NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA LAKERS BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
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The Northern Business Equipment Orillia Lakers U14 Major Bantam Boys recently travelled to Guelph for the Guelph CYO Tournament, returning home with the bronze medal.
In opening night play on Friday, the team wore down a depleted Port Colborne team, cruising to a 58-34 win. On Saturday, the boys were challenged against two very physical Guelph teams. Tournament hosts CYO Knights came out strong, and the Lakers were down by 12 at half. Gaining confidence through the third quarter, the Orillia squad found itself still behind by 10 going into the final quarter. Amidst players fouling out, the team made a huge surge in the fourth quarter and came up just three points shy, losing 57-60.
The Lakers kept up their developing team play against the hometown Gryphons in the final game of the day. It was a hard-fought, back-and-forth game with neither team giving any ground, resulting in a tie after regulation play. In overtime, the Lakers quickly gained an eight-point advantage and played outstanding defense to earn a 58-50 win and a spot in the bronze-medal game on Sunday.
Recovering from a night of festivities, the team started out flat on Sunday and found themselves down by five at the end of the first quarter. With all players contributing, the Lakers pulled themselves back together and held the Windsor team to seven points over the next two quarters while racking up 37 points of their own. After coasting in the fourth quarter, the game ended with the Lakers in front 55-39, and the bronze medal around their necks.
Congratulations to the players for medaling at their first tournament of the season.
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