Trevor Luby scores 31, St. Ignatius wins back-to-back boys basketball crowns

THUNDER BAY -- The St. Patrick Saints were hoping for a worst-to-first fairy-tale finish.

The St. Ignatius Falcons had other ideas.

The undefeated Falcons scored the game’s first nine points, put up 60 by halftime and cruised on Monday to a 95-57 win to secure a second straight varsity boys high school basketball championship, taking full advantage of home-court advantage.

Trevor Luby was all but unstoppable for St. Ignatius, torching the Saints for 31 points and 31 rebounds, raining three-pointers at will as the Falcons took an insurmountable 60-21 lead into halftime.

“We knew we had a target on our backs. We knew St. Pat’s was going to be a tough opponent because they always work hard,” Luby said.
“We honestly didn’t expect they were going to be in the final. But we knew it was going to be a close game.”  

It was a tale of two teams at the opposite spectrum of the stands.

The Falcons, led by coach Matt Erdman, tore through the regular season, finishing undefeated at 10-0. The Saints, on the other hand, were 2-8, dead last in the league, but got hot at the right time, knocking off Superior Collegiate last Friday to earn a berth in the Superior Secondary Schools Athletic Association final.

The championship win was a long-time coming and well worth the wait, Luby said.

“It was pretty good for the seniors. We worked since the summertime to get this championship and it feels pretty good,” Luby said.
The 17-year-old had plenty of help.

Guard Eddie Omari, who transferred to St. Ignatius from a Kitchener’s St. Mary’s High School, was the consummate floor general, driving the ball up the court, drawing in the defence and then dishing it off to his outside shooters.

Not a bad way to go out, he said.

“It feels amazing. We all put the work in, each and every day. It was our goal to win a championship, so it’s a good feeling to know all our hard work paid off,” he said.

By no means are the Falcons done, added Omari, who finished with 14 points.

“No, we’ve got two thing to go to, NWOSSA and then OFSSA,” he said.

St. Ignatius travels to Fort Frances for the regional championship against the Muskies, the winner earning a berth at the provincial championship in Timmins.

St. Ignatius coach Matt Erdman said the Saints were a scrappy opponent, despite what the scoreboard might show.

“They were pressing and still playing, never giving up,” Erdman said. “But for us, it’s a great feeling.”

Kellen Steudle finished with 25 for the Saints.