ST. ANNE'S 43, OLG 20

The St. Bede's Tournament ended on an emphatic note with a decisive 43-20 loss to St. Anne's of Union City. The victors were the faster, more experienced team and simply had too many weapons for OLG at this point of the season. However, after a lackluster 1st half that saw OLG trail 24-10, the boys responded with an effective 3rd period where they outplayed their opponent and won the quarter 10-8. This gives hope that as the season progresses and OLG gains more experience, they will be able to compete with one of the Mission Valley powers. Hekili led all OLG scorers with 7 points before fouling out early in the 4th period. Despite the loss, OLG had a very successful tournament experience, placing 6th out of 16 teams, finishing with a 3-2 record, recording two buzzer-beater wins, and gaining valuable experience by playing the maximum five games. The future looks bright for the 2009-10 season!

SCORING TOTALS:

Hekili J - 7
Wayne R. - 4
Chris P. - 3
Connor G. - 2
Brandon J. - 2
Tyler L. - 2

OLG 28, ST. BONAVENTURE 26

Who says lightning can't strike twice? For the second straight game, the 4A OLG Saints played in a thriller that went down to the wire and came out on top with a hard fought 28-26 OT win over St. Bonaventure of Clayton. This time, Chris P. stepped into the hero's role as he he calmly sank a 20 footer from the baseline as time expired in OT to lift the Saints to another dramatic tournament victory. However, he wasn't the only hero as everyone stepped up and played a tough game. Early on, OLG started quickly and were able to carry a 16-13 lead into halftime. However after a slow third quarter, the team trailed 20-18 heading into the final period. The team played strong though and rallied down the stretch to tie it up and sent the game into OT. After falling behind by 1 late in the period, Tyler L converted a free throw to tie it up, then the team forced a turnover with three seconds which opened the door for a win. Inbounding from the baseline, Hekili J hit Chris P in the corner and he lofted the shot which resulted in his only bucket, yet the hugest of the game. With the great effort, OLG moves to 3-1 and advances to the Consolation Bracket finals on Sunday.

SCORING TOTALS:

Hekili J. - 7
Brandon J - 6
Tyler L - 4
Wayne R - 4
Chris P - 2
Nick B - 2
Azaria A - 2
Conner G. - 1

OLG 21, ST. LAWRENCE 20

On Thursday night, with the team trailing by 3 points and 20 seconds left in the game, things didn't look bright for OLG's continued tournament existence. However, digging deep down, the team pulled off a near-miraculous rally, as Hekili J. scored a layup with 11 seconds, then forced a turnover. As the ball rolled to the corner, Brandon J astutely gave chase and collected it with 4 seconds left. Without any sense of panic, he cooly drove the baseline and converted the layup to give OLG a 21-20 win as time expired. It was a great team effort that saw the Saints refuse to quit, and with the win the team advanced to 2-1 and moved into the Consolation Bracket semi-finals for a match-up with St. Bonaventure of Clayton.

SCORING TOTALS
Hekili J - 9
Brandon J - 4
Nick B - 4
Azaria A - 2
Tyler L - 2

ST. RAYMOND'S 30, OLG 9

After an exciting start to the St. Bede's 4A Tournament for the OLG Saints, the team came crashing back to reality with a 30-9 wake-up call from St. Raymond's of Dublin. From the opening tip, St. Raymond's was able to move the ball effectively for easy shots, and clamped down on OLG with a smothering man-to-man defense. If this game proved anything, it was that OLG still has a long way to go before league play opens in November. Nick B led all Saint scorers with 4 points, while Wayne R. and Jacob B. each had 2 points. Tyler L rounded out the scoring with 1 point from the free throw line. With the loss, OLG falls to 1-1 and moves into the consolation bracket of the tournament.

SCORING TOTALS

Nick B. - 4
Jacob B. - 2
Wayne R. - 2
Tyler L. - 1

OLG SAINTS 34, ST. BEDE'S HORNETS 4

The 4A Saints opened their 2009-2010 campaign in impressive fashion today, with a 34-4 thrashing of the St. Bede's Hornets to tip off the annual St. Bede's 4th Grade Tournament. After a slow start, the team picked up steam midway through the 1st Period with an effective press and began to force numerous turnovers. From there the team settled into a nice rhythym of stealing the ball and getting out on the fast break. Hekili led all scorers with 10 points, while Wayne and Chris each added 6. Tyler and Azaris chipped in 4 each. Overall it was a good start to the season, and moves the team to the Elite 8 round of the tournament, where they will match up with last year's tournament champions, St. Raymond's.

SCORING TOTALS

Hekili J - 10
Chris P - 6
Wayne R - 6
Tyler L - 4
Azaria A - 4
Brandon J - 2
Conner G - 2