11°c Overcast
18°c Light rain
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Raiders gang up on Reivers to reach final
Five Oak Park players hit double figures
THE Oak Park Raiders romped to a berth in the championship final of the Wesmen Classic high school boys basketball tournament on Friday.
The Raiders had five players score in double figures as the province's No. 2-ranked team stormed to a 103-60 victory over the Kildonan East Reivers in the tournament's first semifinal game at the University of Winnipeg Duckworth Centre.
The Raiders advance to the championship final on Sunday at 6 p.m. against either the No.1-ranked Garden City Fighting Gophers or the third-ranked St. Paul's Crusaders. Garden City and St. Paul's will square off in the other semifinal today at 4 p.m.
"Our team has been playing really well as a unit, we pass the ball really well and find the open players, and we like the up-tempo game," said Raiders' Grade 11 guard Brenden Alexander, who scored 29 points and was named player of the game. It wasn't the highest scoring game of the season for Alexander. He scored 40 points against the Sturgeon Heights Huskies earlier this season.
"We're excited to be in the final. We played Garden City in the Brandon tournament and we lost to them but we haven't played St. Paul's yet. We're hoping to see Garden City in the final," he said.
Oak Park was beaten by Garden City 99-84 in the final of the Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational Tournament on Dec. 9.
"It's always exciting to be in a tournament final, especially the (Wesmen) Classic when so many people come out to see you," said Oak Park head coach Jon Lundgren. "It's going to be a big matchup, no matter who we play and a great atmosphere for all the kids."
Oak Park got help from Junior Sesay with 24 points, Casey Blanca with 17, Colson Reimer with 16 and Nathan Warburton with 11.
Arshdeep Gill led Kildonan East with 17 points while Ayob Ayob added 10 points.
"There's a lot of attention every game on stopping Junior, teams game-plan for that," Lundgren said, referring to provincial team player Sesay. "But we've got a lot of guys who can have great games offensively and we've got a lot of unselfish guys. Nobody gripes about their points or their minutes. It's just a great group of guys to coach and it's been a lot of fun this year."
The high school boys' final will be played Sunday at 6 p.m. prior to the 8 p.m. university men's final.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 29, 2012 C2
More Basketball
- Back to Top
- Return to Basketball
More Basketball
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
Anthony blocked in fourth quarter as Knicks knocked out by Pacers in Game 6
12:07 AM 0INDIANAPOLIS - Carmelo Anthony was nearly unstoppable for three quarters.
He faltered in the fourth, and now New York's season is ...
Poll
Most Popular Basketball
- Mike Krzyzewski return as US men's Olympic basketball coach no longer ruled out
- Serbian police say former Heat, Mavericks player Predrag Danilovic seriously injured in fight
- Deng goes off on Twitter, says illness that kept him out of Game 6 more serious than flu
- Death of LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling's son ruled accidental, drug-related
- Zimmermann with another dominant showing, Desmond hits 2-run homer, Nationals beats Braves 2-0
- Mayor: Deal to sell Kings to Sacramento group has been signed
- Grizzlies have sights set higher than Western Conference finals against 4-time champion Spurs
- Anthony blocked in fourth quarter as Knicks knocked out by Pacers in Game 6
- Farewell for Sacramento? Kings fans rally for team to stay in emotional season finale
- Warriors coach Mark Jackson fined $25K by NBA for comments attempting to influence officiating
- Olympiakos retains Euroleague title by recovering from 17-point deficit to beat Madrid 100-88
- Real Madrid upsets Barcelona 74-67, Olympiakos stuns CSKA 69-52 to reach Euroleague final
- Top prospect follows his heart
- James shrugs off flopping accusations as Heat try to go up 3-1 on Bulls in Eastern semifinals
- Grizzlies assistant coach Barry Hecker no longer with the team due to 'personal matter'
- Warriors forward Harrison Barnes leaves playoff game with head injury
- Spurs hold off Warriors 94-82 in Game 6, advance to Western Conference finals against Memphis
- Column: Short-handed Bulls were most heartwarming tale of NBA post-season, but it's over.
- With chance to return to East finals, Heat back at home to host Bulls in Game 5
- Three former national basketball team members inducted into hall of fame
- Judge says auction house cannot sell Kobe Bryant's stuff yet as legal issues get complicated
- ESPN says it regrets that reporter described gay NBA player Collins as a sinner
- Jason Collins: Support after his decision to come out as gay NBA player has been 'incredible'
- 'Do me a solid' and free jailed American, Dennis Rodman asks North Korean leader in tweet
- Obama, Bill Clinton commend NBA player Collins on coming out as gay, offer support
- Real Madrid upsets Barcelona 74-67, Olympiakos stuns CSKA 69-52 to reach Euroleague final
- Olympiakos retains Euroleague title by recovering from 17-point deficit to beat Madrid 100-88
- MB Basketball hall of fame names new inductees
- LeBron James wins MVP for 4th time, 1 vote shy of being a unanimous selection
- Celtics talk about Collins' toughness, and laud ex-teammate's courage for coming out
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.