Two teams have booked their ticket to the Final Four of the St. Thomas Men's Basketball League, and another thanks to help Monday has about a 99% chance they are in too. 

Elite Stars Elgin (3-0) and Ambrose Plumbing (3-0) are into the semis, while Mackie's (2-1) have all but assured themselves a spot thanks to head to head record and a strong point differential among teams who are fighting for their spots. 

 

In the opener Monday, The Stars jumped out to a 40-27 lead at the half, as Rob Wakefield dominated in the paint scoring 22 of his 30 points in the opening 20 minutes. They kept an 11 point lead into the fourth, but Talbot Trail Physiotherapy (0-3) switched to a zone defence in the final quarter and started forcing turnovers. They would cut the defecit to just two at 68-66 with 1:30 left in the game. Down 70-66 they had three consecutive three-point shots bounce off the rim and would lost it 72-66 in what turned out to be a great game. 

Josh Vigars and Mike Morrison each had 11 points for the winners, who are into the semfiinals. Ryan Pflanzer had 19 of his game high 34 points in the third quarter, with Bradley Young adding 17 for the Physiotherapists. Despite being 0-3 they do control their own destiny with two games remaining. 

 

                                 

 

in a game featuring two winless teams, Home Hardware outlasted Cole-Munro 64-58 to give them the upperhand at a spot in the semfiinals. 

The Home Owners (1-2) took a 35-23 lead in the second quarter, but Jack Girden made three of his five three-point shots to bring the Trout (0-3) even at 35-35. 

From there, it was tight all the way through the end, but a couple of big buckets from Mark Cummings and Alex Roberts-Neef gave them a much-needed victory. 

Kamal Aizimi had 16 of his game high 22 points in the opening quarter for the Home Owners, with Cummings scoring 20. 

Andrew Cole had 17 and Girden 17 in a losing cause. 

The Home Owners now control their own destiny to make the final four, while the Trout will need to win out and get a little help to sneak into the semifinals. 

 

                                   

 

In the finale Monday, Ambrose Plumbing beat an undersized and undermanned Mackie's team 93-81. 

The Plumbers took advantage of the size difference with centre Jimmy Hendricksen (29 points) who cleaned up every miss in the paint with the OrangeAde's having no available forwards. 

Steve Barton scored 24, with Tyler Annett and Andrew Lynch adding 14 each for theh winners.  The Plumbers have earned a spot in the semifinals and are now looking to finish in top spot. 

Mackie's got 22 points from Tai Montfort and 19 from Jackson Lale and Nic Roberts-Neef in the loss. 

The OrangeAde's (2-1) have all but booked their ticket to the semis thanks to head to head wins over TTP and Cole-Munro, and a strong potential point differential between teams they could be tied with in a fight for a playoff spot.