Playing in their first Ontario Basketball Association tournament of the year the Spartans opened the weekend with a 46-28 win over Lindsay on Saturday. In their second game against a strong Midland team the Spartans were able to control the game from tip-off to the final buzzer using pressure defence and good ball movement prevailing 71-57. Ethan Sheffield led the Spartans with 21 points. Sam Mitchell had 12 and Reese Desroches had 11 points.
In the championship game, the Spartans faced a tough team from Caledon who had cruised through their first two games with lopsided wins. The Spartans came ready to play with a strong start but found themselves down by five at halftime.
A slow start to the third quarter and some costly mistakes gave Caledon a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Spartans changed their defense and looked to their veterans to mount a comeback. Some timely shooting and a never quit attitude propelled the Spartans to an unlikely last-minute comeback to secure a huge 55-53 win and the first tournament win in three seasons of the young Spartans U14 boys basketball program. Sheffield led all scorers with 21 points in the final. Julio Osuna contributed a timely 8 points in the fourth quarter. The coaches and players thank all the parents who showed tremendous support throughout the weekend.
The Spartans will now use upcoming OBA tournaments in Cambridge and Markham to prepare for the provincial championship in London in April.
Team members include Alek Blain-Rogers, Andrew Robillard, Ethan Sheffield, Julio Osuna, Logan McDonald, Lucas Mitchell, Marc-Andre Beaudet, Matthew Carter, Mike Travers, Parker Sproule, Reese Desroches, Sam Mitchell, Tristan Gilbert and Yannick Madigan.
The head coach is John Gore, assistant coach Mike Mitchell and team manager Michelle Travers.
