PECI’s Jr. Boys Basketball team wins COSSA

PECI’s Junior Boys Basketball team 2017 – back, from left: Logan Stark, Devon Wilton, Noah MacDonald, Brodie Byford, Jack MacCool, Alex Arsenault, Ian Forsyth, Ghaffar Mehmood, Joe Burley, Gabe Goad, Ernie MacMillan, assistant coach and Rob Garden, coach. Front, from left: Dylan Morrow, Cooper Rogers, Thomas Davies and Ben Wells.

PECI’s Junior Boys Basketball team ended the season at the very top of the game, winning the AA COSSA Championship – for the first time in 21 years.

It was an especially thrilling win for Coach Rob Garden, as he was a member of the PECI team 21 years ago that accomplished the feat at the Central Ontario Secondary School Association (COSSA) Championship under the direction of coaches Bill Latchford and Mick Chalmers.

“It was a great thrill and I felt very proud to have paid it forward,” said Garden, now a teacher of business and mathematics at his alma mater.

Friday’s victory unfolded at Moira Secondary School in Belleville. The semi-final game had been played at PECI.

In game on versus Holy Cross from Peterborough, the Panthers were matched up with the #1 seeded Holy Cross Hurricanes in the semi-finals.

“In front of a packed gym at PECI, the boys got off to a great start using a stifling full court defence and strong post play to build a 52 – 20 first half lead,” said Garden. “Holy Cross pushed back in the third quarter, but the Panthers were too strong and won the game 70 – 47.”

Brodie Byford led all scorers with 17 pts, while Thomas Davies had 10.

In game two versus Saint Theresa – the championship game, Garden said the Panthers were looking to exact some revenge on the Titans after they upset them last week in the Bay of Quinte finals.

“After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Panthers starting to take control of the game and built a 26 – 16 lead at half. The boys refocused and found the energy to go on a 15 – 5 run in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 41 – 21. The Panthers put it in cruise control and won the game 48 – 32.”

Nine Panthers contributed to the scoring which, Garden notes, is a testament to the team’s depth and balanced attack. Jack MacCool was the game’s top scorer with 12 point and Brodie Byford chipped in 10.