NOSSA NOTES: St. Basil nearly pulls off upset

The St. Basil Saints nearly pulled off a huge upset.

Facing one of the province's best teams in the Sudbury Lasalle Lancers for the Northern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (NOSSA) AAA senior boys basketball championship, the Saints dropped a close 66-61 decision in the final.

Bryan Picco led the Saints with 21 points while Mike Oliveira added 18. Brady Bolan led the Lasalle with 23 points.

Lasalle now advances to the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA) playdowns beginning Wednesday in Brantford.

In junior, Lasalle completed the clean sweep with a 46-29 decision over the St. Mary's Knights. John Mullin paced the Knights with 10 points while Andrew Lalonde led the Lancers with 18.

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Four local teams begin the quest for a NOSSA championship today in Gore Bay.

Sir James Dunn's Ryan McLeod is the city's number one seed on the boys side while St. Basil's Paul Martin will enter as the second seed. McLeod defeated Martin the city championship last week after Martin claimed the regular season championship.

On the girls side, Mount St. Joseph College's Stephanie Sammon, who also won the league title, is the number one representative after beating Korah's Krysta Waldorf in the city final. Waldorf is the Sault's second seed.

Representatives from NOSSA will compete in the OFSAA playdowns in Sudbury later in March.