BALANCED ATTACK LEADS HOST SAINTS PAST CONDORS

WINDSOR, Ont. – The last quarter-final of the day featured the hometown darling and the No. 4 nationally-ranked St. Clair Saints (15-3) taking on the Conestoga Condors (12-7). This quarter-final match is also a rubber match after both squads split the regular season series.

The St. Clair Saints entered the quarter-final with OCAA championship aspirations and showed the hometown crowd exactly why they are capable of making a deep run at the 2023 OCAA Men's Basketball Championship with an impressive 97-85 victory. The Saints will now take on the Lambton Lions (11-9) at 6:30 p.m. for a chance to clinch a spot in the gold medal match and a berth at the 2023 CCAA National Championship.

The host Saints sprinted out of the gate to take a 17-8 lead on a Terence Williams triple (Windsor, Ont.) forcing a Conestoga timeout. The visiting Condors responded with a 19-4 run to end the quarter and took a 27-21 lead heading into the second frame.

The second quarter provided very entertaining basketball for the capacity crowd at the SportsPlex and they were energized with a 30-point quarter from the Saints to take a 51-42 lead at the half. Jalen Harmon (Ypsilanti, Mich.) lead the way for the Saints in the first half with 12 points shooting a perfect 5-5 from the floor and 2-2 from the free throw line. The Condors were spearheaded by Sam Pingle (Burlington, Ont.) who knocked down two triples and tallied 11 points at the intermission.

The teams came out of halftime exchanging baskets for the first few minutes before the Saints had a mini jolt that pushed the lead to 65-50 with a Williams layup. The Condors closed out the third quarter strong to shrink the gap back down to nine, as the Saints led 73-64 heading into the fourth quarter.

Conestoga opened the final stanza with four unanswered points following back-to-back turnovers by the Saints that cut the lead to 73-68. But that is the closest that the visiting Condors would get. The Saints stretched their lead to 18 on a thunderous breakaway dunk by Chad Vincent-Simon with two minutes remaining that iced the game and advanced the St. Clair Saints to the medal round with a 97-85 victory.

The Saints once again showed the firepower they possess on the offensive end as they shot 52 per cent from the floor but it was their defence that brought home the victory tonight against a prolific Conestoga offence. The Saints held the dynamic duo of Ladera Ujullu-Obang (Kitchener, Ont.) and Terell Lloyd (Woodstock, Ont.) to a combined 34 points, which is well below their combined season average of 48. The Saints were lead on the defensive end by Williams, Darnelle Peddie (Pickering, Ont.) and Tim Steward (Detroit, Mich.) who drew the assignment of slowing down the All-Star duo from the visiting Condors and they were up to the task.

The Saints had four players in double figures and were led by Harmon who tallied 25 points and seven rebounds. Vincent-Simon notched a double-double with 21 points and 13 boards. Shak Pryce (Pickering, Ont.) was one assist shy of a triple-double with an impressive 18 point, 11 rebound and nine assist line. Williams also netted 18 points for the top-seeded Saints.

Conestoga also had four players in double figures. The OCAA Player of the Year and All-Canadian Ujullu-Obang finished with 20 points, four rebounds and five assists in a losing cause. Pingle scored 19 points, Lloyd totalled 14 points and Frank Gyamfi (Toronto, Ont.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12.

Pingle was named Player of the Game for Conestoga. Harmon was named Player of the Game for the St. Clair Saints.

Source: St. Clair Saints