Lynx Hungry For Trib Tourney Championship

Dominic Mawaya (11) of Brébeuf defends against Cole Kelly.

By Joe Barkovich, Scribbler-at-large

WELLAND — Just a few words about Friday night’s St.-Jean-de-Brébeuf Lynx – Denis Morris Reds game at the Tribune Tournament:

OMG! … Thriller!…  Heartstopper!… Nailbiter!

Get the gist?

The Lynx emerged with a 79-75 overtime win in a frenzied, noisy ND gym. Attribution for the sound effects, deafening at times, goes to pumped, proud Lynx fans who stomped their feet, clapped their hands, rooted for and shouted about their team for much of the game. Yeah, yeah, you made me a believer. Praise the fans!

 The atmosphere in Dillon Hall was electric! My ears are still ringing.

I can’t provide a game description — I didn’t take notes, didn’t keep track of scorers — so if you’re looking for that, read the excellent coverage on https://www.bpsportsniagara.com/ , you’ll feel like you were there, in person.

Are the Lynx a “Cinderella” team? We wondered about that in our seats just above courtside.

They didn’t have an easy road to tonight’s championship. En route, they played — and beat — three teams from St, Catharines schools — Sir Winston Churchill on Wednesday,  Governor Simcoe on Thursday and the Reds on Friday. Some avid hoops followers painted them as underdogs in the tournament. To show what they were up against, the three St. Catharines schools made it to the semi-finals of the Standard tournament in December, and Denis Morris defeated Governor Simcoe in the tournament’s championship game.

So are the Lynx a “Cinderella” team? Who cares! In my book, they’re where they belong.

Félicitations!” . 

/Joe Barkovich photos

Lynx, Cougars In The Hunt For Championships

WELLAND – Teams from two Welland schools have reached ‘Semi-finals Friday’ in the Welland Tribune Basketball Tournament, although on different sides of the tournament bracket.

On the championship side, St. Jean-de-Brébeuf  Lynx  meet Denis Morris Reds at 6:30 p.m. The winner of that game will play the winner of the Westlane –  St. Paul  8 p.m. match, Saturday evening in the tournament championship.

The Lynx pulled off two upsets of  St. Catharines schools to make it to today’s semi-finals. They defeated Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs in Wednesday’s opening round game, then eliminated Governor Simcoe Redcoats on Thursday.

This will be Brébeuf’s (formerly Jean Vanier) first trip to the semis.

On the consolation side of the bracket,  Centennial Cougars take on Eden Flyers  at 5 p.m. The winner of that game will play the winner of  the E.L. Crossley – Holy Cross 3:30 p.m. game, Saturday evening in the consolation championship.

The Cougars are no strangers to the tournament finals. Their most recent appearance was last year,  whey were defeated in the consolation championship. Their most recent win in the consolation championship came in 2016. They last won the tournament championship in 2018. 

All four games today are at Notre Dame.

Saturday, the consolation championship is set for 5:30 p.m., the championhip at 7 p.m. Both are at ND.

The tournament is sponsored by Policella Homes.