By: Justin Boone
jboone@ticats.ca
An overabundance of Ticats players helped the Cops and Cats Charity Basketball team achieve their goal of an undefeated season in 2008.
With a record of 10-0, the Cops and Cats headed into their final week of games against arguably their most menacing opponents on this year’s schedule, St. Thomas More, Cathedral, and the only team that beat them in 2007, St. Mary’s.
The roster was loaded with Cats including Tony Miles, Sandy Beveridge, Richie Williams, Casey Printers, Chris Bauman, Kori Dickerson, Jason French, Zeke Moreno, Nick Setta, Terry Caulley, Timmy Chang, and centre Marwan Hage who ended the week in style re-signing with the Ticats.
With so many players on hand, not only was the level of competition raised, but the players on the bench did their part to get the crowd into the games giving away prizes and even sitting in the stands with students cheering.
St. Thomas More had an aerial attack unlike any team the Cops and Cats have seen this year. Although they lost the game, they definitely had the last laugh as two of their players combined for a tantalizing alley-oop in the final seconds. The contest featured a variety of dunks from both sides with Ticats Chris Bauman throwing down with ease for the Tabbies side en route to a 49-41 victory.
The Cops and Cats then faced one of the best high school players in Canada, Tyrone Watson, who played the part of Lebron James, carrying Cathedral High School on his back during their match-up. Watson was a force at both ends of the court, blocking shots, dunking, and hitting the outside jumper. It was the closest game of the season for the Cops and Cats, who had to overcome late fouls to pull out the 82-80 win.
St. Mary’s played host to the final game of the 2008 Cops and Cats season, but were unable to muster the same effort they had last year. After a close first half, St. Mary’s fell behind and couldn’t overcome the stacked Cats squad, losing the game 48-39. However, for the second year in row the school presented the Cops and Cats with a cheque for $2,000, helping the program reach new heights.
On top of their perfect record, it is expected that this will be the best year yet for funds raised through the Cops and Cats, with the total well over $20,000.
