OTTAWA/March 11—Ben Lusk scored 25 points today to lead the Sydenham Golden Eagles into the consolation final at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations boys AA basketeball tournament.
Lusk’s performance paced Sydenham to a 60-43 victory over St. Paul of Ottawa in a game at St. Joseph High School in Barrhaven. It was the Eagles’ third win in four games at the 18-team provincial championship.
Lusk scored 17 points in the second half, including three three-point baskets.
The Eagles will face Belleville Centennial in the consolation final this afternoon at 4:30.
The game was close in the first quarter, and a basket at the buzzer gave St. Paul its largest lead of the game, six points. The lead changed hands five times in the second quarter and Sydenham led 30-27 at halftime.
The Eagles twice led by five points in the third quarter, but St. Paul rallied to tie the game at 38-38 before a three-pointer by Lusk just before the period ended gave his team the lead for good.
Sydenham broke open a four-point ball game by scoring the last 13 points in a row.
Tom Withey scored 11 points for Sydenham, while Steve Kennedy finished with nine, seven of them in the fourth quarter. Jabreal Aden and Mike Huerto scored 10 points apiece for St. Paul, the second National Capital entry, which won just one of its three games at the tournament.
Centennial has had a tough road here, losing its first two games to teams that are both playing for medals today: top-seeded St. Francis and No. 6 Merivale. The Chargers, the 11th-seeded team, have won twice since then, defeating St. Ignatius of Thunder Bay—the team Sydenham beat in the opening round—by 11 points and Stratford St. Joseph this morning by 35.