Stingrays bring home the bronze

St. Mary’s Bay Academy Stingrays brought home the provincial bronze medal after a convincing 95-74 win over Guysborough Eagles Saturday afternoon at Hants North Rural High School.

The victory came on the heels of a disappointing 88-87 semi-final loss to the host team, Hants North Flames Friday night.

The Flames and Stingrays had advanced to the semi-final match with wins against École du Carrefour Leopards and Cape Breton Highlands Academy Huskies respectively on Thursday.

In the closest match of the Division 3 Provincials, SMBA and Hants North battled it out for the chance to play in the championship game Saturday afternoon.

With seconds to go and down one, SMBA was unable to put the ball in the bucket and Hants North advanced to the final.

SMBA coaches Derrick Jackson and Craig Glavin were proud of the way their team played the game.

“Although it was a very disappointing loss for the boys, they played the best basketball we’ve seen them play.” said Glavin. “They played with heart and the crowd got their money’s worth.”

“It was a real team effort and everyone did what we asked,” added Jackson. “It is an honor to call myself their coach.”

Flames coach Keith Andrews praised the Stingrays for the well-fought game.

“My hat is off to the Stingrays,” said Andrews. “Their display of sportsmanship was very evident and it was anyone’s game right to the final buzzer.”

Brian Johns led the Stingrays with 27, Patrick Johns netted 17 and Dalton Amero added 13.

Luke Wiseman had 22, Cody Conrad had 18 and Kyle Harvey had 13 for the Flames.

In the bronze medal game, SMBA used a full court press and strong defense under the boards for a 53-30 lead at the half.

Second-half play resembled the first and SMBA took the game 95-74 to claim third place and the bronze medal.

Grade 12 players Dalton Amero and Brian Johns expressed disappointment with their Friday night loss to Hants North but were pleased to go out with a win.

“We’re disappointed our team didn’t get to the championship game,” said Amero. “But we are happy with our season and we worked hard to finish strong.”

Amero led all scorers in the tournament with 40 points against Guysborough. Patrick Johns had 19 and Brian Johns added 15 for the Stingray win.

Rene d’Entrement led the Eagles with 23, Pat Avery had 16 and Sheldon Borden 14.