Oakwood’s Julian Clarke knows who’s number one after his Barons turned back the Thomas More Knights in the gold medal game at Durham College. Clarke was named the most valuable player on his superb fourth-quarter performance.

By Wally Donaldson
The Oshawa Express

The more Oakwood star guard Julian Clarke looked high to the basket from outside the perimeter in the fourth quarter, the eyes of St. Thomas More Knights’ coach Stefano Giovannangeli dropped down to his shoes.
“I couldn’t look,” he said with a slight smile. “I glanced over at my assistant coach and said, ‘Here we go.’”
With the approach that his brief vacation on the floor after three quarters was over, Clarke went back to work and the five-point lead once enjoyed by the 12th ranked Knights from Hamilton in the early stages of the fourth quarter quickly dissolved.
Clarke rang up five successive three pointers and 17 of his 20 points in those final eight minutes to lift sixth-seeded Barons to a 47-34 victory and gold medal at the Ontario Federation Secondary Athletic Association (OFSAA) Senior Boys AAAA Championship at Durham College.
The outcome spoke volumes as the Oakwood collegiate not only scored its first title in 17 seasons, the Barons did it against an equally tenacious adversary. Ironically, the two finalists combined managed to knock off the two Durham Region entrants, top-ranked Pickering Trojans and third-seeded J. Clarke Richardson Storm from Ajax earlier in the three-day showdown.

Second-seeded Blessed Mother Teresa Titans from Scarborough were defeated by Oakwood 65-60 with Clarke once again putting on a show with 25 points.
Heck, even defending OFSAA champion Eastern Commerce Saints out of Toronto went quietly in the night.

This set the table for two secondary school organizations to duke it out before close to 1,000 onlookers, many fans from the Hamilton school.

Although there may not have been an abundance of eye-catching plays in the first half for the highlight reels, the game plan set by Giovannangeli was set in motion – keep the score down and Clarke quiet.

His quest, in the final analysis, was half accomplished. Knights did manage to limit the explosive Barons for a good portion of the final on the scoreboard, but the sleeping giant that is Clarke awoke.

“I was too quiet,” yelled a jubilant and emotional Clarke of his earlier performance, “and I knew I had to pick it up for the rest of the team. Once I got a couple of the three points, I got in the groove and started looking for more. I had to come through. This is the best feeling ever.”
Claiming he had achieved five three point shots previously, Clarke was quick to also note, “I did it, but not with the support I have now.”
Barons’ Jermaine Bernard set the wheels in motion with a layup under the basket to knot the score at 34-34 with 2:46 left on the clock. It was at this juncture when the ball was handed over to Clarke and his two three pointers in quick succession gave Oakwood a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“We knew what to expect because we played these guys three times this year and they were all tough games,” noted Oakwood head skipper Anthony Miller. “But we were confident. We were patient (while) trying to build good habits up and down the court. We knew if we played old school basketball, we’d have a lot of success.”
Reiterating an earlier comment about his club deserving better than a 12th seed, Giovannangeli admits, “Our guys came in with a chip on their shoulders and for three days we played our hearts out.”
Knights led 11-9 after one quarter and entered the half trailing 21-19. They got the lead back in the third quarter 28-25.
“We had to keep the score down on these guys, keep it ugly and keep it a game of possessions,” adds Giovannangeli. “I thought for three and a half quarters we did that. We had to stop them in transition, but in the end it got away on us. We committed a couple of turnovers which was unfortunate and we ran out of gas.”
St. Thomas More Collegiate will take a silver medal with pride. It is the school’s first OFSAA boys basketball medal in its 37-year history.