WINDSOR

The city game versus suburban hoops, a contrast in styles that has been the subject of much debate.

It’s full-court versus half-court, athleticism and quickness pitted against a more traditional and conventional approach that leaves very little margin for error.

But when the city game is punctuated by unselfish play and attention to detail gets exercised, suburban basketball has little to no chance of prevailing.

Witness Tuesday’s quarterfinal at OFSAA’s quad-A championship, when the Henry Carr Crusaders matched up against the Cinderella Holy Names Knights.

When they weren’t turning over the basketball, moving well off the ball and knocking down shots, the Knights were competitive.

When sloppy ball-handling led to turnovers and missed shots to run outs, it was goodnight for the Knights, the local team’s run at the provincial championship coming to a rude ending as Carr cruised to a 65-49 win.

Carr had the size advantage, an edge in quickness and more shot makers to turn to. When the Crusaders forced the Knights out of their 2-3 zone, the first of the evening’s quarterfinal draws turned decidedly one-sided.

For Carr, a program that has played in back-to-back OFSAA finals, only to lose both games, it’s back to the semifinal stage.

This year’s road, at least based on the tournament’s seedings, has been relatively easy. Carr matched up against No. 18 Glebe in the opening round on Monday, then matched up against No. 14 St. Anne on Tuesday morning.

The Knights were the 16th seed, knocking off perennial OFSAA champion Eastern Commerce on a three-point buzzer-beater, then taking care of MacNab to set up their meeting with the Crusaders, a David versus Goliath backdrop.

They hung around in the opening quarter, forcing Carr into fouls, vexing the Crusaders with a zone look and finishing when solid sets led to good looks.

But, eventually, talent takes over and Carr simply had too much poise and polish. Now it is primed to take aim at that elusive OFSAA title.

At one point, Carr led by as many as 22 points, its post game complementing its prowess from the perimeter.

The only chance for Holy Names was to play a near-perfect game from start to finish, 32 minutes of fundamentally sound basketball, something rarely seen at this level, or any level, for that matter.

To their credit, the Knights kept competing, even as Carr’s pressure defence led to turnovers and easy baskets.

Momentum swung late in the opening half, Carr making shots from beyond the three-point arc, the Knights unable to protect the boards.

The catalyst for the Crusaders was Carlo Dubria, a tenacious guard who is short in stature but who plays big.

On Carr’s first possession in the third quarter, another three-ball, this one from John Akende along the baseline, would help create more separation.

Head coach Paul Melnik did a great job in keeping his kids composed, imploring and applauding, extracting and scheming.

When the tide was clearly in Carr’s favour, he called a time out following a basket.

When they took to the floor, the Crusaders deployed a half-court trap that caught the Knights off guard.

Carr executed solid ball movement, leading to duck-ins and easy lay-ins.

“When I hit the first one, I knew I was there, I was feeling it,’’ said Dubria, a Grade 11 student and a first-year senior. “Once I saw the cotton go down, I had to take the second one as well.”

Each heave was in rhythm, Dubria hitting nothing but net, both makes coming against the Knights’ zone defence designed to pack the paint and take away penetration.

“The key for us was to be patient, run our plays, see what was there,’’ said Dubria. “Our whole plan was to feed the bigs. Once they stopped the bigs, the ball started to come out and the flow started going.”

Isiah Familia emerged as the hero as Holy Names made a name for itself in knocking off Eastern, the program ending its historic run at OFSAA with a loss to St. Mike’s on Tuesday morning.

Against Carr, Familia had a tough time trying to shake free from the Crusaders’ suffocating defence, at times creating his own shot but too often not being able to finish.

Holy Names was limited to four second-quarter points after trailing 19-15 following the opening quarter.

“Just stay focused,’’ added Dubria about Carr’s mind-set. “Henry Carr has never won an OFSAA championship. Every round is going to get harder.”

Dubria saw from the stands as Familiar drained a contested three at the buzzer to knocks off Eastern Commerce.

“Everybody underestimated that team,’’ said Dubria of Holy Names. “They were the underdogs and they play hard because of that motivation.”

For Dubria and the rest of the Carr Crusaders, the motivation is an OFSAA gold.

BEARS MAUL PANTHERS

Bigger days will undoubtedly await, perhaps even a bigger basketball stage to play on and, in all likelihood, much bigger stakes for Christopher Bennett.

But, for this moment, there’s no bigger occasion than OFSAA’s biggest backdrop, the provincial high school basketball tournament now entering its most crucial time as Wednesday’s semifinal and championship tips are contested.

Bennett’s Campion Bears booked their ticket to the semis and a date with Henry Carr following the school’s 57-42 win over the d’Youville Panthers in Tuesday night’s quarterfinal action.

The all-Brampton meeting had its expected high-intensity level and frenetic finish, Campion playing with enough composure down the stretch to stave off the Panthers.

“This is big,’’ said Bennett, better known to his teammates as C.J. “As a fifth-year senior, it’s a special moment knowing that potentially you could go home with a gold, silver, bronze or copper.

“This is an honour. Not many people get this opportunity in life.”

Campion, the tourney’s No. 2 seed, play the third-seeded Crusaders.

The Bears, following a poor first quarter, emerged as the better team in the quarterfinal, leading by double digits until d’Youville made the game very compelling by ending the third quarter on a 6-0 run.

Midway through the final period, Marcus Anderson, one of Campion’s primary ball handlers, fouled out, putting a lot of the decision-making into the hands of an emerging star in Grade 9 student Joel Brown.

And when d’Youville’s Damiann Prehay used his strength and athleticism to get to the rim and score, it became a one-possession game with one minute remaining.

An air ball by d’Youville on a three-point heave pretty much sealed the deal.

“We have good discipline and we showed a lot of composure,’’ said Bennett, whose Bears beat the Crusaders earlier this high school season.

Carr is a different team and will test Campion’s mental and physical toughness.

ST. MIKE'S TO DUEL PINE RIDGE

They began to pick up their defence in the full court, started making shots and, when stops were being made, the rout began.

In one explosive quarter of basketball, the St. Mike’s Blue Raiders unleashed their talent at both ends of the floor, overwhelming the underdog Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders 69-43 at OFSAA’s quarterfinal Tuesday.

For the No. 1 seed St. Mike’s, the win sets up a date in Wednesday morning’s semi against Pickering’s Pine Ridge, 53-48 winners over the defending champion Oakwood Barons in a game short on shooting accuracy, but was ultra-competitive nonetheless.

The Highlanders saved its best for the opening quarter against St. Mike’s, unable to sustain their play, incapable of matching up when St. Mike’s used its quickness and shooting efficiency to pull away.

At the break, the Blue Raiders were leading 32-24.

They began the second half by going on a 13-0 run, eventually outscoring the Highlanders 24-5 in the period.

The game, for all intents and purposes, was over.

St. Mike’s won OFSAA gold two years ago in Windsor, an overtime thriller played against Henry Carr.

A year ago, the Blue Raiders had a terrible shooting game in the quarterfinal, losing to Brampton’s Notre Dame, a team that clearly deserved to win.