Goulbourn Hornets Major Bantam Boys Team
  

2005 / 2006

     On Saturday morning, in their second game, the Hornets played against the Dundas Dynamos and at half time the Hornets were ahead at 23-20. Even though the team worked hard to stop the Dundas Dynamos eventually they were defeated 42-39.

     In the final game of the pool draw the Hornets took on the Huntsville Hurricanes and by half time the game was 38-23. The Hornets continued to dominate the game and rolled to a 67-45 victory. Vince Carbonneau had his best game of the tournament and kept attacking the basket. He was fouled 5 times and hit 4 of 10 free throws. Graham Lean also had a great game getting rebound after rebound. Robert Uher had a great defensive game pressuring the ball and getting in the passing lanes.

     With a 2 and 1 game record, there was a 3-way tie in their pool, but with the tie breaker rule the Hornets ended up in first place, advancing them to the quarter finals on Saturday evening. They came up against the Ottawa Shooting Stars who they played several times throughout the season. Both teams came out strong in the first quarter and were tied at 12-12. The Hornets deeper bench started to show in the second quarter as they took a 26-19 lead at the half. They continued to dominate in the second half, gaining momentum and finishing with a 54-35 victory. Adam McKenna and Evan Murkar led the way in this pivotal game with 11 points each and some great defensive stops.

     With this victory, the Hornets secured a play off spot for the semi-final round of the championship where they faced the Sarnia Valhalla team. The Hornets got off to a great start and both teams kept rallying back and forth for the lead. At half time Sarnia led the game 23-21. In the end, the Hornets were defeated by only 3 points by the eventual gold-medalists, with a game final of 42-39.

     This led the Hornets to the Bronze Medal championship game where they matched-up against the Kingston Running Rebels. The Rebels broke out early and took the lead 15-12 after the first quarter. The Hornets rallied mid-way in the second quarter with an incredible offensive sequence against the 2-3 Rebels zone defense. Nick Bogan got things started by hitting 4 3-point shots on 4 straight possessions. The Rebels switched to a box and one defense to try to stop him. The Hornets immediately got the ball to Sean Stoqua for a 3 and on the next possession, followed up with another 3 by Adam McKenna. With a total of 7 3-point scores in the first half, the Hornets stormed to a 42-27 lead. The Rebels rallied early in the third quarter. However, Bradley Farish stepped in for the Hornets with 2 great cuts to the basket. Both resulted in fouls where he hit 3 for 4 from the free throw line and also took a key charge from a Rebels player. The Rebels again closed the gap in the fourth quarter. Again, the Hornets met the challenge with Sean Stoqua hitting another “3” and Shaun Byck hitting a key basket and gathering in some important rebounds. Brandon Simpson was “chairman of the boards” throughout the game pulling in rebound after rebound and finishing with 6 points. Sean Stoqua led the team by continually breaking down the Rebels press, taking 2 key charges, dishing off to open team-mates and finishing with 17 points. With great defense and determination the Hornets were able to defeat the Running Rebels 65-52 and become the Bronze Medal 2006 Ontario Cup champions. Reed McKeague of the Goulbourn Hornets was awarded the Toronto Raptors Fair Play Award, which is awarded to the player that exhibited the best in leadership and team play.

     The Goulbourn Hornets Major Bantam team are extremely proud of their efforts at the Provincials and this was a great way to end their season.