St. Michael’s, #NPH #1-ranked HS Team With Statement Victory – Dairy Town Classic Day 1
SUSSEX,NB–The Dairy Town Classic is known as one of the premier tournaments and hosts teams from all over the country. In the small town of Sussex, New Brunswick, this tournament attracts all ages, both girls and boys, and is the talk of the town. In its 25th edition of the tournament, it has already had its share of excitement. The highlight matchup of the day had NPH #1 ranked St. Michaels from Toronto taking on NPH #17 ranked Auburn from Cole Harbour Nova Scotia.
St. Michael’s vs. Auburn
When the schedule was released this game had the small town buzzing about the amount of fire power that was going to be competing on the court. Whenever you have two top ranked teams in the country you know you’re in for a great contest. However the team out of Toronto made a statement.
The St. Michaels Blue Raiders legitimized themselves as the #1 ranked team in the country by dominating the Auburn Drive Eagles by a score of 110-76.
As soon as the Blue Raiders stepped onto the court they asserted their dominance. In the early minutes of the game the Blue Raiders had a 12-2 lead as the Eagles looked to still find their footing and get comfortable.
Duane Notice (NPH #6 ranked 2013) and Malcom Duvivier (NPH #10 ranked 2014)put a stamp on this game and showed why they have been called one of the best back-court combos in the entire country. Through halftime, Notice had 20 points earning those them through shooting the three and driving hard to the basket. Not to be out done, his partner in crime Duvivier was able to hit the long ball as well and throw down on an alley-oop lob from Notice. Going into halftime the #1 ranked team had a comfortable 57-27 lead.
While Auburn started to get comfortable and find their offensive game, St. Michaels didn’t let off the gas and continued on dominating through the second half. Acadia commit AJ Simmonds (NPH #39 ranked 2012) started to come alive scoring 24 points in the second half, relying on the three ball and soft floaters while driving to the basket.
Malcom Duviver earned player of the game honours for St. Michael’s with 29 points in the victory. NPH caught up with Duviver and asked him about the game and moving forward after a big victory.
“It’s just the usual thing, we had our groove on today and we kept playing and we always keep the pressure up. This victory helps because it keeps our confidence up and it keeps us motivated so that we can win every game and win the tournament.”
Riverview vs. Seminaire St-Francois (Women)
The first game of the day had Riverview taking on Seminaire who featured 6’3 Twins from Quebec who have played for the national team Khaleann and Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau. However their expertise was not enough as Riverview’s Emily Hatcher took over in the fourth quarter. Hatcher went 3/3 from behind the arc in the final minutes as Riverview was able to pull out the narrow victory 73-71.
Halifax Grammar vs. Sussex (Women)
The hometown Sussex Sonics took to their packed gym with a good pace and gave Halifax Grammar everything they could handle. However, they were unable to keep up with Grammar and fell behind in the second half, eventually losing 73-54. Belce Yourk played strong for Grammar and was able to play a key role in the point position. Yourk earned player of the game honours for her stellar play as well as notching 15 points in the victory. Also Halifax Grammar’s Jane McLaughlin and Katie Ross had 30 points and 18 points respectively. For the Sussex Sonics Sarah Meehan led the way with 14 points.
Jean de Brebeuf vs. Riverview
With two unfamiliar teams, the game started slowly with each feeling the other out like heavy weight fighters. As the game progressed, Jean de Brebeuf used their size and athletism to pound the boards and take control of the game. This dominance proved to much for the Royals as the Dynamiques won 87-62. Alexandre Goulet of Jean de Bredeuf really impressed with 22 points that were scored at the rim in the mid range and long range. Also intriguing from the Dynamiques were 6-6 2013 forward Abdul Atta who hammered the boards and had 18 points. Atta is a member ofthe provincial team. Grade 2014 Kyle McClusky from Riverview, kept his team hanging around in the second quarter with 8 points, 11 for the game.
Auburn vs. Kennebecasis
In the night cap game, the Auburn Eagles were fighting to make it into the next round after losing their opening game to St. Michael’s. The Eagles would rebound and emerge victorious defeating KVHS 96-94 in a game that went down to the wire. Both teams battled it out in a physical contest as neither team was able to pull away from the other.
However, Auburn managed to achieve some success in the third quarter and build a thirteen point lead. KVHS’s James Davis decided to take control of the game and started to shoot the three making five three’s in the fourth quarter alone. He was able to finish with 20 points, 18 of them coming in the final frame. Erik Nissen (NPH #18 ranked 2013) had a wide range of scoring versatility and was able to rack up a game high 31 points.
Auburn was lead by strong play from 2013 guard Davonte Provo who was able to make critical steals, assists, blocks and shots throughout the game as his team trusted him with the ball. Provo earned player of the game honours with 23 points and spoke to NPH after the game.
“We played well…we missed a lot of key shots coming down the stretch but we played defence and came out with the win. We are missing two big’s right now, in the meantime we’ve got to play hard and battle it out to make the championship”
AJ Simmonds who recently committed to Acadia had a strong game, scoring 25 points in a number of ways. Jordan Crawley was also key down low as he was able to scrap down low against Erik Nissen.
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Riverview 73, Séminaire St-Francois 71 (W)
Riverview St-Francois
Emily Hatcher 21 Ann Caron-Goudreau 18
Holly Jones 15 Khaleann Caron-Goudreau 17
Katie Lund 15
Game stars: Hatcher, Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau
Halifax Grammar 71, Colonel Gray 60 (W)
No Stats available
St. Michael’s 110, Auburn Drive 76
St. Michael’s Auburn
Malcolm Duvivier 29 AJ Simmonds 25
Duane Notice 19 Tyreece Ewing 12
Matt McDonald 13 Davonte Provo 10
Game stars: Malcolm Duvivier, AJ Simmonds
Jean de Brebeuf 87, Riverview 62
Jean de Brebeuf Riverview
Alexandre Goulet 21 Chris Murray 15
Joseph Chartouny 20 Stephen Ethelston 11
Abdul Atta 18 Kyle McClusky 11
Game stars: Alexandre Goulet, Chris Murray
Halifax Grammar 73, Sussex 54 (W)
Halifax Grammar Sussex
Jane McLaughlin 30 Sarah Meehan
Katie Ross 18 Taneesha Daling 13
Belce Yoruk 15 Tiffany McLong 7
Game stars: Belce Yoruk,Tiffany McLong
Riverview 62, Leo Hayes 57 (W)
No Stats available
Jean de Brebuef 91, Sussex 61
Jean de Brebuef Sussex
Alexandre Goulet 32 Nick Huggard 38
Joseph Chartouny 22 Mitchell Folkins 7
Game Stars: Alexandre Goulet, Nick Huggard
Auburn 96, Kennebecasis Valley 94
Auburn Kennebecasis Valley
AJ Simmonds 25 Erik Nissen 31
Davonte Provo 23 James Davis 20
Jordan Crawley 16 Mark Graham 17
