Belmont Takes Lord Tweedsmuir in Tight First Round Match Up
Dec. 7th, 2023
LORD TWEEDSMUIR PANTHERS VS BELMONT BULLDOG
Written by Cam Yates
Pre-game notes:
Belmont:
An exciting first-round matchup between two 4A squads is late to start due to a lengthy second half earlier in the afternoon in the Collingwood-Port Moody matchup. Belmont are looking to advance to the second round for the second year in a row at the No Regrets Tournament. They are coming fresh from a 2-1 result at the Cowichan Welcome Back Tournament last week and will have their hands full as they take on a talented 4A preseason #9 ranked Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers squad. Belmont lacks size with their tallest player listed at 6’3 but head coach Rhys Hill, who took over the helm of the Bulldogs squad from longtime coach Kevin Brown in 2020, indicates they’ve gotten a welcome boost in scoring from Italian exchange student #7 Leonardo Manenti.
On the Lord Tweedsmuir side, head coach Raj Bagry’s polished squad has already put up several games with over 100 points in this young 2023-2024 season, with their only loss so far being a tightly contested matchup in the Big Ticket final to the #1 3A Lord Byng Grey Ghosts. They’ve got plenty of depth and size but Coach Bagry singles out #13 Munroop Gill as their leading scorer and playmaker.
1st quarter
Lord Tweedsmuir’s big man #12 Tript Sooch opens the scoring with a layup, followed immediately by a steal from their press and a smooth one-handed driving layup by #13 Munroop Gill. The Panthers are utilizing Sooch’s length to trap the inbound pass effectively, but coach Bagry isn’t happy about something - he uses a quick timeout hardly a minute into the game. 4-0 Tweedsmuir.
Out of the timeout, Belmont’s aforementioned Italian #7 Leonardo Manenti opens the scoring in transition against the Tweedsmuir press for the Bulldogs. #13 Munroop Gill responds for the Panthers with a driving pull-up in the key… he’s put up 6 points and 2 steals less than 2 minutes into the game. Both teams' go-to guys have come ready to play.
Tweedsmuir’s lefty guard #21 Sahib Waraich hits a pull-up jump shot at the elbow, but Belmont’s athletic #8 Ryder Greenwood responds in transition. A few up and downs later, Belmont scores again against the press and Tweedsmuir Coach Bagry is not impressed with his team’s transition defense - he elects for full five man substitution to go over the finer points of their press with their starters. 10-6 Tweedsmuir.
The first three-pointer of the game from Tweedsmuir’s #14 Apollo Greenlay puts them up 15-8, followed by another three by #19 Joven Sihota on a kick out from a post up. They certainly have a lot of scoring options and their size advantage is already a significant dynamic of the game.
The Bulldogs (or just “dogs”, according to their huddle cheer) are brought to life by a thunderous two-handed dunk in transition by Greenwood! He is deceptively bouncy. Another bucket by Manenti on a tough finish closes the gap on the early deficit. Belmont has scored all of their points in transition so far. They play very well on the fast break and against the press, as you might expect from a team whose tallest guy is 6’3.
Uh oh - Tweedsmuir’s star guard Gill contests a transition layup and immediately grabs his ankle on the landing, and heads to the bench in obvious pain - never a sight anyone wants to see and a tough break for the Panthers.
Belmont’s #3 Lance Cabal honours his jersey number and cans a trey to take the lead! At the end of the 1st quarter, Belmont has clawed back to take a 21-20 lead.
2nd quarter
The Italian import Manenti opens the 2nd quarter by scoring inside for the Bulldogs, which I believe is the first bucket in the half court of the game for Belmont.
The Collingwood scorekeepers seem to be fans of Belmont’s #0 Mattias Tenove, despite him having not scored yet. Must be his smooth ball handling or his stylish haircut, I can’t tell.
Right away, it’s clear that Gill’s absence is hurting Tweedsmuir as they are struggling to get the same open looks without their star guard in the game. Let’s see if they can go to their size advantage to create high percentage shots.
Belmont capitalizes on the momentum with another 3 from the left side by Cabal! He has been vital for the Bulldogs with his shooting and drives to the basket. 28-22 Bulldogs. The Panthers respond with #22 Yuvraj Kapil getting to the elbow for a smooth pull-up to give the Panthers’ offense a lift.
The pace of the game has been fast from the get go, but the intensity is ramping up - bodies are hitting the floor all over the place.
Tweedsmuir executes a nice baseline set, a stack lob for their forward #15 Robert Cook to cut the lead to four. The Panthers’ #10 Trevon Arogie with the steal and layup in transition the very next play! Their depth is on display with a variety of points from non-starters. Belmont coach Hill calls timeout to settle his troops as their lead is cut to two.
Out of the timeout, both teams trade buckets until an “and 1” by Cook - Tweedsmuir retakes the lead 32-31! Alas, not for long: Belmont’s #2 Thatcher Wigg drains a floater to snatch the lead back. We’ve got a tight back-and-forth contest as the first half winds to a close. But hang on! Belmont guard #0 Tenove is fouled on a 3 with 2.3 seconds left in the frame… Coach Bagry isn’t going to be happy about that one. Belmont heads into halftime with a seven point advantage.
HALFTIME
BELMONT
#3 Cabal 14 points
#7 Manenti 9 points
#8 Greenwood 8 points
TWEEDSMUIR
#13 Gill 6 points
#14 Greenlay 7 points
#15 Cook 6 points
3rd quarter
Tweedsmuir’s Kapil opens the scoring in the second half with a sweet up and under finish. However, Belmont’s Cabal picks up right where he left off with an “and 1” in transition! He cans the extra shot to give Belmont a 42-34 lead.
The Panthers have gone to a 2-3 zone and use their size and athleticism to earn some stops. #20 Jayden Creedy with a deeeeeep 3… the Panthers press and Belmont throws the kind of risky over-the-top floating pass that normally causes coaches’ nostrils to flare but the pass squeaks through for a layup… Coach Hill exhales and sits back down.
Tenove swishes a 3 to extend the lead to 10 points for Belmont… we could have an upset brewing in the opening round! Tweedsmuir answers with another baseline stack lob for their big man Cook, and then brings on five fresh players who are stepping up the tempo and pressure with a half court trap… several steals and layups give the Panthers some life! An 8-0 run cuts the lead to two, 47-45. Timeout Belmont!
After the timeout, Cook displays some nice touch by hitting a short corner jumper to tie the game, but an “and 1” by Greenwood settles the Bulldogs. Back and forth we go… man I love high school hoops.
The ‘dogs move the ball well against Tweedsmuir’s zone and get the ball to an open Greenwood in the high post… one power dribble and he goes up for a big 1 hand dunk!... but he jams it off the front rim, yikes... and then promptly puts back his own miss. Coach Hill shakes his head but ultimately shares a smile with his assistants as Belmont hangs on to their lead.
Tweedsmuir’s size advantage is evident as they get a second, third, fourth chance opportunity to score… Tenove responds with another 3. The kid’s got a pretty smooth jumper - too bad the Collingwood scorekeepers tagged out at halftime.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Belmont is hanging on to a slim 58-55 lead.
4th quarter
Tweedsmuir mixes it up, coming out to start the 4th quarter in a 1-3-1 to utilize their length. A couple of quick passes from Belmont lead to a layup for #9 Chase Leader. The Panthers’ Rob Cook responds with a bucket inside… he is really holding down the scoring for his team with their leading scorer Gill out of commission.
We’ve got some shot clock issues for Collingwood’s score table… the referees want to keep play going and elect to do a manual countdown for the rest of the game. Between the scrappy Collingwood-Port Moody game preceding this one, they’ve certainly had their work cut out for themselves today.
Belmont’s Tenove hits another 3, his third long bomb of the second half… and then he banks in a fourth one, my goodness. Absolutely frenetic pace with six minutes left, 68-64 Belmont. Both teams are clamoring for foul and travel calls, and Belmont’s #7 Manenti is whistled for a technical foul for disputing a no-call with 4:30 to go. Shortly thereafter, coach Hill wants a double dribble call and although it appears he’s got a valid point, he gets nailed for a tech as well.
A timeout by Tweedsmuir with exactly 2:00 left and a three point lead for Belmont. Out of the timeout, a layup by Cook cuts it to 1… but it’s answered immediately by a transition bucket by Greenwood, and then a steal by Greenwood!
As close games wind down to crunch time, some teams will slow the pace down to avoid turnovers at all cost… not these two. The frantic pace continues here until Tweedsmuir’s #10 Arogie is fouled and goes 1 for 2. 76-73 Belmont with 47 seconds left.
17.3 seconds on the game clock, Belmont with a baseline inbounds under Tweedsmuir’s basket up by three… a loose ball and Manenti is whistled for a kick ball violation! He doesn’t like it but it appears to be the correct call. Tweedsmuir ball with 14.7 seconds remaining. Coach Bagry ponders letting his team play before using one of his two remaining timeouts.
Out of the timeout, they immediately drive for quick two… but it slips out for a turnover! 10 seconds left on the game clock, Belmont ball under their own basket. They throw another very risky pass to halfcourt… it’s tipped to #9 Leader who ices the game with an “and 1”!
Belmont manages to pull off the upset thanks to some stellar transition play and a balanced attack from a multitude of players - Manenti, Greenwood, Tenove, Cabal, Leader… this is a tough one to pick a Player of the Game for but the scoretable comes to a consensus for the Italian combo guard, #7 Leo Manenti. They advance to the quarter-finals against Collingwood Cavaliers Friday night at 6:45 pm. Lord Tweedsmuir will look to regroup against the Port Moody Blues on the consolation side at 3:15 pm, also at Collingwood.
Final score: Belmont 78, Lord Tweedsmuir 73
Player of the game: Collingwood #7 Leonardo Manenti