The Crestwood Junior Prep Boys’ Basketball Team won the Father Henry Carr Junior Classic last weekend with a thrilling 75-69 win over the hosts, Henry Carr, in the championship game. Widely considered the best junior tournament in the City of Toronto, and possibly the country, many of Toronto’s best players have competed in this prestigious tournament.
The boys started off their weekend by winning Pool C with victories over Thornlea 71-57 and HB Beal 95-36. Against Thornlea, the Lions got off to a hot start, taking a 49-25 lead at the half, before cruising to victory. K’Shawn Latty led the way with 19 points, while Jaden Langley-Thomas and Matthew Nelsons pitched in 18 a piece. The twins, Armani and Imani Mighty, gave great minutes off the bench helping against Thornlea’s size. Against HB Beal, the Lions again took a huge lead 59-20 into the half before winning the game by 59 points. Elijah Fisher scored 26 points, while Jaden Langley-Thomas added 23. Pharaoh Wendt pitched in 6 points off the bench.
Saturday saw the Lions face D’Youville in the semi-finals. D’Youville hung tough with the Lions early, but Crestwood’s pressure and transition offense eventually tired the opposition out leading to a 73-55 victory. Jaden Langley-Thomas led the way with 22 points. Caiden Oshinowo gave great minutes off the bench, while Mikkel Tyne and Jaden had to sit with foul trouble. The victory sent the Lions into the finals against the hosts Father Henry Carr.
The Father Henry Carr gym was a packed house for the finals to see two talented teams compete for a championship. The Lions struggled early out of the gate falling behind 16-7 before closing the gap to 16-13 at the end of quarter number one. The second quarter was much of the same with the Lions falling behind by as many as 8 points before trailing by 4 points at halftime. The third quarter was Mikkel Tyne’s time to shine as the grade 7 point guard rattled off basket after basket to bring the Lions level 50-50 at the end of the quarter. The fourth quarter was one to remember as Crestwood and Henry Carr traded baskets throughout. The Lions were able to gain a small 2 point advantage late before Jaden Langley-Thomas hit a huge pull-up jumper to extend the lead to 4 with less than a minute remaining. Henry Carr was to able to score on the following possession to bring the lead down to 2 before Matthew Nelsons was fouled with 35 seconds remaining. Matthew hit the first free throw, and then K’Shawn Latty made the play of the game with an offensive rebound followed up with an assist to Jaden Langley-Thomas which extended the lead to 5 points with 25 seconds to play. Henry Carr missed a 3-pointer at the other end, and Elijah Fisher rebounded with 2 seconds remaining to finish off the game.
K’Shawn Latty was named tournament MVP for his fine play throughout the tournament both offensively and defensively. Jaden Langley-Thomas and Elijah Fisher were named tournament all-stars, while Matthew Nelsons and Mikkel Tyne were deserving honorable mention all-stars.
The Lions moved to 9-1 on the season and play in the Thornlea Junior Tournament on December 1 and 2.
