THE Windsor Dukes senior boys basketball team capped off a perfect season in North Shore play with a 65-56 win over Collingwood in the Howe Sound AA championship game in front of a raucous home crowd Thursday night.
The win gave Windsor the North Shore's one and only berth in the provincial championship tournament scheduled for March 7-10 in Kamloops. The Dukes were led by Grade 12 standout David Manshrek who earned tournament MVP honours after scoring 30 points in the championship final.
"It feels pretty good," Manshrek said as his teammates celebrated around him following the presentation of the championship banner. "We've been together since Grade 8, a lot of us have been together since back in Seymour Heights (elementary), so a five-year process - we've put a lot of work in."
Manshrek, a six-foot-three provincial team player, was able to attack the Cavaliers from the perimeter and in the post, sealing the win with a dagger three-pointer with two minutes left after scoring all night with an array of long bombs, drives, post moves and offensive rebounds.
"He's been a consistent leader and he's been our best player game in, game out this year," said Windsor head coach Rob Ros. "We're continually looking for more balance in our play - we just don't want David to have to do it all - but in a game like tonight where he had to step up he certainly did it again for us. We also had fine performances from other players but David has been that go-to guy for us all year long."
The game was tight throughout with Windsor taking a narrow 29-27 advantage into the half-time break. In the third quarter Manshrek went to work, dropping 10 points with a pair of threes, a little jump hook and a ridiculous tip-in rebound. The Cavaliers fought back, however, with their grade 12 trio of forward Kadin Burnett, point guard Raman Mehat and threepoint bomber William Dean racking up the points. Trailing most of the game, the Cavaliers actually clawed all the way back and took a 51-50 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
The lead didn't last long for Collingwood. With their superior depth leaving them fresh for a final push, the Dukes threw on a full-court press and went on a 10-0 run. Windsor's Spencer Quon scored and was fouled on a tough drive while his twin brother Dyllan calmly drained four straight free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Windsor won the day but the Cavaliers put up a strong fight, said Ros.
"They compete hard - we knew it would be difficult," he said. "They played us the toughest all year long and they play great defence and Kadin Burnett is an outstanding basketball player who just gives us fits. Tonight we had a real tough time containing him. And they also had other guys step up and play well for them."
Windsor's final flurry was the result of their commitment to defence, said Ros.
"For us our staple all year long has been what we do on the defensive end. We were able to string a few stops together, we rebounded the ball a little bit better."
On offence for Windsor the Quon brothers did most of the ball handling and playmaking while Grade 12 guard Matthew Ros, coach Rob's son, chipped in with some sharp shooting.
Coach Ros praised his team for the work they have put in to get to this point, particularly the core group of Grade 12 players that includes Vince Piana, Taylor Williams and John Sutton along with Manshrek, Ros and the Quon brothers. Last season the Dukes made the Howe Sound final but lost to Sutherland by seven.
"They're a hard-working group, they're not extremely talented but they make up for it with their work ethic and the chemistry they have," said Ros, adding that he was happy to see such a large and vocal crowd come out to watch the game. "This is what it's all about - this is what you hope for as a coach, this is the environment you hope your players get to play in. You don't see this as much as you used to 10, 15 years ago but when it does happen it's magic."
The Dukes will now set their sights on the provincial tournament. Before the playoffs began they were ranked tenth in the province.
"AA this year is extremely competitive," said Ros. "There are some fine teams and a lot of the AA teams have done very well against the top AAA programs so there's going to be no easy games up there."
Even so, the Dukes are going there with very high expectations, said Manshrek.
"I don't want to guarantee anything, I don't want to say we're going to win it but I do think we have a chance and I think we can go far."
