DaSilva triple-double gives Briercrest Remembrance Day victory over Ambrose
By Jeff Misener
On this Remembrance Day, Briercrest coach Gradyn Childerhose was eager to see his young squad produce their first win of the 2016-17 season as they matched up against South Division rivals Ambrose Lions, who were making their lone visit to Caronport.
Ben Kornelson found the score sheet early with layups in the paint, while point guard Ethan DaSilva scooted to the hoop twice in the first four minutes as Briercrest took an early 11-7 lead. DaSilva later set up Dan Reynolds for a triple in front of Ambrose's bench. Kyler Shula, a 2015-16 CCAA All-Canadian, dropped a three of his own and added a driving lay-up, but Zak Tamlin was fouled on a post move and made both free throws to give Briercrest a 24-12 first quarter lead.
Ambrose brought full-court pressure to begin the second quarter as Shula and Dyson Surmik opened the scoring for the visitors, but DaSilva responded by distributing four quick dimes to assorted Briercrest scorers before taking a seat on the bench with his third foul. Shula converted a three-point play to cut the Briercrest lead to seven, but Zak Tamlin responded with an inside power move for the home team. Ben Kornelson snagged an offensive board and converted the baby hook to push Briercrest ahead 37-28, and Shula and Tamlin traded three-point bombs before the teams retired to the dressing rooms, with Briercrest ahead 41-36.
Ben Kornelsen opened the third quarter with a monstrous offensive rebound while being mauled by three Lions players, and he smoothly converted his free throws. Ambrose's Chad Kelloway hit a triple, only to be answered by Zak Tamlin's three from the parking lot. Shula and Marcus Harris recorded three triples in three successive trips down the court to give Ambrose the lead, but Briercrest's big man Kornelsen ripped down another offensive board and converted the lay up to tie the score. Ambrose's Harris and Briercrest's Zephaniah Moore exchanged scores from beyond the arc before Tamlin's seeing-eye, left-handed shovel pass found Dan Reynolds under the basket for an easy deuce. Ambrose held slim 60-57 edge after the third frame.
Briercrest opened the final period with triples by Joshua Mohammed and Tamlin before Ethan DaSilva found centre Ben Kornelsen for an alley-oop slam that brought the crowd to its feet. DaSilva then delivered a mesmerizing around-the-back pass to Kornelsen to push Briercrest to a 67-60 advantage. In the middle part of the quarter, DaSilva notched twelve consecutive points on a combination of drives and three pointers to push the Briercrest lead to five, and Brandon and Brian Tolentino hit six clutch free throws in the final seconds to secure an 87-80 win for Briercrest.
Kyler Shula was Player of the Game for Ambrose with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals; Marcus Harris and Dyson Surmik also starred for the visitors, recording 19 and 16 points, respectively. Briercrest's Ethan DaSliva delivered a triple double (19 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) before the home crowd, while Ben Kornelsen had a double double (23 points, 10 boards). Zak Tamlin contributed 17 points and valuable minutes at point guard.
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