SAINTS PUNCH TICKET TO NATIONALS IN NAILBITER OVER LAMBTON

WINDSOR, Ont. - The second semifinal of the evening showcased a Southwestern Ontario rivalry as the hometown darling and 2022 OCAA and CCAA runner-up St. Clair Saints (16-3) looked to defend their home court against the pesky Lambton Lions (11-9). The nationally-ranked No. 4 Saints swept the two regular season contests between the West Division foes, winning two tight contests on their way to their first West Division championship in 21 years.

It wasn't always pretty but when the going got tough, Shak Pryce was the steadying hand that his team needed. The fearless Lions came out shooting hot but could not sustain enough shot making down the stretch and the St. Clair Saints put the game away late from the foul line to escape with a 90-88 victory. With the win, St. Clair has guaranteed themselves entry into the 2023 CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship as well as advancing to the OCAA gold medal game on their homecourt.

The gold medal match showcases the No. 3 and No. 4 teams in Canada as the 2022 OCAA and CCAA runner up St. Clair Saints play host to the George Brown Huskies for the right to call themselves the 2023 OCAA men's basketball champions. The game is set to tip-off at 3:30 p.m. in front of a raucous St. Clair crowd.

The first quarter showcased why both teams are playing in the final four with very good two way basketball being displayed. St. Clair jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead but that would be the biggest spread of the quarter as Lambton kept within arm's reach with quality three-point shooting.

The Lions' blistering shooting from the quarter-final carried over into the semifinals as they relied on eight made three pointers on 17 attempts in the first half, including five made shots from downtown in the second quarter to open up a nine-point lead late in the half. Senior Jesiah Deerr (Whitby, Ont.) hit a buzzer beat three from the left corner to give the Saints a boost of momentum heading into the locker room as they trailed 49-44 at the break.

Lambton guard Nyanungu Ngakira (London, Ont.) went a perfect 7-of-7 from the field including 5-of-5 from distance in the first half, tallying 19 points to give his team a five-point spread at halftime. All-Canadian Shak Pryce (Pickering, Ont.) had 11 points for the Saints.

The Lions picked up where they left off to start the third quarter, as they opened their gap to 60-50 midway through the third period. The Lions kept the capacity crowd at the SportsPlex at bay long enough but a 16-6 St. Clair run kickstarted by a Glynn Willis-Paris (Detroit, Mich.) triple electrified the crowd. After three quarters of play, the game was deadlocked at 67-67.

The fourth quarter was the most exciting basketball we have seen at the tournament thus far as both teams played championship calibre basketball on both ends. Pryce knocked down his third triple of the contest to give the Saints an 83-80 lead that they would never relinquish. The Lions cut the lead to within two points with 4.7 seconds to play after an unsporting foul gave the Lions possession with a chance to tie or win the game at the buzzer. A corner three-point attempt by Jerry Wilson (Detroit, Mich.) hit the side of the backboard, the Saints corralled the rebound and punched their ticket to the OCAA gold medal match and the 2023 CCAA national championship with a 90-88 victory.

Although Lambton outshot St. Clair from the field (44 per cent to 41 per cent) and from beyond the arc (42 per cent to 35 per cent), the difference in the game was St. Clair ability to get to the paint and score at the rim at will. The Saints doubled up the Lions scoring 32 points in the paint to 16. The home side also secured 15 rebounds that netted them 16 second chance points, which especially paid dividends in the fourth quarter as Chad Vincent-Simon and Jalon Harmon (Ypsilanti, Mich.) created multiple second opportunities for the Saints.

Five players scored in double figures for the winning side with Pryce leading his team once again with a near triple-double for the second night in a row, totaling 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Deerr had a great bounce back game off the bench scoring 18 points including three makes from downtown. Darnelle Peddie (Pickering, Ont.) had 15 points, Chad Vincent-Simon tacked on 11 points and nine rebounds, and Harmon added 10 points.

The Lions offence were paced by Byanungu Ngakira who scored 25 points, including seven triples. Tyrelle Miller (Brampton, Ont.) had a great overall game netting 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Wilson and Journee Joseph (Brampton, Ont.) each chipped in with 14 points in a losing cause.

Ngakira was named Player of the Game for Lambton. Pryce was named Player of the Game for the St. Clair Saints.

Source: St. Clair Saints