With six games on the schedule on the opening night and two contests running simultaneously there was no shortage of action on Day 1 of the NPSAA Championship from Seneca College Newnham campus.

Here’s a look at how some of the games turned out.

REDA Red vs. Tri-County Prep

A late fourth quarter surge lifted REDA Red over Tri-County Prep for the 71-64 decision to open the tournament. 48-44

Entering the final eight minutes REDA trailed Tri-County 48-44, but the experienced athletic club maintained its poise and managed to pull off victory after taking heed of their coach’s advice.

“I just said ‘we need to play some defence, move the ball on offence and play harder than them.’ They were outplaying us and that was just on effort and we really weren’t running anything and we became an individual group,” said Tarry Upshaw REDA Red head coach.

“I know my team when guys get tired they get frustrated, they start struggling and start doing crazy things. When we get some support from other guys then we become a lot more effective.”

In a tightly contested from start to finish there were six lead changes and seven ties. With the game close down to the wire it was a single possession game within the last two minutes before Shaquille Keith hit two free throws with just under 40 seconds to play to extend the lead to five — REDA would never look back.

Dazzling in his tournament debut Shaquille Keith showed why he’s widely considered one of the top prospects in the nation dropping a game-high 26 points while Cudjoe Masuka dropped in a team-high 16 for Tri-County.

It was a struggle from the floor for both teams to start the game as offense was hard to come by. Not much of a testament to great defence as opposed to poor executed sets and errant shots. With both sides off the mark the game was close after one with Tri-County ahead 10-9.

The second quarter looked like REDA was about to pull away when they opened up an eight point edge off of a 9-0 run. Sensing the game was slipping the Trojans responded and would get back in the game and keep it a neck-in-neck affair the rest of the way.

“We stopped passing the ball, we stopped running sets. They picked up their intensity defensively, instead of executing we became more individual kind of players instead of letting the ball movement work itself out,” said Upshaw.

Going forward if REDA hopes to compete for a title there are certain areas where improvement will need to be made.

“Ball movement and talking on defence, those two things,” said Upshaw. “We got to move the ball, we got to communicate and we got to take everyone seriously.” 

Metro Prep vs. PHASE 1 Academy

In an absolute defensive showdown Metro Prep was able to withstand PHASE 1 to claim victory in their first game of the tournament 41-40.

A game that saw 11 lead changes and four ties there was never a lead too safe as both sides were battling to stay within striking distance. With both sides getting after the ball it comes as no surprise what Metro felt the game was decided on.

“Defence!  We just played defence and it’s a possession game, so just play defence to try and make stops,” said Phil Dixon Metro Prep head coach.

Just when it looked like Metro was about to pull away late it was a three-pointer by Rashaun Arthur that bailed out PHASE 1, tying the game at 32 with just under four minutes to play. That basket would spark the final four minute fury which saw three lead changes and two ties.

 It was Justin Jarvis who lifted his squad when they needed him most.

Making a crucial dunk and then icing the game with his free throws despite scoring only nine points the athletic forward made the baskets when they mattered down the stretch.

“Justin’s our leader, he’s going to take us where we need to go. Our offence revolves around Justin, so we’d actually like for Justin to take 20 or 30 shots a game really. He should be shooting a lot more so we have to find some way of getting him the ball,” said Dixon.

Sorely missing the inside presence of D’Adrian Allen the start of the game saw Metro Prep was able attack the offensive glass early, getting numerous second chances opportunities but failing to capitalize from in close or at the free throw line.

“I just thought that a couple of guys in the lineup came out a bit tight, we made a couple of subs and all of a sudden the guys were playing tight and they weren’t relaxed. If they’re relaxed it’s a whole different game. I thought through the course of the game there were moments where we looked really, really good and there were moments where we were tentative,” said Dixon.

Defence defined the first quarter, both sides pressured the ball and contested all shots, making it difficult for offence to flow naturally. With such an emphasis on defence there was little in terms of scoring in the early going , 8-7 Metro after one. 

Despite getting killed on the boards PHASE 1 was able to open the second quarter on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Not to be outdone Metro responded with an 8-0 run of its own, produced entirely on second chance baskets to take the lead heading into the half, 16-14.

As if it was possible both sides start the second half with more intensity on the defensive end, resembling the ilk of the Bad Boy Pistons.

Even with the extended pressure it was the play of Jarvis that took allowed Metro to open up its largest lead of the day at seven and led 26-22 heading into the final quarter.

Leading all scorers was PHASE 1’s Johneil Simpson who finished with a game-high 11 points while Jeff Olefami chipped in a team-high 10 points for Metro.

Waltham Prep vs. Tri-County Prep

In a complete contrast to the matchup seen prior to it, Waltham Prep were able to out gun Tri-County Prep 79-75 to open up their tournament on a successful not and subsequently eliminating Tri-County from the quarter-finals.

Making their NPSAA debut the team from Scarborough looked impressive, especially on the offensive end hitting six shoots from beyond the arc.

“It’s read and react, if the defence sucks in there’s available shots on the outside. We just took the first best available shot we could. If they packed it in we hit the outside shots, if they closed out we took it inside,” said Ben Blanc Waltham Prep head coach.

A frantic pace to start this game, both sides got up and down the floor scoring in early offence. The lack of defence was evident by the 22-21 first quarter score. Though the breakneck pace these teams were running at seemed to slow up a bit in the second quarter, the offences were still scoring at a high rate, 37-36 Waltham at the break

“We just tried to defend and push the ball. Try to get as many good shots as we can, get more shots than them, chances are you’ll shoot a better percentage,” said Blanc.

Though it was an offensive battle both teams were neck-in-neck throughout the contest as the 13 lead changes and three ties would suggest. Yet at the end of each quarter it seemed the young club from the east end was narrowly ahead.

After playing a third quarter with no lead changes and building on its slight halftime advantage, Waltham would open up a six point lead and looked to be in control. That was before Cudjoe Masuka had anything to say about it leading the comeback charge to give Tri-County its first lead of the second half with just over four minutes to play.

Despite the late surge Waltham was able to regroup and maintain down the stretch. It could be attributed to the words shared with them in the final quarter..

 “How badly do you want it? Do you want to be the team that collapses or the team that persevere,” said Blanc.

With a spot automatically qualifying them for the quarter-finals with the win, Waltham will face REDA Red and will hope certain things are improved upon.

“I would say just consistent play. I felt like we were up & down today, if we play consistently we give ourselves a chance to win,” said Blanc.

Leading all scorers was Kayshauna Spencer who tallied a game-high 19 points while Alex Thompson scored a team-high 16 for Tri-County.

Here’s a look at the other results from Day 1

The ROCK Academy defeated Brampton Hype, 76-52. Jamal Reynolds led the ROCK with 16 points while Jamal Potopsingh and Kenrick Huston each had 16 points for Hype.

REDA Black defeated Tri-County High School, 69-50. Connor Wood led all scorers with  20 points for REDA.

GTA Venom defeated Brampton Hype, 94-45. Rohan Boney scored a game-high 26 points for the Venom while Reece Brooks had a team-high 13 points for the Hype.