First win a reason to crow

[attach]5396[/attach]The fall of the house of North Toronto was brought about by Rosedale Heights Jan. 24.

Downing North Toronto 56-54 in a frenetic-paced game was a first for the Ravens senior boys basketball career, coach Hovig Keshishian said.

“They played really hard defensively and they stuck together, they stuck to the game plan and on that last timeout we had, they executed perfectly,” he said of his charges. “That’s how we got that last basket.”

The last bucket to give the Ravens their first slash in the W column was put up by Ivan Maychak. Though the top guard on Rosedale Heights got into foul trouble early in the second quarter, he made up for it finishing the game with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

“We were sharing the ball a lot,” he said. “I was sharing the ball more than usual and that’s why I think we won.”

As for putting up numbers worthy of a double-double Maychak credited it to his appetite for rebounds.

“Obviously you have to be hungry for the ball and not be afraid of the other team,” he said. “You just have to box out and use your fundamentals.”

Also hitting a double-digit stride for points was Isaac Bobb who was tough to stop from the perimeter, picking up three baskets from beyond the arc. He finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds.

Other notables were Nick Kahl and Henry Ziegler picking up nine points, three boards and six points, seven boards respectively.

For the host Norsemen, it was a game they needed to win to stay in South Region Tier 2 playoff contention.

NTCI’s coach Lorne Smith, nursing a broken patella, sat rubbing his knee post game. Due to his own injury, he admits there hasn’t been enough time to put his charges through the drills.

“Part of the problem is I haven’t been here and we haven’t been practising much and it shows,” he said. “Not to use that as an excuse but you have to practise.

“The guys are upset but more with themselves that they couldn’t finish and they lost a game they should have won.”

That’s not to say the team, led by the vocal, on-court presence Stephan Pitterson-James, wasn’t performing well.

Pitterson-James had a team-high 12 points, added four boards and three steals to his totals. With him on the hardwood was Simon Tolkin who had 11 points, four steals and three assists.

As for the top sixth-man, Noah Drazzinower came off the bench to add nine points, six of which came from three-point land.

Still, there were more bricks than buckets thrown.

“We couldn’t finish,” Smith said. “We must have had 60 shots within five feet and couldn’t score.”

With one game left after Rosedale Heights, against UTS, chances for a playoff are slim with both Riverdale and Malvern a game ahead.

The Ravens, beaming after their win looked to pick up at least one more W with their season winding down against Ursula Franklin Academy, Etobicoke School of the Arts and Malvern.

Keshishian was particularly interested in his team’s match against Etobicoke School of the Arts Eagles.

“That’s an exciting match — battle of the schools of the arts,” he said. “That should be televised.”