Main photo: Huntsville High School Junior Boys AA basketball team at the 2018 GBSSA finals (from left) Jeremiah Martin, Colin Hungerford, Morgan Aubin-Vardy, Drew Gardiner, Wes Farnsworth, Michael Sykes, Seth Cooper, Jarrod Sutherland, Harry Farnsworth, Matt Stayer, Jordan Watts, Charlie Lalonde, Harrison Van Kooy, Jacob White, and Coach Terry Barber. Missing: David Laughton (David was busy winning a gold medal for OFSAA Nordic Skiing and was unable to return in time for the game).
On Friday, February 23, Huntsville High School hosted the Junior Boys AA 2018 Georgian Bay Secondary Schools Association (GBSSA) Basketball Championships. It was the Huntsville Hoyas versus St.Joseph’s Catholic High School from Barrie in the final game as Huntsville received a bye as the host team.
The two teams battled it out and the game was very close from the beginning all the way to the end buzzer. Coach Terry Barber described the plays. “We pulled away by 12 in the first half, but St. Joe’s was able to recover. Most of the game was in around the three-point margin until about five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Our tough defense and pressing ability was able to catch St. Joe’s for a few key turnovers which we were able to capitalize on. In a two-minute span we were able to spread our lead to 12 points and hold that lead to close the game out for the win.”
The final score was 60-49 for the Hoyas. Top scorers were Matt Stayer with 21 points, Jarrod Sutherland with 17 points and Colin Hungerford with 13 points.
“It’s pretty nice when three of your starters can outscore the other team’s game total. But this doesn’t take away from my bench. What made us so good this year was the fact that I could confidently go 10 or 11 players deep on the bench to keep guys fresh to keep the full court pressure on the entire game,” said Barber.
The Junior Boys team goal from the beginning of the season was to win the 2018 GBSSA Championship. Coach Barber said he knew from the first day of practices that this team was a championship quality team. “Not only was the skill set there to work with, but their tempo and effort in practice was second to no other team that I have coached. Every minute of every practice they were pushing each other to get faster, to work harder on defense, to make better passes, or to shoot better.”
The boys never gave up on their end goal and despite losing one starter to injury and a key player off their bench, the Hoyas were able to achieve their goal at the end of the 2018 season. “I couldn’t be more proud of my team. Not only did they work hard and have some unbelievable triumphs this season, but they are all genuinely nice young men who were a pleasure to coach,” said Barber.
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