Tigers defeat Warriors at NWOSSA Championship to advance to OFSAA

Tim Brody - Editor

The Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute Tigers from Thunder Bay are off to OFSAA, the provincial championship, after defeating the Sioux North High School (SNHS) Warriors at the NWOSSA AA Senior Boys Basketball Championship, held at SNHS Feb. 25 and 26.
The Tigers took Game 1 of the best of three series 79-58.  The Tigers went on to win the second game 83-26.
Warriors Senior Boys Basketball Team Head Coach Shawn Hordy said he was proud of his team’s effort, “Our team gave it all in Game 1 and showed we can compete! Unfortunately, just not enough time to refuel the tanks for Game 2 but the boys played like warriors right to the very end! Very proud of them.”
Breaking down the series, Hordy said, “The first game saw the warriors battle bucket for bucket with a buzzer beater from the Tigers to put them up by 7 at half. The warriors responded thanks to Talis Mednis’ strong rebounding and 21 points along with Tyson Vincent’s 23 points. However, the Tigers were able to outlast the warriors thanks to Ben Keelers’ 31 points to secure the victory 79-58 for Westgate in Game 1. Game 2 posed an uphill battle for the warriors as their short bench made it difficult to respond. The boys played their hearts out despite giving it their all the night before, only to be outmatched by the Tigers and their strong squad. The Tigers carried the play showing their athleticism and poise, advancing to a convincing win to capture the NWOSSA finals. The Warriors would like to wish the Tigers good luck at OFSAA and looking forward to the 26/27 /season!”