Concordia Stingers' 6'2" forward Patrick Perrotte knocked down a step-back "3" as the buzzer sounded giving Canada Red, coached by John Abbott College's Scott Mawhinney, an 85-82 victory over Canada White, coached by Windsor's Chris Oliver in the 2nd annual Be One All-Canadian game played before a sparse crowd at Humber College on Saturday afternoon. With the game tied and only 4 seconds remaining on the clock, Perrotte (pictured below) took an in-bounds pass, got free and then swished a jumper to give his team the victory. Perrotte was a difficult check inside and out all afternoon, leading all scorers with 25 points and garning MVP honours in the game. Team White was led by UPEI's 6'9" Doug McKinney, who flashed his shooting range and also scored inside on a series of turnarounds to finish with 21 points. McKinney, who fouled out of yesterday's game having to deal with Canada Red's front court duo of 6'7" J.P. Morin and 6'2" Perrotte, looks to have lost some significant weight and played with much energy in what appears to be a concerted effort to attract attention for representing Canada. 
Other top performers in the game included UBC's 6'4" Casey Archibald (19 points/5 assists in 34 minutes), who made several tough shots as part of a 5 for 8 effort from 3 point land and worked well with Ottawa's 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe (7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists/0 turnovers in 31 minutes), who after a silent start came on somewhat down the stretch of the game; 6'2" Osvaldo Jeanty (13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists in 35 minutes) from Carleton who as always played every possession as if it were his last and looked much fresher than he did during the latter stages of the season when it was pretty clear to many observers that he was playing through a number of aches and pains (see below for a sizeable piece on Jeanty from this morning's Ottawa Sun); Laval's Morin (18 points on 8-12 shooting in 25 minutes) who again showed his tremendous inside/out game and continues to mature physically and mentally as a player; 5'8" Martin Ajayi (12 points on 3-9 shooting, 5 assists) from McMaster who applied his usually-tough ball pressure defensively and created turnovers for his team and 6'8" Dan Eves (11 points including 3 of 5 from three) from York, who showed off his perimeter shooting and underrated passing skills from the forward position. 5'10" Brock guard Brad Rootes, coming off a rib injury sustained in the OUA West playoffs in early March, appeared to be rounding back into form and showed off his solid floor leader skills. 6'1" AUS MVP Paolo Santana from Acadia who had 13 points on 5-9 shooting in only 14 minutes but saw limited action and generally struggled while usually dominating the ball when on the floor. 6'5" Cape Breton forward Eric Breland worked well inside but appeared to be struggling with his fitness since the end of the season. 6'3" Jean-Francois Beaulieu-Mahieux unfortunately suffered a severe charley horse during workouts earlier in the week and could not play in the game while 6'4" Jerome Turcotte (7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists in 30 minutes), chosen to the game after a stellar season at CEGEP Ste-Foy and will suit up for Coach Jacques Paiement's Laval Rouge et Or showed observers that he will add another element of talent to Laval in the coming season and played as hard as anyone on the floor.
Here is a nice article mentioning former Canada National team star Howard Kelsey and some work he is contributing to for a Vancouver project Vancouver Street Basketball gets a boost
A nice piece by Neate Sager from "Out in Left Field" on Carleton's recent hiring of Taffe Charles as women's head basketball coach Can Taffe pull the women's Ravens out of the doldrums
Finally a very nice piece from Rob Brodie of the Ottawa Sun on Osvaldo Jeanty The Wizard of Os
Here is the officiall Press Release from Canada Basketball on yesterday's event:
MEDIA RELEASE
www.basketball.ca
May 5, 2007
Team Red Victorious In Both Games of Be One
All-Canadian Weekend Double-Header
(Etobicoke, Ontario) The top University and College basketball players from across the country converged on Humber College this weekend for the second annual Be One All-Canadian Weekend. Celebrating and rewarding the accomplishments of Canada’s collegiate players, the weekend culminates with a Men’s and Women’s All-Star Games. Led by Sarah Crooks, Team Red won the first game of the double-header 72-62, while Patrick Perrotte scored 25 points to power Team Red to an 85-82 victory over Team White in the men’s action.
The women’s game kicked off at noon with a back-and-forth first quarter that saw Team Red, coached by Vanier College Head Coach Ruby Viray – who led her team to the Canadian College title earlier this year -, take a slim 20-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Team White battled back in the second quarter however, outscoring red 24-17 in the period to take a 42-37 halftime led by a game-high 16 first-half points by team white’s Laurelle Weigle, the CIS rookie of the year from Simon Fraser University. Two other players finished in double-digit scoring, both from Team Red, CIS player of the year and national team player from the University of Saskatchewan, Sarah Crooks tallied 16 points while Laurentian University’s second team All-Canadian Cassandra Carpenter added 10 points.
Team Red battled back in the second half holding white to just eight points in the third quarter while tallying 23 themselves to take a 60-50 lead into the final stanza of play.
Both teams scored 12 points apiece in the fourth quarter as Team Red maintained their 10-point lead to ensure the victory.
“This event is a great opportunity for the best in Canada to showcase their talent”, commented winning team red Head Coach and Canada West Coach of the Year Scott Edwards. “Coaching Sarah (Crooks) was fun, after coaching against her several times in the season.”
Crooks led all players in points (22) and rebounds (11) and was named the games MVP. Team white was led by 20 points from Weigle.
“It was really fun to come in and play against players that you hear about all year and never had a chance to play with,” commented Crooks. “It’s great to come together and make a team and then interact with each other”.
The men’s game tipped off at 2:30 p.m. with Team Red, lead by Canadian National team member Osvaldo Jeanty, owning a 23-18 after a closely fought first quarter.
Team Red extended their lead early in the second quarter before Team White battled back with an 8-2 run in the middle of the stanza. Team White went on to win the period 23-19 and cut Red’s lead to 42-39 at the half. Doug McKinney, an AUS All-Star from the University of Prince Edward Island, led all scorers in the half with 14 points for Team White. Two other players scored in double figures with 10 points; University of British Columbia and Team White guard Casey Archibald, and Douglas College and Team Red forward Andrew Sturgeon.
Both teams fought hard in the third quarter, with Team Red outscoring Team White 21-19, on the strength of Concordia University and First Team-All Canadian Patrick Perrotte. Team Red held a 63-58 lead into the fourth quarter.
Team White closed the gap in the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run, making the game a back-and-and forth affair down the stretch until in the final seconds when Perrotte hit a three pointer as the buzzer sounded to win the game for Team Red and make the final score 85-82.
“The three point shot happened so fast,” said Perrotte. “We had nothing to lose. I hit the shot, we win the game, I miss, we go to overtime.”
Perrotte also earned game MVP honors, leading all scorers with 25 points and adding four assists. Team White was led by McKinney with 21 points.
“The weekend was a really great experience and it was exciting to showcase our skills in front of national team coaches,” added Perrotte. “It was really great to compete with and against the best collegiate players in the country”.
“It was a great weekend. The player and guest coaches got a chance to watch and learn from the national team head coaches and everyone learned a lot,” said Head Coach Scott Mawhinney. “The kids played extremely hard and you could see their improvement over the course of the weekend.”
The second annual Be One All-Canadian weekend brought together Canada’s top basketball talent under one roof. This game and weekend celebrated the accomplishments of the top players and coaches across the country, giving them the opportunity of being watched by National Team coaches.
For further information please contact: Tanya Phillipps, Canada Basketball, 416-614-8037
tphillipps@basketball.ca
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