Massey boys hope to avenge provincial loss

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This article was published 11/02/2019 (2788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The sting of a three-point defeat in the final of the AAAA provincial varsity boys basketball championship last March is spurring on the Vincent Massey Collegiate Trojans this season.

Donald Stewart, a Grade 12, 6-7 forward with the Trojans, said the memory of last season’s loss to the St. Paul’s Crusaders is still fresh.

“I think a lot of the motivation comes from how last year ended,” Stewart said. “We had 11 Grade 11s last year and almost all of them are returning, so we had a bad taste coming out of the gym last year.

“We didn’t really want to end our season on a loss again, so we practise really hard year round,” the 18-year-old co-captain said.

“Our coach does a good job of reminding us whenever the intensity isn’t where it should be, that it needs to be at a level all the time… it has to be there through the whole season.”  

On Feb. 5, the Trojans were ranked No. 1 in the province by the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association, boasting a 7-1 record in the Winnipeg Tier 1 league, plus two tournament championships.

Nick Lother, head coach of the Trojans, said this year’s roster is quite versatile, has “fallen in love” with its style of attacking the basket, and is showing its ability to limit other teams offensively and defensively.

“We’re a little bit deeper than we have been in past years, especially at the guard position. We can roll a handful of guys which allows us to maintain our energy levels and allows us to maintain the style of play that we want to play for 40 minutes,” Lother said.

Lother said the players’ engagement and positive recent results have been a boon, but he warns that the provincial basketball landscape is highly competitive and nothing is guaranteed.

“It’s been interesting,” he said of the season so far. “The place at which we’re at with our program right now, there’s a lot of talent in our building, so along with that comes a lot of challenges.

“It’s different than it’s been in the past; with talent comes comfort, which sometimes is challenging to understand when you have early success, and you’ve had success.

“Those are the challenges that are imposed on the boys everyday, so it’s just trying to find ways to overcome that.”

Forward Kyler Filewich, a co-captain in his senior year with the team, said his goal is to see Massey once again compete in the provincial final at the University of Manitoba, and said his teammates are equally ready to compete.

“We know what it takes to win and we know how hard we have to work,” said Filewich, a 6-8 Team Manitoba player. “We have to play with the same mindset and same effort every time, and don’t underestimate anyone.”  

VMC plays the Kelvin High School Clippers at home on Feb. 13 at 4:30 p.m.