Tournaments

Pinky Lewis Tournament: Semi-final Game

Published by AJ on December 22, 2008

Assumption VS. Pickering

Going into this game the Assumption Crusaders were a heavy underdog against the Pickering Trojan Army, and a blowout was expected. In the first half, everything was going as planned as Pickering jumped out to an early first quarter lead, 13-7.
In the second, the Trojans continued to dominate behind sharp shooter, Rob Gagliardi. Rob stretched his squad’s lead to 16, hitting FIVE three-pointers, ending the half at 38-26.

The second half however, was a different story. Assumption seemed to have worken up from their slumber, especially point guard Trevor Williams. In the third Q, Williams carried his team with relentless attacks to the tin showing great body control and strength, but still couldn’t manage to cut the deficit to single digits as the Trojans stayed poised and patient with a comfortable 14-point lead.

In the final quarter, Assumption stepped up their defensive pressure with a full-court press and shook Pickering, forcing them into multiple uncharacteristic turnovers. Pickering was forced into 3 timeouts within the last 4 minutes of play. With the Crusaders only down by one, 62-61 with 1:21 left Gagliardi was fouled and stepped to the stripe, connecting on 1 of 2 (63-61).

This crucial miscue gave Assumption a chance to take this game into OT or even go for the W. As the game clock was winding down, it was fitting for Trevor Williams to have the ball in his hands. Evidently, overtime wasn’t on Williams’ mind as he launched and missed a step-back three that would have won the game. Although suffering a loss to powerhouse Pickering Trojans 64-61, Assumption definitely made a statement that they are for real. Unfortunately for the Burlington underdogs, the statement was made too little, too late.

Leading Scorers:
Pickering: #33 Rob Gagliardi- 32
Assumption: #32 Trevor Williams- 19
Conclusion: With a solid inside/outside game, Assumption has the correct formula for success

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