Tommy Lamon had a near double-double and Tristan Schmidt shot over 70 per cent from the field, helping Maple Ridge repeat as SCAA champions in senior boys' basketball with a 61-46 win over Collingwood.
It's the Barrie school's second title for the boys' team in just its fourth season since opening. In 2025, the Ravens beat Nantyr Shores for their first championship.
Considering the school's recent success across both boys' and girls' basketball, it's clear there's a booming basketball culture within its walls.
"For these kids that want to be pushed, want the high expectations, and want to try and be as good at something in life as they possibly can be, it's just validation that it's a long-term process," Maple Ridge head coach Connor Lalonde said postgame. "We saw a little bit of success last year with the boys, but this year, it's just a little bit different."
The Raven's senior girls' team, which Lalonde also is the head coach of, has won the OFSAA championship each of the last two seasons.
Collingwood contributed to what became one of the loudest atmospheres in recent memory for a Simcoe County high school game by bringing its own student section by bus over 65 kilometres for the game.
Maple Ridge had its own student section on the opposite set of bleachers, but Lalonde says, at least initially, the atmosphere had an effect on his players.
"It was a bit of nerves, a lot of excitement," he says. "The guys fed off of both sets of energy, but Collingwood does that no matter what the sport is."
The first quarter was tight and driven by threes. The Owls hit four threes, two each by Adem Sedinovic and Zayne Murdoch, and trailed 33-31 after the first frame.
A two-point margin remained at halftime, with Maple Ridge notably only having three scorers at the break. Both teams had two double digit scorers in the first 16 minutes, but Lamon led the way with 14.
"I think that's a coaching flaw on my part because we're missing a lot of layups, we're missing a lot of threes that we want to be taking and we're not converting them," Lalonde says.
Despite the one-possession margin, a monster third quarter for Maple Ridge, outscoring Collingwood 22-8, put them way out in front for the fourth.
The final frame was much more of a defensive battle, with just 13 points combined between the two teams. Collingwood went smaller defensively, bringing in Isaac Carr off the bench who contributed three steals.
Collingwood was heavy on three-point shooting in the second half, which put them further in the hole. The Owls made just three such shots after the first quarter, and by game's end, the team had missed 21 threes, including seven by Sedinovic.
"It's just playing to your advantages," Lamon said postgame. "If they're going small, you've got to pound the ball down low. If someone's hot, you've got to keep giving them the ball."
Maple Ridge's defence in the paint was key as well, adding five of the team's six blocks in the second half. Chase St. John also came off the bench for the Ravens and made three clutch threes in the second half.
Lamon had a game-highs with 20 points on 50 per cent shooting and nine rebounds for Maple Ridge, while Schmidt added another 14 points, seven boards, and led all players with four steals.
Sedinovic led Collingwood with 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and was the only one on his team to make multiple shots in the second half.
Maple Ridge finished the regular season 8-0, and has not lost a game since the 2025 GBSSA championship game against St. Peter's. Collingwood's only regular season loss was at Nottawasaga Pines.
UP NEXT
Maple Ridge advances to Thursday's GBSSA championship game on the road against CSASC champion St. Joan of Arc.
"It's a very different style of basketball than Collingwood," Lalonde says about the Knights. "JOA has some guys that can just flat out hoop."
"It's going to be a tough game," Lamon says. "We've got to come ready, come prepared."
OTHER SCORES
CSASC AAA Senior Boy's Basketball Final: St. Joan of Arc 68 Holy Trinity 51
CSASC AA Senior Boy's Basketball Final: Patrick Fogarty 55 St. Joseph's 38
