Scarborough Blues U15 Win KW Lightning Tourney Bronze

On March 24, 2013 the Scarborough Blues Midget Team (U15) defeated the Advantage Titans by a score of 48-42 to claim Bronze in the Midget (U15) AAA Division of the KW Lightning Tournament.

“That was a nail bitter,” said Blues Coach, Kareem Fearon.

With the win Fearon could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing his team redeemed themselves at the right time, just a day after suffering a loss to those same Titans who beat them by a narrow 48-42 score.

So, armed with having a fresh experience against the Titans, Fearon set out his game plan for righting the previous day’s wrongs.

“Rebounding, taking away penetration, making our layups and making our Free-Throws. Those were the four keys to the game.” And of those four keys, it seemed that the focused effort to clean up on the boards was the he one that paid the most dividends for his squad. “Yesterday’s game, they were getting multiple opportunities on some possessions, which allowed them to win the game off of those key second chance points that they were getting.”

The Blues looked to establish momentum early in the game establishing a very healthy 18-4 lead by the end of the First Quarter.

“We came out really strong in the first half,” he went on to describe. “In the Second Half, [the Advantage Titans] came on really strong and really wanted this game. Some of the things that we were doing well in the First half, we didn’t do as well in the Second Half, and that allowed them to get back into the game.”

The Blues’ 12 point Halftime lead fully evaporated as the Titans managed to hold Scarborough to only 2 points for the entire Third Quarter, as Advantage completed the full comeback and took a 31-30 lead into the final frame.

The Blues used the Fourth Quarter to revert back to what made them successful earlier on in the game. They also added the long ball into the mix. They connected on four 3-pointers, including three of them by Nikki Elliot, to stave off the Titans who hung around just long enough to make things interesting right until the final buzzer.

“We were able to show a lot of heart and character at the end of the game, to the point where they got up on us. But we came back and we closed out at the end, which is a testament to our girls.”

With a month left before their rep Provincial Finals (Ontario Cup), Fearon will be taking the time between now and their Final tournament to focus on the experiences they’ve had in their games against the top teams to ensure the best possible finish.

“Now, it’s going to be particulars,” said Fearon about what his practices will look like for the remainder of the season. “In terms of adjustments of different things that we do both offensively and defensively, specific to specific teams. Practicing a lot of real time game situations were we’ll mimic some of the stuff that other teams do and try to take that stuff away. As well, get better in terms of things that we call ‘Special Teams’ plays, whether it be sideline plays or baseline out of bound plays.”

Beyond the Provincials, Fearon is looking to keep his team together likely to do the summer traveling circuit. For Fearon, winning the Provincial D1 Championship and its prize of an automatic birth in the AAU National Championships will go along with his team’s vision of also attending a few other exposure events throughout the rest of the summer.