Another good warmup for the Lo-Ellen Park Knights senior boys basketball team and their quest to repeat as city champions, putting their depth to the challenge and overcoming a slow start in capturing a tournament in Pembroke last weekend.

Despite not shooting well and matching up opposite a Chippewa Ravens team that produced a highly inspired effort, the Knights still managed to eke out a 58-55 win in their opening game in overtime. That game was sent to overtime when Will Church sank all three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc with four seconds to play.

Playing progressively better basketball as the tournament continued, Lo-Ellen compensated for the absence of multi-positional star Quin Mazzuchin by tightening things up defensively, stopping Perth Blue Devils 60-40 in the semis and bouncing the Smith Falls Redhawks 74-58 in the final.

While Will Church paced the attack for the Knights, head coach Mac Bertrand also took time to note the efforts of Noah Skrobot and Hunter Laplante. Returning to league play, Lo-Ellen stopped the St Charles College Cardinals 66-49 this past week, with a circled matchup with the Lasalle Lancers set for February 10th.

This weekend sees a large contingent of Sudbury high-school boys basketball talent making their way to Timmins, site of the 53rd annual Zenon Ziemba Tournament.