Published Jan. 3 2017
On Dec. 21 the Red Hawks junior basketball team went to Peterborough to participate in two interlock series games. First they played Thomas A. Stewart Secondary (TASS) in the morning and then in the afternoon played Norwood District High School.
Unfortunately two of the junior team starters failed to make the bus for the trip and weren’t available to play. As coach Gord Cochrane has told his team all season: Actions result in consequences. For those two players the consequences will likely be that they won’t be starting for the next couple of games since they let down their teammates.
In the first game TASS won 42-18. The Red Hawks were led in scoring by Coleman Heaven with six points. Cade Bain led the team in rebounding with four. Unfortunately the team committed 26 turnovers. That was not a season high but much higher than it should be.
In the second game the Red Hawks beat Norwood 42-29. The team only committed 16 turnovers and that helped their cause a great deal. The score at the end of the first quarter was 11-9 in favour of the Red Hawks. Then it was 22-21 at half time with HHSS in the lead. The Red Hawks switched to a man-to-man defence from a zone defence in the second half resulting in a 32-29 lead after three quarters and outscored their opponent 10-0 in the fourth quarter.
Coach Cochrane was particularly proud of the team in the fourth quarter because many of the players passed up open three-point attempts in order to work the ball to teammates to get better shots who were closer to the basket. That ball movement resulted in Ben Livingstone and Colby Lambshead each scoring on two 15-foot jump shots in the fourth quarter powering the Red Hawks to the victory. This commitment to teamwork along with very good defence resulted in the first win of the season for the junior team. They were led in scoring by Bain with 10 points. Livingstone and Lambshead followed in scoring with six each. Bain also led the team in rebounding with eight followed by Heaven with five. Caden Little played his best game of the year scoring four points and garnering three rebounds. During that fourth quarter Tevin Sullivan also stole the ball and raced down court to score a left-handed layup. Coach Cochrane has been encouraging the players to use their left hand and Sullivan did that. The team has been working on jump shots a lot this season and it is paying off.
The Red Hawks junior basketball team now has a season record of 1-3 and hopes to improve on that record in 2017. Their first games in 2017 will be on Tuesday Jan. 10 against LCVI at home (the senior team plays at 3 p.m. and the junior team plays at 4:15); Wednesday Jan. 11 against St. Thomas Aquinas away; and Thursday Jan. 12 hosting Brock High School (a junior game only starting at 3 p.m.). Come on out and watch the Red Hawks basketball teams play. They are a hard working competitive group of young men.
Submitted by Gord Cochrane
