NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA LAKERS BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
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The Studabakers Orillia Lakers bantam boys capped off a successful season with a gold medal at the Ontario Cup tournament. The team, comprised of mostly first- year players, worked hard throughout the year to develop their skills and learn the game and it paid off as they went undefeated at the provincial tournament.
The Lakers used a balanced attack in their first game to take down Orangeville 56-42. Eight players hit the scoresheet, with Will Graham leading the way with eight points.
In their second match, Kyle Surgenor netted 12 points as the Lakers defeated Centre Wellington 43-35. In their final round robin game, the boys came out running and took down Markham Unionville 60-41, earning themselves a spot in the gold-medal match. The team once again shared the ball well with nine players scoring baskets.Quinn Meeks was instrumental in getting rebounds against a much taller club.
In the gold-medal game, the Lakers took on Valhalla of Sarnia. The game was close throughout until the final few minutes, when Blake Cruise hit nine free throws in a row to turn a four-point lead into a 12-point victory. The Lakers took the top prize with a 56-44 victory. Cruise finished the game with 23 points. Brogan Long and Sam Reda played tenacious defense throughout the tournament.
The Studabakers Lakers finished their season with a record of 19 wins and 14 losses.
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