For some, it was a blast from the past. For others, it was as if they had never left. Celebrating 47 years of basketball, Ashmont hosted its alumni basketball tournament this weekend.
The tournament was capped off with an unbelievable comeback in the men’s final that saw team 1999-2001 trailing for three straight quarters to team 2008-10, only to tie it up with under a minute left and get the winning basket with 0.06 seconds left on free-throws.
Lyndon Suntjens was the star of the game for team 99-01 (Team Black) as he was all over the court, coming down with rebounds, shooting three-pointers and driving to the lane hard to help earn his team the ‘W’. When asked what it was that won his team the game, Suntjens credited his team’s switch to man-to-man defence in the final quarter.
“Once we switched man-to-man, they stopped scoring,” said Suntjens.
It was team 2008-10 (Team White) that was seemingly in control all game. Point guard Gerald Houle was giving Team Black all they could handle along the perimeter, while Jesse Miller wreaked havoc down-low, coming down with several key defensive rebounds.
In the fourth Suntjens and Houle were trading three-pointers at both ends of the court until Houle was bodied hard and his face met the hardwood. Houle sat out the remaining and final minute of the fourth quarter. It was in that final minute that Suntjens tied the game up at 47 a piece with only 35 seconds remaining.
At the 0.06 second mark Suntjens was fouled down-low and given two shots from the free-throw line. He drained the first to take the lead and then followed up his own miss to drain another two-pointer to close the game at a 50-47 victory for Team Black.
Suntjens is also one of three major tournament organizers, along with Bobbie (Gillespie) Jeffery and Ashmont Elementary Principal Dalane Imeson. Suntjens talked about the commitment the community has to the town and to the game of the basketball.
“It was a lot of work and there are a lot of people to thank,” said Suntjens. “It was just a collaboration of individuals who really care about this school. It shows how much they care about this school and just how important athletics are.”
“It’s not just a basketball tournament, it’s a fundraiser and a reunion,” said Suntjens.
Women’s Final
On top of being one of the three organizers, Jeffery also played in the final women’s game as part of team 1981-1984. Jeffery was amazed by how awesome the turnout was not only for returning players but for the amount of fans that attended too.
“It just goes to show this town’s amazing passion for the sport,” said Jeffery.
Jeffery and her team tipped off against the 2008-10 Falcons team in the women’s finals on Saturday. The 08-10 (Team Black) played the entire game with only four players, while the 81-84 (Team Red) team had a long bench of players, which was actually a conglomerate of players made up from the 81-84, 85-87, and 88-91 teams.
However, it was Team Black that came out firing early and after the first quarter the four-girl squad was up by ten points. Not be outdone, Team Red got their legs underneath them and were able to claw back into the game and go into half-time down by only six points. A three-pointer by point guard Sandra Lysy seemed to ignite the squad, as the score at half was 29-23.
After that it was all Team Black. The third quarter saw the team widening its lead to 39-26, following two straight three-point shots from Heather Quinney. The team never looked back as they earned a hard fought victory and captured first place in the women’s division.
Over 100 alumni players, coupled with the existing boys and girls high school basketball teams, took part in the two-day tournament. The tournament is held once every three years, with the last one being held in 2008.
