The Orillia Secondary School (OSS) Nighthawks basketball program continued its recent run of success Tuesday when the senior boys' squad was crowned Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) champions after a convincing win against St. Peter’s Catholic School.
The senior and junior girls' were crowned earlier this year as GBSSA champions, giving OSS three of the four titles in AAA basketball.
Tuesday's title game was close in the beginning stages, and it was played at a fast, clean pace for its entirety.
OSS led 13-8 after the first quarter, but, unfortunately for the visiting Panthers, OSS was just warming up.
The Nighthawks were led by their elusive playmakers Garret Van Amelsvoort and Matt Mercer. The Panthers had no answer for the dynamic duo who were game changers in the paint and from downtown, as they relentlessly poured in points.
Van Amelsvoort scored a team-high 24 points while Mercer finished with an equally impressive 20 points.
At half time, the Nighthawks led by 17 points, but in the early moments of the second half, OSS squelched the spirit of the visitors, taking away seemingly every Panthers possession and capitalizing at the other end.
The Nighthawks were full value for a 45-point victory, clinching the crown with a decisive 74-29 triumph.
Although nursing an insurmountable lead in the dying moments of the fourth quarter, OSS coach Mike Tutty was seen encouraging his players to keep their foot on the gas.
“We play for 32 minutes, and (at that point) the game wasn’t over,” said Tutty.
“Even on the floor winning by 50, you keep playing. You can always learn something from those experiences.”
Another key player for the Nighthawks this season has been Ryan Heim, who creates a lot of opportunities for his team under the basket collecting rebounds. Heim netted 10 points in Tuesday’s contest.
Heim’s mindset on the hardwood is the same as Tutty's and it is the driving force behind the team’s success.
“We have a desire to win and there isn’t one guy on this team that is ever OK with losing,” said Heim.
“The veterans on this team, myself included, set a standard that everyone follows.”
The Knighthawks' victory punches their ticket to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA) AAA championship tournament in Hamilton from March 4-6, where they plan to bring the same mentality and hope for an equally impressive result.
