Pierce Lang
Jaden Briscoe
The Holy Trinity Titans powered past Iroquois Ridge on Friday. Jaden Briscoe was an absolute handful under the basket.
Following Friday's all-North Oakville GHAC AAA Semi-Final victory by Holy Trinity over Iroquois Ridge, the Titans will be heading off to Hamilton to fight for the chance to move on to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Championship tournament.
Iroquois Ridge came out shooting in the first quarter and defended tightly, as they kept things close early on, scoring 12 and keeping the Titans within reach, only giving up 14. By the end of the first half, Holy Trinity had begun to pull away, opening up a 7-point lead going into the intermission.
In the end, however, Holy Trinity proved too strong for the Trailblazers to contain. By the final whistle, the scoreline was 59-47. The Titans take on St. John Henry Newman of Hamilton in the GHAC AAA Final.
After the game, Trinity Head Coach Andrew Saulez quickly praised Jaden Briscoe, "I thought Briscoe made a few major plays, just getting rebounds, scoring, getting to the line, and making stuff. I think he was the glue for us. Sometimes just getting a rebound, he just went and got rebounds, limiting them to one shot, and that was huge for us."
Briscoe, who is playing in his final season, is motivated by the opportunity to qualify for OFSAA, "We just turned up in the second half and did what we do best."
He felt that by the end of the game, their intensity was just too much for the opposition, "Wear them out was the game plan," according to the 5th-year senior. "In the end, their big men were asking for subs; we wanted to beat them down; we wanted to make them quit."
This evening's game against St. John Henry Newman will not be the first time these two squads have lined up across from each other. They matched up in the first round of the All-Ontario Catholic Tournament when Newman won by two on a last-minute 3-pointer to win the game in February.
Saulez says this will be a match-up of "two very similar teams, both are just tough on the defensive end." Going on to say, "It lines up to be a great game; we'll see what happens."
Tipoff is 6:00 p.m. in Hamilton.
The GHAC A final will also take place in Hamilton, with Mère Terese hosting Oakville's Ste. Trinité. At 3:15 p.m., King's Christian College will host St. Mary of Hamilton.
