Goulbourn Hornets
Major Atom Boys on a Gold Medal Roll
The Goulbourn Hornets Major Atom Boys basketball team kept
their perfect 2010 tournament record intact by winning
Division 3 at the Blessed Sacrament tournament in
Hamilton, Ontario. The Hornets opened the tournament on a
Friday night against the Chatham-Kent Wildcats following
the long drive from Ottawa. Good ball distribution and
tight defense combined to give Goulbourn a 50-36 win and a
good start to the tournament. Unfortunately, the boys
continued their struggles in morning games by dropping a
39-36 decision to the host Blessed Sacrament #2 team on
Saturday morning. Despite the loss, the team showed a lot
of heart by fighting back from a 13-point first half
deficit to just fall short of a tremendous comeback. The
Pelham Panthers were the final opponents in pool play.
Following a physical and spirited game, the Hornets
prevailed 63-51 to finish second in their pool and advance
to the “A” semi final.
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Back
Row:
Coaches
–
Dan
Byron,
Dave
Dobson,
Dan
Bayles
Middle
Row:
Michael
Farah,
Adam
Whitmore,
Liam
Dobson,
Adam
Hosny,
Jackson
Bayles
Front
Row:
Andrew
Evraire,
Riley
Roy,
Daniel
Byron,
Jared
Cutler,
Patrick
McGowan
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Goulbourn
faced a
familiar
opponent
in the
semi
final
game on
Sunday
morning,
as they
played
the
Nepean
Bobcats,
winners
of the
other
Division
3 pool.
The
Hornets
were
short-handed
due to a
mysterious
stomach
ailment
that
caused
one
player
to miss
the game
and left
others
feeling
a little
sluggish.
Despite
this,
the game
opened
with a
quick
tempo
and both
teams
passed
and shot
the ball
well.
Strong
guard
play and
rebounding
combined
to give
Goulbourn
a 62-57
victory
over
their
Ottawa-area
rivals.
The
final
featured
a
rematch
against
Blessed
Sacrament.
This
game had
the
teams
reversing
roles,
with
Goulbourn
jumping
out to a
16-point
first
half
lead by
controlling
the ball
and
forcing
turnovers.
The
second
half saw
the
Yellow
Jackets
storm
back.
With
some
players
playing
out of
position
and down
to 9
players,
the
Hornets
eventually
held off
Blessed
Sacrament
to win
the
championship
game by
a score
of
51-49.
The
tournament
win
followed
gold
medal
victories
in the
Toronto
HoopDome
Tournament
and the
Eastern
Ontario
Basketball
Association
Division
1
Championships
to allow
the
Hornets
to go
into the
Provincial
Championships
on a
roll.
Major ATOM Boy's Win
Eastern
Ontario Division 1 Championship
The Goulbourn Hornets are the newly
crowned champions of the Eastern Ontario Basketball
Association Major Atom Boys Division 1. The championships
took place on February 27-28, but due to scheduling issues,
the Hornets first game was played a week in advance against
the Gloucester Wolverines. A tough 58-50 loss to Gloucester
in a back-and-forth battle was a difficult start to the
tournament. The Hornets were now faced with the prospect of
having to win the remaining round robin games in order to
qualify for the championship game featuring the top two
teams.
In the
first
game on
the
tournament
weekend,
Goulbourn
eked out
a 56-53
victory
over
Kanata
after
withstanding
a flurry
of
successful
3-pointers
in the
second
half by
the
opposing
Cavaliers.
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Back
Row:
Coach
Dan
Bayles,
Liam
Dobson,
Coach
Dave
Dobson,
Coach
Dan
Byron
Middle
Row:
Patrick
McGowan,
Jared
Cutler,
Aaron
Clausen,
Daniel
Byron,
Adam
Whitmore,
Adam
Hosny
Front
Row:
Andrew
Evraire,
Riley
Roy,
Jackson
Bayles,
Michael
Farah
|
The next
game
featured the
Nepean
Bobcats, a
team that
had beaten
the Hornets
in their 3
previous
meetings of
the season.
The boys
knew that
this would
be a
significant
challenge
and came out
ready and
with a lot
of energy.
The game
started with
a furious
pace with
the Hornets
quickly
opening up a
significant
lead on the
strength of
a
penetrating
offence,
good ball
distribution
and dominant
play down
low. Once
established,
the early
lead was
never
threatened
as Goulbourn
went on to
win by a
63-41 score.
Next up on
Sunday were
the Hull
Dragons. In
contrast to
the previous
game, the
pace was
quite slow
to start,
resulting in
a very close
and low
scoring
first
quarter.
Once both
teams got
into a
rhythm, the
scoring
picked up
considerably.
The Hornets
showed their
depth in
this game by
getting
contributions
from the
entire
roster. The
strong team
play and
excellent
shooting
proved too
much for
Hull and
Goulbourn
eventually
rolled to a
77-43
victory.
The
championship
game
featured the
Gloucester
Wolverines
to continue
what has
become an
excellent
rivalry
between two
teams that
are well
matched and
share a
mutual
respect for
one another.
Goulbourn
started well
by attacking
the basket,
passing well
and winning
rebound
battles to
open up a 15
point lead
in the first
half.
Gloucester
showed
resiliency
by
eventually
fighting
back to
within 3
points in
the second
half. Facing
the comeback
assault, the
Hornets’
defence
stiffened.
The full
team
commitment
to defence
eventually
yielded some
turnovers
and allowed
the lead to
be
increased.
The boys
then showed
nerves of
steel by
hitting key
free throws
down the
stretch
after the
Wolverines
were forced
to commit
fouls in
order to
gain
possession.
In the end,
the Hornets
secured a
48-38
victory and
the EOBA
Division 1
Championship.
Liam Dobson
was named
MVP of the
Championship
Game.
It was noted
by the
convenor at
the medal
ceremony
that
Goulbourn
was the most
improved
team in the
EOBA this
year, which
is a tribute
to the hard
work put in
by the
players and
coaches this
year. The
boys left
with gold
medals
around their
necks and
smiles on
their faces,
just in time
to watch the
overtime of
the other
gold medal
game in
Vancouver.
Liam Dobson
was chosen
as MVP of
the team.
Hornets Win Major Basketball Tournament in the Heart of
Toronto
The Goulbourn Hornets Major Atom Boys
basketball team competed in the Scarborough Basketball
Association HoopDome tournament on January 23-24 and won the
Gold Division Championship. The tournament opened with a
thrilling one point victory over BROS Basketball from
Brampton followed by a 61-32 win over Etobicoke Thunder #2.
After winning these two games to finish first in their pool,
the Hornets faced Kanata Major Atoms in a crossover
elimination game and advanced to the semi finals with a
54-45 win. The Ottawa area was well represented at the
tournament as the Gloucester Wolverines also advanced to the
semis and provided Goulbourn with a strong challenge, with
the Hornets finally prevailing 46-40 to advance to the
finals against Windsor's Core City Hoops.
The game
against Core City Hoops was worthy of a tournament final.
The Hornets built a 10 point lead in the second half on the
strength of excellent team defense, strong rebounding and an
aggressive attacking offense. Core City Hoops fought back to
within one point, but in the end, the Goulbourn boys held on
to secure a thrilling 49-47 championship victory. The
excellent free throw shooting that the team displayed
throughout the tournament was instrumental in sealing the
win. At the end of the tournament, the Hornets' Liam Dobson
was named game MVP. Congratulations Hornets!
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Back
Row:
Coaches
–
Dan
Bayles,
Dave
Dobson
and
Dan
Byron
Back
Row:
Players
–
Adam
Whitmore,
Adam
Hosny,
Aaron
Clausen,
Daniel
Byron
and
Jackson
Bayles
Middle
Row:
Liam
Dobson,
Michael
Farah,
Patrick
McGowan
and
Andrew
Evraire
Front
Row:
Jared
Cutler
and
Riley
Roy
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