trip to Father Henry Carr Adidas Early Bird Classic where they first faced the 4th place finisher from 2011 ‘AAAA’ OFSAA, J. Clarke Richardson. The team got off to a slow start but battled back against adversity to take the lead in the fourth. The opposition was able to tie it up and force overtime but the Irish controlled the entire over time period and won 73-66. In their second pool game the Irish were matched up against 2011 OFSAA ‘AAAA’ Champions,Vaughan. Again, the team got down early and despit battling hard the rest of the way were unable to ever get over the hump eventually dropping the decision 65-51. Going 1-1 in pool play put the team in the consolation bracket of the tournament where they faced Martingrove the next day. The team again struggled out of the gate and never seemed to be able to get the needed energy or focus. In the end the Irish lost 70-57.

The team next be travelled to Welland in Southern Ontario to return to the Notre Dame Invitational. Their first game was a tough contest against Cresent High School. The Irish got behind early and were down at the half by ten points, but used a second half run to come away with the victory 58-50. In their second game the Irish sought redemption against a well coached St. Francis squad. The Irish got out to a strong start and used their depth to push the opposition to exhaustion. The Irish led the entire contest and weathered a strong push at the end to come out with a 63-62 win. With the win the irish moved into the semi-finals where they faced the (at the time) #2 team in Toronto, St. Mike’s College. st. Mike’s is led by the dynamic duo of Malcolm Duvivier (Played on the U16 National Team with St.Pat’s, Marial Shayok) and Duane Notice (Team Ontario). The Irish got behind quickly as they were down nineteen at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter the Irish would mount a comeback and close the gap to only 6 points at halftime. In the second half the Irish suffered a pair of setbacks when two players fouled out and then another player took a tough hit and had to leave the game. In the end the Irish lost 89-69 with St. Mike’s dynamic duo putting up a staggering 68 points between them.

Next up the Irish got to play in-town as they were in the St. Matthew’s Bill Wren Classic to defend their tournament championship from last season.The team was in pool B with De Lasalle, Lester B Pearson and Earl of March. The team was able to go 3-0 in pool play to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi’s the Irish would face Louis Riel in a rematch of their preseason game. It was a back and forth battle most of the way but the Irish were ableto pull ahead at the end and win the game 80-69. In the finals the Irish would face St.Peter’s to defend their championship. The irish got out of the gates slowly as they weredown 10-0 to start the game. Down by double digits at the quarter the Irish turned it up a notch in the second quarter to take the lead by two going into the half. The second half however saw a complacent Irish squad squander the lead and eventually lose their first game in Ottawa 77-68.

The team would try to regroup from a lacklustre and unfocused effort as they headed to SOSI (Southern Ontario Shootout Invitational) in Hamilton December 2-4. In the team’s first game after travelling to Hamilton, the Irish would face one of Hamilton’s top teams in Cardinal Newman. The Irish were up by two at half but fell behind quickly at the start of the second half and would never recover, eventually dropping the decision 76-67. The loss put St. Pat’s into the consolation draw and would face Bluevale from Waterloo the following morning. As if the loss woke them up, St. Pat’s had their best, most focused effort against Bluevale as they trumped the competition, 81-67. In the consolation semi-finals the Irish would play St. Aloysius Gonzaga from Mississauga. Despite the game being close early, the Irish stuck to the game plan and won running away by a margin of 96-70. In the consolation finals the Irish would play a strong and big Nelson team from Burlington. St. Pat’s tool the lead early but in the second half Nelson would take the lead by as man as 11. The Irish stuck to their guns though and would claw at the gap until Marial Shayok hit a running three point buzzer beater to win the game 77-76 and claim the consolation championship for this year’s SOSI tournament.

The team also participated in the Eastern Commerce Nike Holiday Classic from December 15th to 17th. The Irish squared off against Central Tech in their first game of the tournament. In a game that neither team would be willing to give any ground the Irish used their depth to wear down the opposition to the tune of a 73-49 win and the chance to move on to the tournament quarter-finals. In quarter-final action the Irish would face #4 in Toronto (#5 in the province) Loyola from Oakville and their dynamic duo of Jake Babic and grade 12 returner Rohan Boney. The Irish got down early as they gave up a 20-4 lead early in the first quarter. St. Pat’s would fight back however and mount a lead by as many as 7 late int he fourth quarter. It was not meant to be however as Loyola would get an offensive rebound with 30 seconds left that landed in a three pointer shooter’s hands who would hit from beyond the arc to tie the game up. Trying to hold on for one last shot before time would expire, St. Pat’s got the shot they wanted but it was blocked and with the ball loose Loyola would recover the ball, dribble to within the three point line and put up a buzzer beater to win the game 67-65.

In the new year St. Pat’s stayed home for the National Capital Classic in Ottawa from February 2-4.In their first game the irish took on an athletic Christian Life Squad in a game that featured some amazing dunks!Despite aslow start and a few players not able to play, the Irish would be victorious with a final score of 74-57. In their second game the Irish would draw former St. Pat’s coach, Mike Rowley and his Mother Teresa Titans. The Irish took it to the former coach to the tune of an 81-26 win. In the tournament quarter-finals the Irish would play Western Tech from Toronto in a very spirited affair. The momentum would shift back and forth between both teams before Marial Shayok threw down a thunderous dunk baseline in traffic!The Irish would move on to the Semi-Finals with an 84-77 win. In the Semi-Finals the Irish would face Hillcrest on the Hillcrest floor. Despite having the lead the entire game the Irish had to fight for everything they got as they prevailed as winners by a score of 68-58. The tournament finals would be a rematch of the St. Matthew’s Bill Wren Classic as St. Pat’s would be matched up against St. Peter’s. The game was close throughout but a key St. Pat’s run early in the second half would prove to be the difference as the Irish would win their first National Capital Classic Championship since 2001 by a score of 63-56.

In their last tournament of the year the team headed to St. Catharine’s for the All Ontario Catholic Classic from February 10-11 where they tipped off against one of Hamilton’s top teams in St.Thomas More. The team got out in front early but too many costly mistakes led the opposition ahead. The irish tried to fight back but eventually gave up their first game in a loss 78-67. With the loss the team would move onto the Consolation side of the tournament and face one of the host schools in Dennis Morris. The last time these two teams met was in the consolation championship game of this tournament back in 2008 where St. Pat’s was able to pull out a close one. In this game the Irish would dominate from start to finish as every player would register at least one point in the 74-30 win. With the win the Irish would move on to the semi-finals and face St.Edmund Campion early Saturday morning. The Irish would go back and forth with Campion in the first half and be down 24-23 at half. The second half was a different story however as St. Pat’s put on the pressure and ran away with the game to the tune of a 60-39 win. In the finals the Irish would face a big Resurrection squad from Kitchener. Again, it was close early but the opposition couldn’t stay with the Irish long as St. Pat’s would take home their second Consolation tournament championship of the season (and in this tournament) by a score of 68-53. Marial Shayok was named a tournament all-star for his efforts. The team will now focus on the playoffs as this tournament concluded tournament play for St. Pat’s season.

Regular Schedule
The Senior Boys Basketball ‘AAA-AAAA’ Season was suppose to commence November 29th when they headed to All Saints high school. Due to a lack of officials the game was not played and will be rescheduled. The Irish next went to St. Pius on December 1st where they used a balanced attack to take home their first league win by a margin of 89-44. In their next league game the Irish took to the road again where they met Sacred Heart in a rematch of their playoff defeat from last season. Despite it being close early on the Irish kept their foot to the pedal to eventually cruise to an 87-57 win. After two away games to start the season the Irish played their first home game on December 7th as they hosted Glebe in a game that was televised on Rogers Community Cable. The Irish stormed out of the gates and never really looked back as they won 76-47. In their next game, St.Pat’s was back on the road as they visited Sir Robert Borden on December 12th. In a game that had the Irish looking worn and unmotivated the Irish found themselves tied at 32 a piece at half time. In the second half St. Pat’s was able to muster enough energy to take home their fourth league victory to stay undefeated at 4-0 with an 80-66 win. St. Pat’s would play its last league game before the Christmas break on December 19th when they headed to Louis Riel. In a back and forth athletic game the Irish would struggle to conenct inside and from the free throw line as they missed 14 free throws. That combined with a lacklustre rebounding effort the irish could not overcome the Rebels as they conceded the loss 74-70 giving them their first league loss of the season.

After the Christmas holidays the Irish would play their make-up game against St. Peter’s from a rescheduled game in December. Hungry to make up for a loss to the Knights in the St. Matthew’s tournament final, the Irish wasted little time in building up a lead at home. With a comfortable lead the Irish would maintain the distance to the final buzzer for a 77-58 win. In their next home game the irish would take on Earl of March. Despite a close first quarter St. Pat’s would pour it on in the second to build up a sizeable lead at half and never look back. In the end the Irish would win 74-61. The game would mark Marial Shayok’s 20th twenty points or more performance of the season as he continues to build on his own record of games with twenty or more points. In St. Pat’s next home game the irish would square off against All Saints January 18th. St. Pat’s would use a variety of defensive approaches to contain the opposition which they did for a final score of 90-35. In their last game of the regular season the Irish hosted St. Pius January 23rd. The Irish struggled out of the gate to stay focused and disciplined but still led 34-24 at half. In the second half the Irish would pick up the intensity and run to an 83-51 win. With the win the Irish locked up first place in the standings with a 9-1 record and will host a semi-final playoff game against a to be determined opponent on February 16th. Check back for details on the season once the season schedule is released. Come out and support your St. Patrick’s Irish!

For further information on league standings check Fatdog under NCSSAA at www.fatdog.ca

PLAYOFFS
‘AAA-AAAA’ playoffs begin in February 14th. The Irish hosted their only playoff game February 16th in the semi-finals against St. Peter’s as they won the 4 seed (St. Peter’s) versus 5 seed (Sir Robert Borden) game. The game tipped off at 4:00pm in front of one of the biggest and best home crowds the Irish Basketball Program has ever seen and would be captured by Rogers Community Cable 22 as they too were in attendance to televise the contest. This game had the added incentive of being an OFSAA qualifier game. Win or lose this would be the last time the Irish play on their home floor for the year as the league championships are played at Carleton University. In the early going the Irish let their nerves get the better of them while St. Peter’s fed off of the energy of the big crowd as they led 16-11 at the end of the first quarter. The Irish would regroup in the second frame and win the quarter by three points to cut the lead in half by halftime 31-28. In the third the Irish continued to mount their comeback as they won the quarter by a single point to enter the last quarter down by a bucket. The Irish didn’t want to disappoint their home crowd and turned up the heat in the fourth quarter to punish the visiting Knights 27-14 in the quarter to pull off the comeback win 72-61. With the win the Irish have now qualified for AAAA OFSAA which is being hosted by Ottawa. With the win the team also moved on to the city finals to compete for their first city championship since 2008. The game would be played at Carleton University’s Raven’s Nest February 21st at 8:00pm versus Louis Riel.
Both teams got a huge turnout of fans as the gym was deafening from before the tip. The Irish got out to an early lead stifling the opposition early to hold them to just 7 points in the first quarter for a 20-7 lead. In the second quarter however,Louis Riel would mount a comeback and take the quarter 17-11 to cut the lead to 31-24 at half. The third quarter was a seesaw as both teams would trade hard fought for baskets with the Irish only winning the quarter by 1 point (12-11). In the fourth the Irish were able to hold onto the lead until Louis Riel was forced to foul down the stretch. The Irish kept their composure and were able to knock down their opportunities from the charity stripe and seal the win 61-55.The Irish are your 2011-2012 NCSSAA ‘AAAA-AAA’ Champs!!

Come out and support your St. Patrick’s Irish!!!

‘AAAA’ OFSAA hosted by Ottawa
The team will represent the NCSSAA this year at ‘AAAA’ OFSAA from March 5-7.
The team was given the #8 seed out of 18 teams participating. St. Pat’s will opened the tournament March 5th at 2:45 pm at Hillcrest High School when they took on #14 Father Michael Goetz from the GTA. The Irish got off to a slow start as the game went back and forth early on before a late second quarter surge before halftime that put the Irish ahead by 9 going into the break. After half the Irish continued to pour it on and eventually won 80-56. With the win the team moved on to play Tuesday in the first sudden death round at 1:00pm back at Hillcrest High School when they faced #10 St. Mary’s from Kitchener who upset #9 Westmount on a buzzer beater to play in this game. The game was tight from the start but an enormous dunk by Marial Shayok on the oppositions starting center, Voll, sparked the Irish (can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLHZGEBDPPQ&context=C434dc00ADvjVQa1PpcFNSr-kqceHlEAyzO3cgI-_z4zfqEcmp27c=) and from there forward St. Pat’s maintained control of the game. In the end the Irish won each quarter to give them a final score of 69-58 and a chance to play in the quarter-finals against Vaughan,the #1 ranked team in the tournament.The game would tip off at 8:30pm that night at Ridgemont high school and the Irish faithful were back out in full force. St. Pat’s got off to very slow start trailing 20-7 at the end of the first quarter. In the second, the Irish would get going as they would win the quarter by five and cut the lead to eight at the half. Early in the second half the Irish would make a push, getting stops on defense and converting on offense to cut the lead to 4 points. Vaughan would call a timeout to settle their troops and regroup and it did just that. Vaughan continued to mount the attack and ballooned the lead to double digits going into the fourth by 14. The last quarter both teams exchanged blows, not giving up much room and Vaughan would eventually end the Irish season by a score of 69-52.

Check the OFSAA wesbite for exact times and details of the provincial tournament. The OFSAA tournament website can be accessed at: http://www.ofsaa.on.ca/boys-aaaa-basketball

The team would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all of the amazing support they received over the course of the season, including but not limited to the St. Pat’s student body who showed we have the best school spirit in the province! We also need to recognize the administration, the support staff, the custodians and the parents who all contributed to the kind of special success the team was able to experience this year. Thank you all for everything you have done, it means a lot to every member of the St. Pat’s Basketball Program!

Did You Know???
-That Marial Shayok was named to two tournament all-star teams, the latest being in the All Ontario Catholic Classic in St. Catharines after the team won the tournament consolation championship.

-That in 2012 St.Pat’s won the National Capital Classic for the first time since 2001. Jany Ondongo was named a tournament All-Star while Marial Shayok was named tournament MVP.

-That after 45 games, grade 11, Marial Shayok totalled 1046 points, surpassing Henock Araia’s single season total points record of 711 which he accomplished in his grade 12 year in 2006-2007 (over 44 games). Marial now holds the single season point total record as well as the single game point total record and the most games in a season with 20 or more points (34 times)!

-That Marial Shayok has continued to break his own record of 15 games with twenty or more points in 2011-2012 as he reached 28 games on February 4th in the championship game of the National Capital Classic in a win over St. Peter’s with a 28 point performance.

-That Marial Shayok was named a tournament all-star at the SOSI tournament in Hamilton after the team won the Consolation Championship and Marial averaged 26 points per game

-That Marial Shayok was a member of the 2011 Canadian Cadet (Under 16) National Team that traveled to Cancun to compete in the FIBA Americas tournament. Marial started every game for the team and led the team in rebounding with 7.8/game as well as was the second leading scorer on the team. The team finished 3rd and qualified for the U17 World Championships in Lithuania in 2012.

- That Marial Shayok was named to and started for the NCSSAA East All-Star team as a grade 10 in 2010-2011.

-That Roydell Clarke lead all scorers in the NCSSAA Junior All-Star game in 2011 with 19 points.

-That Marial Shayok set a team and career record high as a grade 10 when he posted 43 points against Glebe Collegiate in conference play on February 8th, 2011.

-That in the 2010-2011 season the Irish had five different players score over twenty points in a game. They are Marial Shayok (14 Times), Braeden Wilkinson (1 Time), Kevin Ndahiro (1 Time), Ernest Tolete (2 Times) and Sheldon Jean (1 Time).

-That 8 different players had led the team in scoring at some point in the 2010-2011 season.

-That both Marial Shayok and Kevin Ndahiro got thier first career game dunks as grade 10’s. Kevin got his in the Notre Dame Welland tournament while Marial Shayok got his first in the Colonel By Cougar Classic.

-As a grade 9 playing Senior basketball Marial Shayok is St. Patrick’s all-time leading 20+ points in a game over a single season with his 15th of the year. He surpassed Henock Araia in the National Capital Tournament who previously held the record with 14 games with 20 or more points in a season.

-Daemar Thomas got his first game dunk as a grade 11 in the 2009-2010 season. His first dunk came in the second game of the preseason at the Father Henry Carr Adidas Early Bird Classic. This was the same tournament that saw Christian Kondo get his first game dunk in a St. Patrick’s uniform as a grade 11 a year prior.

-That Shayok Shayok was featured in Slam Magazine in an article called “North Pole Heating Up” that featured the top Canadian Basketball Players.

-That Shayok Shayok started for the East Senior Boys All-Star Team in 2009.

-That in the 2009 Jaguar Classic game against Arnprior, every single dressed players (12 players) scored at leat twice in the victory.

-That Farshad Chezani has the record for the most 3 pointers in a season (85) from his grade 12 year (2006-2007)

—En route to their OFSAA Gold medal, the Irish beat the #3 (London’s-Oakridge), #2 (Windsor’s-Catholic Central), and the #1 (Thornhill’s-Vaughan) seed to do so. As well they knocked off the team that knocked them out of OFSAA a year ago (#7-Governor Simcoe).

-That former assistant coach, Dion Williams was a member of the St. Patrick’s OFSAA team that won silver.

-That Coach Koeslag and Coach St. Amour both played at the University Level. Coach Koeslag played for the University of Ottawa and Lakehead University, where he was a starter at both schools. Coach St. Amour played for St. Francis Xavier and was a starter during her time there as well as a conference all-star. Former Junior Head Coach, Dion Williams also played for St. Francis Xavier where he won back to back National Championships and was named a conference all-star during his time as an X-men. Current Junior Boys Coach Leah Hubbard played for the University of Ottawa Geegees while in university and she is assisted by former St. Pat’s player Daniel Lutfy who has also helped coach St.Pat’s intermediate as well as Hillcrest.

-The following ALUMNI have gone on to play at the college/university level and beyond:
Paul Joseph-Slippery Rock (Division II University in the U.S.A.)
Jafeth Maseruka-Carleton University (National Champion); Pro Basketball in Europe and Africa
Nelson Louro-Carleton University/Cambrian College/Durham College
Ebert Ephraim-Carleton University
Chabine Tucker-Carleton University
Dove Latuya-Algonquin College/Loyalist College
C.J. Anderson-Algonquin College
B.J. Charles-Algonquin College (all-star) and Carleton University (National Champion)
John Kulwartin-Carleton University
Dion Williams-St. Francis Xavier (National Champion)
Edilson Silva-Durham College
Titus Guihede-Windsor
Garry Pierre-SUNY-Canyon (U.S.A.)
Tosin Ajimati-Algonquin
Ali Mahmoud-University of Ottawa and Pro Basketball in Lebanon (also on the Lebanese National Basketball team)
Alex Sabino-Champlain College CEGEP/Northern Michigan (Div.2 U.S.A.)
Isinike Massunken-Lakehead University
Patrick Bush-Algonquin College; Acadia University
Henock Araia-Malcolm X College (JUCO); University of Windsor
Greg Kieran-Ryerson University
Stevy Biayi-Cambrian College
Philbert Louis-Cambrian College
Jesse Duodu-Carleton University (redshirt); Algonquin College
Afeworki Geberkerestos-Ryerson University
Jamael Babnieau-Ryerson University
Greg Carter-Lakehead University
Anthony MacIntosh-Lakehead University
Christian Kondo-Concordia University
Shayok Shayok-Bradley University (Division I University in the U.S.A.)

…..More to come ! ! !

Follow the members of the Senior Boys Basketball Team all season long on this website as the team marches towards another National Capital Basketball City Championship.