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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, February 21, 2014 | 24 Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Titans' junior hoops dynasty rolls on with four straight title by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff Sports "Connected to your Community" It's not easy to create a junior basketball dynasty. Players come and go every two years. A consistent presence on the sidelines can go a long way toward fostering success, but the Holy Trinity Titans haven't had that either. But year after year, the Titans play for the Halton championship. Wednesday marked their eighth appearance in the final in the past decade and when the dust settled, the Titans had won their fourth straight title and fifth in the last six years with a 64-50 victory over the Assumption Crusaders. "I don't know what it is," said Titans coach Rob Nacevicius, "We've had multiple coaches and players. We are getting second generation players, younger brothers of previous players. We run our basketball camp, maybe that gives them the skill set they need." It hasn't quite reached the point where the Titans are simply handed the trophy, though. Until that day comes, they'll have to continue to earn. They certainly did Wednesday. Coming off a 12-0 regular season, the Titans built a 24-11 lead paced by Elijah Lostracco, Ezeoha Santiago and Nathan Rourke, the latter of whom was particularly effective in pulling down rebounds. Despite lacking Trinity's size, the Crusaders demonstrated abundant energy as they hustled their way back into the game with a 16-4 run to close the half, pulling Assumption within one at the break. "It happens. It's basketball," said an unfazed Lostracco, who finished with a team-best 18 points. "We were able to stay composed and change the momentum." "It was a wake-up call," said Santiago. "We just had to slow things down and run our offence." Both teams turned the second half into a shooting gallery, trading multiple threes to open the half. It was a welcome sight for Nacevicius, whose team struggled to find its range in the second quarter. "Four of our five starters can really shoot it. We were getting good looks," he said. "We were not going to stay ice cold forever." And eventually, it was Assumption that lost its touch. Trinity kept firing, though. Lostracco connected from beyond the arc twice and with Rourke and Santiago dominating in the paint, there was no need to stop firing at will. A 17-0 run through the latter stages of the third quarter and early part of the fourth that turned a two-point deficit into a 15-point lead removed any doubt as to the outcome. "The key for us was matching their intensity," Nacevicius said. "They more gung ho in the first half but we were able to match them in the second." Santiago scored nine of his 15 points in the second half and Rourke, who earlier this year had a rare quadruple double against Loyola (21 points, 11 assists, 15 rebounds, 10 steals) had to settle for a double double in the final with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Diego Nunez had six points and four assists. Despite the team's recent history, Lostracco said the Titans didn't have to look anywhere beyond this year's team to find the motivation to continue the school's winning ways. "We really wanted to win," he said. "This team is like a family." Holy Trinity's Nathan Rourke attempts an off-balance shot over the defence of Assumption Crusaders' Colyn Sterlix. Trinity defeated Assumption 64-50 to win the Halton high school junior boys' basketball Tier 1 title Wednesday at Sheridan College. | photo by Michael Ivanin -- Special to the Beaver Trinity seniors' rally falls just short against Nelson Shamiel Stevenson of the Holy Trinity Titans (right) tries to fend off Nelson Lords opponent Dante Duncan during Wednesday's Halton high school senior boys' basketball Tier 1 final at Sheridan College. Trinity rallied from a 20-point deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter, only to fall 58-53. | photo by Michael Ivanin -- Special to the Beaver After rather lopsided Halton high school senior boys' basketball Tier 1 finals the last four years at Sheridan College, there finally seemed to be some legitimate prospects for drama as the undefeated Nelson Lords squared off Wednesday against the two-time defending champion Holy Trinity Titans. Fingernails looked to be granted a reprieve, though, when Nelson took a 37-21 lead into the half. It didn't last. Trinity stormed back, even taking the lead midway through the fourth quarter before falling 58-53. "We were all pumped up for this. We practised weeks for this. We just didn't pull it through," said Ignas Brazdekis, a Grade 9 student who had 14 points. "We wanted to win so bad. We had a fire inside us." That fire was an out-of-control wildfire in the third quarter. Lucas Orlita got things rolling with a threepointer 25 seconds into the half and Shamiel Stevenson added another shortly after to quickly cut the lead to 10. Having rode the hot hand of Jordan Sobot (12 points in the first quarter) and Filip Vujadinovic in the opening half, Nelson was content to work the clock, but sloppy passing gave Trinity the opening it needed. Brazdekis and Stevenson connected from long range as a 16-0 run erased Nelson's seemingly insurmountable lead. "We missed some easy stuff in the first half, then in the second we made some shots and it settled us down," Trinity coach Andrew Saulez said. "They're tough kids, they weren't going to go out playing like we did in the first half." With Trinity down five in the fourth, Stevenson, who led the Titans with 20 points, hit a nice fallaway and then answered a Vujadinovic three with one of his own to tie the game. A Nick Ernest bucket then gave Trinity the lead. Just as it seemed the game was slipping away from Nelson, the Lords' Dante Duncan lobbed up an alleyoop pass that Vujadinovic slammed home. It lifted Nelson out of its slumber and kickstarted a 11-2 run that sealed the victory. -- Herb Garbutt