Cole-Munro Foods pulled off the shocker of the night Monday withh a 77-73 win over Ambrose Plumbing. 

With just three regulars, the Trout grabbed a couple of spares and defeated the Plumbers holding off a late charge. 

Leading by one at the break, 33-32, the Trout nearly put the game out of reach after three quarters with a 19-7 third quarter. 

However a big run to start the fourth by the Plumbers cut the defecit to just four points, before Jack Girden made a three-point play to stretch it to seven.  A couple of three-pointers in the final minute cut the lead to just two, but pick-up Jackson Lale made two key free throws with 4.5 seconds left to seal the four-point win. 

Girden had 31 points, and Oliver Taylor had 17 for the Trout (7-5) who stay within striking distance of top spot. 

Steve Barton had 24 points and Andrew Lynch 18 for the Plumbers (4-6). 

Elite Stars Elgin topped the century mark outplaying Mackie's in the second half to take a two-point lead at the break and turn it into an 18-point victory. 

Rob Wakefield dominated in the paint scoring 35 points, including 15 field goals in the key for the winners (8-3) who lead the league.  Brian Apfelbeck had 21 points, Karsten Groen (16) and Nick Lawrence (15) for the Stars. 

Mackie's (3-8) got 20 from Taran Beekhuis, 19 from Tai Montfort and Nic Roberts-Neef added 17 in a losing cause as they remain in the basement as they look for a full-roster 

In the opener, Talbot Trail Physiotherapy dominated a Home Hardware squad 88-68 to improve to 7-5. 

Aaron Baker had 28 points and Ryan Pflanzer 27 for the winners who took advantage of the Home Owners missing their top two draft choices. 

Chris Streib and Bradley Young each had a dozen for the winners, who had an 18-point lead entering the final quarter, before cruising to the win. 

Mark Cummings had 22 points and Kamal Aizimi 18 for the Home Owners (5-7) who have dropped three straight after being devastated by injuries. 

As we surpass the halfway point of the St. Thomas Men's Basketball League regular season, the injuries are piling up and leaving rosters short handed. 

That was evident Wednesday night with one team playing with five players, and two others unable to field a roster of five without borrowing players. 

The opening night was a battle of two of the best clubs in the league.  Cole-Munro Foods started the game with just four players, and hung in the game with Elite Stars until their fifth arrived with just over one minute in the first quarter. 

The Trout managed to stay within striking distance and then midway through the third quarter took their first lead on one of four third quarter triples by Jack Girden. They would battle back and forth trading leads multiple times until a couple turnovers and breakways gave the Trout a two point lead with just seconds to go. When the game tying attempt hit the rim and bounced off, the Trout won 65-63. 

Girden had 30 points and Andrew Cole added 16 for the winners (6-5) while Rob Wakefield had 26 for the Stars (7-3). 

The middle contest saw the best invidual performance of the season as Ryan Pflanzer poured in 49 points in Talbot Trail Physiotherapy's 80-70 win over Mackie's. 

Pflanzer had 28 points in the first half as the Physiotherapists (6-5) moved over .500. 
At the half the winners had a 20 point lead, and despite a comeback by the OrangeAde's to cut the lead to as little as six, they couldn't get any closer. 

Pflanzer made 11 triples en route to that league season high, while Aaron Baker added 14 for the winners. 

Taran Beekhuis had 21 points and Scott Ross had 15 for the OrangeAde's (3-7) who still struggle to get in the win column. 

In the finale, Ambrose Plumbing hammered a short-handed Home Hardware squad 92-49.  The game was a wash, as the Home Owners roster - decimated by injuries- could only field two of their own guys, and had to pick up three more just to avoid a forfeit. 

Jimmy Hendricksen took advantage of the lack of size of his opponent as he scored 32 with ease. Four others had double figures including 21 by Merrick Mount and 14 by Steve Barton. 

The Plumbers (4-5) won the game which was called by both teams with nearly seven minutes left in the final quarter. 

Ben Girden had 17 points for the Home Owners (5-6). 

Elite Stars Elgin (ESE) held off Mackie's 78-75 in the game of the night Monday. 

It was a game of wild point swings, with the OrangeAde's coming out of the gate 12-4, but that quicly into a 23-12 Stars lead at the break after a 19-0 run to end the quarter. 

In the second, Mackie's fought back to within seven at the break. 

In the third, another huge run by the Stars stretched the lead to 17 going into the fourth quarter 71-54. 

In the fourth, Mackie's clamped down on defence allowing just one field goal, and a big run over the length of the fourth cut the defecit to just three. 

Mackie's had one last three point attempt at the buzzer to complete the comeback but it fell short. 

Rob Wakefield had 25 points and Brian Apfelbeck 24 for ESE who improve to a league best 7-2 with a three-game win streak. 

Mackie's got 19 each from Taran Beekhuis and Nic Roberts-Neef as they fell to 3-6, but played well in the season debut of first-round pick Scott Ross. 

The middle contest saw another dominant effort by centre Jimmy Hendricksen in an 88-66 win by Ambrose Plumbing over Cole Munro Foods. 

Hendricksen had 25 points at the half,and 38 heading into the fourth before finishing with 40 in the blowout win. 

Steve Barton added 21 points and Tyler Annett 10 for the Plumbers (3-5) who were just too much for the Trout (5-5) who had just five bodies. 

Jack Girden lead three players in double figures with 23 points, while Alex Ryan had 16 and Andrew Cole 13 in a losing cause. 

The opener was lucky to even get a game in. Home Hardware had just three of their own players and needed to pick up three others through the course of the game just to play. 
Talbot Trail Physiotherapy wasted no time in taking advantage of the mismatch taking a 54-35 lead into the break. They would stretch that to 24 by the end of the third, and finish with a 95-65 victory. 

Ryan Pflanzer had 28 points with Aaron Baker adding 24 while three others also scored double digits (Geremey Deschutter 14, Henry Koekuyt 12 and Bradley Young 11) for the Physiotherapists (5-5). 

Mark Cummings had 23 points and Kamal Aizimi 22 for the Home Owners ( 5-5). 

Two of the top teams in the St. Thomas Men's Basketball League went head-to-head Wednesday wtih Elite Stars Elgin and Cole-Munro Foods tipping off the triple-header. 

After trailing early 7-2, the Trout went on a 14-2 run to take the lead after one quarter. However the Stars answered back with a 20-13 second quarter, to tie the game at 29. 

In the third, the Stars jumped out to an 8-point lead after the Trout struggled from the field.. In the fourth, the Stars locked it down and pulled away for a 70-58 win to take sole possession of top spot in the league at 6-2. 

Ron Wakefield had 28 points and Brian Apfelbeck 15 for the winners, while Jack Girden (16) and Andrew Cole (15 pts) lead the way for the Trout (5-4) who fall out of top spot. 

In the middle contest, Mackie's got back in the win column and climbed their way out of the basement with a 81-65 win over Talbot Trail Physiotherapy. In a game which went back  and forth through the opening 16 minutes, the OrangeAde's (3-5) took the lead near the half, and maintained a double-digit advantage most of the rest of the way. 

Nic Roberts-Neef had 22 points, while Taran Beekhuis had 21 and Ian Thomson 14 for the winners. Ryan Pflanzer had 28 points and Aaron Baker 24 for the Physiotherapists (4-5) who were missing three starters and had just five players. 

In the finale, Home Hardware with just four players of their own, and one spare beat Ambrose Plumbing 74-67. 

The game started in favour of the Plumbers with Jimmy Hendricksen pouring in a dozen in the opening quarter as they led by two. However after that there seemed to be a lid covering the hoop for anyone but the big man as the Home Owners slowly took the lead, and held it for most of the final 30 minutes. 

Missing thhree starters, the Home Owners (5-4) called up Nic Roberts-Neef and the rookie scored 31 points to compliment the others the victory. Juan Carranza had 16 points, Nicolas Hinds had 14 and Alex Roberts-Neef a dozen for the winners. 

Hendricksen finished with 34 points including a career high 4 three-pointers in a losing cause with Tyler Annett adding 11 for the Plumbers (2-5)