Saints Basketball Recap February 12 2023
St. Clair Men’s Basketball Move Win Streak to Six
The St. Clair College Men’s Basketball team moved their winning streak to six games after a 96-86 win over Redeemer University (Ancaster) Friday night at the SportsPlex. The Saints now sport a 12-3 record which stands 2nd place in the OCAA’s West Division.
A high scoring first quarter saw St. Clair take a modest 32-28 lead into the second as Redeemer shot nearly 70% from the field to keep pace. St. Clair used some high wire action to excite the crowd with several dunks pushing their advantage to 55-49 by halftime. The Saints kept the pedal down in the third and were up by as much as 20 points and settled for an 80-65 lead entering the final frame. Redeemer continued to claw back and closed the gap to five points with just under 4 minutes to play. However, St. Clair was able to respond and stave off the threat for the victory.
Redeemer shot a better percentage overall (51.6% to 47.4%) and from distance (34.5% to 28%), but the Saints scored 30 points off 28 turnovers and outscored the visitors 56-38 from inside the paint.
Jalen Harmon (Ypsilanti, MI) had one of his best games of the season scoring a game high 24 points and added 4 rebounds for St. Clair. Jesiah Deerr (Whitby, ON) continued his steady play off the bench for the Saints with 18 points to go with 7 rebounds. Terence Williams (Windsor, ON) scored 14 points for St. Clair with teammate Shakael Pryce (Pickering, ON) filling the stat sheet after 13 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists for the near triple double. Darnelle Peddie (Pickering, ON) chipped in with 10 points for the Saints.
Seven in a Row for St. Clair Men’s Basketball After Humber Win
The St. Clair College Men’s Basketball team beat Humber College (Etobicoke) for the first time since 2015 with a 94-83 victory at the SportsPlex Saturday evening stretching their win streak to seven games. The Saints (13-3) have an outside shot at the top spot in the OCAA’s West Division but will have to sweep their final two regular season games on the road next weekend.
St. Clair gained control early with a 24-17 advantage after the first quarter and continued to play steady until halftime taking a 49-34 lead into the intermission. Humber responded with their best effort in third outscoring the Saints but still trailed 73-62 heading to the final frame. St. Clair maintained their cushion down the stretch to come away with the win.
The teams were evenly matched statistically with very little separation on the comparison box score including shooting from distance and overall from the floor. St. Clair did manage to convert on more trips to the free throw line and slightly outrebounded Humber 39-33. The Saints also used their depth to outscore Humber 28-21 off the bench.
Chad Vincent-Simon (Scarborough, ON) led a balanced St. Clair attack with 16 points but was followed closely by teammate Terence Williams (Windsor, ON) who dropped in 15 points to go with 6 assists. Shakael Pryce (Pickering, ON) made an impact in several areas after scoring 14 points, snaring 5 rebounds and giving out 7 assists while adding 2 steals for the Saints. Jalen Harmon (Ypsilanti, MI) chipped in with 12 points for St. Clair on Senior Night as he was honoured in the pre-game along with fellow graduating players Miles Hall (Toronto, ON), Darnelle Peddie (Pickering, ON) and Jesiah Deerr (Whitby, ON).
Local native Kyle Brown-Fazekas (Windsor, ON) scored a game high 25 points for Humber in the loss.
The St. Clair Men finish their West Division schedule with a pair of games next weekend which includes 1st place Mohawk College (Hamilton) on Saturday followed by a tilt at Niagara College (Welland) on Sunday. The Saints have not ended the season with a share of 1st place in the West Division since the 2003-04 campaign.
St. Clair Women’s Basketball Earn Win After Strong Second Half
The St. Clair College Women’s Basketball team played well in the second half to earn a 67-60 win over Redeemer University (Ancaster) Friday night at the SportsPlex. The Saints (7-6) remain tied for 4th place in the OCAA’s West Division with three games remaining in the regular season.
Redeemer had control early but thanks to a small late first quarter run St. Clair only trailed 15-13 heading to the second frame. Redeemer moved ahead again taking their largest lead (29-18) of the game just three and half minutes into the second quarter. The Saints closed the gap to 32-24 by halftime and used the intermission to regroup. St. Clair flipped the scoreboard in the third quarter outscoring the visitors 23-7 to take a 47-39 lead into the final quarter. The Saints pushed their advantage 14 points late in the game and Redeemer could only cut that deficit in half by the closing horn.
The teams were evenly matched statistically shooting a nearly identical percentage from the field at just under 32% and equaled each other from distance with seven triple makes. But St. Clair had enough of a surplus in rebounding (52-44) mainly because of more offensive boards which resulted in 13 more shot attempts and a 32-20 advantage of points in the paint.
Alyssa Lucier (Wallaceburg, ON) led the Saints with 17 points but was part of a balanced St. Clair scoring attack on the night. Shae-lyn Murphy (Windsor, ON/Holy Names) scored 15 points and added 7 assists for the Saints. Lauren Overeem (Brantford, ON) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. St. Clair’s Janae Smith (Warren, MI) reached double figures in scoring with 10 points and was a rebound (9) shy of a double-double. Grace Smrke (Sudbury, ON) was a bucket short (8) of a double-double for the Saints and had 10 rebounds.
Redeemer’s Karyn TeBrake (Ottawa, ON) scored 17 points and posted a double-double with 11 assists in a losing cause.
St. Clair Women’s Basketball Lose 68-63 to #2 Humber
The St. Clair College Women’s Basketball team fought hard Saturday afternoon at the SportsPlex but eventually fell 68-63 to Humber College (Etobicoke). The Saints (7-7) are still in a tie for 4th place in the OCAA’s West Division with two games remaining in the regular season.
St. Clair gave the 2nd ranked team in the country all they could handle in the early stages and only trailed 18-17 after the opening frame. Humber moved ahead by eleven (30-19) early in the second quarter, but the Saints tied it up at 36-36 before giving up a late bucket for a 2-point deficit (38-36) at halftime. Humber stretched their lead to 57-48 after the third but St. Clair responded again after cutting into a 12-point gap and were only behind 66-63 with just over a minute to play. The Saints however could not convert on a few late possessions that resulted in the narrow loss.
St. Clair (10-for-30, 33.3%) outshot Humber (7-for-27, 25.9%) from distance but allowed the visitors a better overall percentage from the floor which included a 28-16 advantage in the key. The Saints were also shutout in bench production and surrendered 13 points to the Humber reserves.
St. Clair’s Shae-lyn Murphy (Windsor, ON/Holy Names) scored a game high 24 points to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Janae Smith (Warren, MI) had a very complete game for the Saints and was just shy of a triple-double after scoring 14 points, pulling down 10 rebounds and dishing out 9 assists. Alyssa Lucier (Wallaceburg, ON) netted 12 points as the only other St. Clair player to reach double figures.
Kia Watt (Toronto, ON) scored 17 points leading Humber in the win.
The St. Clair Women go on the road next weekend to finish their regular season slate with a game on Saturday at Mohawk College (Hamilton) followed by a matchup with Niagara College (Welland) on Sunday.