The Huntsville Hurricane bantam boys moved their season record to 14 and 7 at a recent tournament in Orillia.  

Their tournament season got off to a great start when they won a silver medal in their home tournament here in January, with Aaron Chapman being named an All Star.  

This was followed by a disappointing tournament in Barrie (Feb. 8-9) where they came home short of a medal performance.

 The Orillia tournament (Feb. 22-24), began with an opener against Barrie #2, a team Huntsville had beaten at home a week earlier. The boys came out flat, unable to make shots and found themselves down by 28 after the half.  

Spirited play in the second half cut the lead to six points but, in the end, it was a 75-61 loss. Ryan Kirkby led with 18 points, Aaron Chapman with 16 and Jason Connoly chipped in eight second-half points.

On Saturday the boys came out with fire in their eyes to take on Midland #1 who was favoured to win the division. Using an aggressive full-court press and some tough rebounding, Huntsville had a 31-30 lead at the half.

The third quarter ended with Huntsville still leading by one at 51-50. The fourth quarter saw a few lead changes but the Hurricanes re-took the lead in the final minutes on a three-pointer by Kirkby and held on for a 66-62 win.

Kirkby again led the Canes with 25 points. Chapman had 17, while Jason Connoly and Josh Main had eight points each.

The afternoon game pitted the Hurricanes versus the Bracebridge Breakers with whom Huntsville had a 2-2 record from earlier in the year.  A strong first quarter put the boys up 19-10 and eventually they opened a 20-point lead. Bracebridge surged late but Huntsville was never out of control and held on to win 50-43.

Once again Kirkby, Chapman and Connoly led with 21, 14 and seven points respectively.  

Parents and players came home expecting to play Sunday for fifth place despite a 2-1 record, but Bracebridge unexpectedly upset Midland #1, putting the Hurricanes into the bronze medal game versus the host Orillia squad.

Huntsville came out aggressive and although they shot poorly, finished the first quarter with an 11-0 lead. They had a 30-15 lead at the half. An aggressive press got them to a 20-point lead and eventually a 54-50 win.  

Chapman found his outside touch, including three three-pointers in the second half and accumulated a team-leading 24 points followed by Kirkby with 20.  

It was a very successful weekend as teamwork, an aggressive press and few turnovers led the boys to bring home the bronze medal.