St. Clair Men’s Basketball Top Fanshawe in London

The St. Clair College Men’s Basketball team were able to play well late Wednesday night posting a tight 81-76 win over Fanshawe College in London for a season series sweep over their 401 rivals. The Saints (7-3) are now tied for 2nd place in the West Division and will start the climb towards hosting the OCAA Final Eight Provincial Championship tournament March 3-5.

A slow start for both teams saw St. Clair take a modest 15-13 lead after the first quarter. The Saints had their highest total in the second quarter pushing their advantage to 39-33 entering halftime. Fanshawe turned the tables late in the third and were only down 58-57 entering the final frame. Fanshawe continued to apply pressure and about three minutes into the fourth quarter overtook the Saints 65-64 on a dunk. St. Clair recovered quickly using a pair of mini runs in the final minutes to hold on down the stretch.

Shakael Pryce (Pickering, ON) scored a game high 21 points including 10-for-10 at the foul line while adding 6 rebounds to lead the Saints in the victory. Chad Vincent-Simon (Scarborough, ON) scored 17 points for St. Clair with teammates Terence Williams (Windsor, ON) and Jesiah Deer (Whitby, ON) each finishing with 12 points apiece. Jalen Harmon (Ypsilanti, MI) chipped in with 10 points for St. Clair.

Supported by a partisan crowd, Fanshawe was able to win most statistical categories including shooting percentage but did commit 26 turnovers and gave up a 12-5 difference to the Saints in fast break points.

Fanshawe’s Dante Richards (Oakville, ON) scored 15 points in the loss.

St. Clair continues their OCAA West Division schedule when they host Conestoga College (Kitchener) on Sat, Jan. 21st at 3:00pm.

St. Clair Women’s Basketball Misfire in London

The St. Clair College Women’s Basketball team suffered through a tough shooting night and lost 51-45 to Fanshawe College in London on Wednesday. With the loss the Saints (5-4) dropped to 4th Place in the OCAA’s West Division behind 3rd Place Fanshawe (6-3).

St. Clair made four triples in the first quarter which accounted for their entire scoring but managed to take a 12-10 lead into the second frame. Fanshawe had their best output before half to take a 33-24 advantage by the intermission. It was an anemic third quarter for both squads as they made four baskets combined but the Saints closed the gap to 37-32 entering the fourth. Fanshawe maintained a cushion until the late stages where the Saints made a triple to make it 48-45 with 0:44 remaining. That was as close as they would come though and Fanshawe closed out the game with a bucket to go with a single at the line.

St. Clair was led in scoring by Alyssa Lucier (Wallaceburg, ON) who recorded 16 points while adding 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Lauren Overeem (Brantford, ON) was the only other Saint to reach double figures with 10 points but nearly recorded a double-double after corralling 9 rebounds.

St. Clair shot a miserable 21.7% from the field including 20% from 3-point land (8-of-40) while Fanshawe converted 33.3% overall from the floor. Fanshawe also enjoyed a 34-8 difference in points around the basket while outscoring the Saints 13-1 off the bench.

Alison Cotton (London, ON) scored 16 points to go with 11 boards for Fanshawe in the win.

The Saints have a bit of a break and are next in action when they host Conestoga College (Kitchener) Sat, Jan. 21st at 1:00pm.