Capture gold on buzzer beating shot going 90 feet in six seconds
April 24, 2023
St. Thomas Shock, Ontario Basketball Association Division Ontario Cup U13 boys Division six gold medalists are, from left, front row - Ethan Koetsier, Lanre Salmi, Parker Luyks, Logan Lehay, Hasmithan Rajkumar (Hash), Marco Testa; back row - coach Sarah Kirk, Ethan Marr, Ethan Brown, Hayden Siemens, Tiernen DeRosiers, Evam Howick, Noah Marr, coach Mike Luyks.
By Rob J. Ross
TORONTO, Ont. - It is provincial gold for the St. Thomas Shock U13 boys.
The Shock went 4-0 to win the Ontario Cup Division six title, defeating Jump Basketball, 40-38, on buzzer beater in the final April 21 at the Pan Am Sports Centre.
"Those final weekend tournaments are always long. Before the first game started we talked about how there will be times when nothing seems to be going for us and how important it would be to stay level and stick together," Shock coach Mike Luyks said. "There was a couple plays in games that you sometimes see in a championship run. One of our players hit a 50 foot buzzer beater to end a third quarter in to really get the momentum going in one game, and one the players that typically sees a little less time came in and hit a huge three-pointer for us. Just two examples of many key and important plays by players."
In the final, St. Thomas trailed throughout the game, but scored the winning basket with less than a second remaining in regulation time.
"The gold medal game was a chaotic grind it out type game. We were down for most of the 32 minutes, but we kept grinding, stayed level and stuck together," coach Mike Luyks said. "We were able to finally tie the game with under a minute or so to go and took advantage of the seconds we had left at the end of the game after they missed a potential game winning jump shot. We went 90 feet with a great outlet pass, two dribbles, and a clutch lay-up in about six seconds."
The Shock improved in all areas of their game throughout the season.
"Every player on the team made great strides individually in different areas, but I think what really helped us finish the season strong was our attitude," said Luyks. "Bad plays, mistakes, turnovers, perceived bad calls from refs, all of this seemed to get us down earlier in the year, but the kids all really grew in this area and I think its what makes us most proud as coaches."
Luyks has had success coaching Shock basketball.
In 2022, the U12 boys won gold, featuring a few of the players from this year's U13 team.
A year ago, the U10 boys placed fourth at provincials, but won a tournament a month earlier.
U13 girls seventh
The Shock's U13 girls finished seventh at their Ontario Cup division three tournament.
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