Saints Basketball Recap February 1 2023
St. Clair Men’s Basketball Outlast Lambton in Sarnia
The St. Clair College Men’s Basketball team survived a late scare to earn a 93-83 win over Lambton College in Sarnia Wednesday night. The Saints (11-3) are now tied in the win column atop the OCAA’s West Division with Mohawk (11-2).
The Saints staked themselves to a 27-17 lead after the opening quarter, but Lambton responded in a big way with a 34-point second to knot the contest 51-51 at the halftime intermission. Lambton took an early 3-point lead in the third quarter, but St. Clair answered to remain ahead 74-66 heading to the fourth as the pace slowed slightly. Lambton clawed back and only trailed 83-81 with about 3:40 remaining in the game. But that was a close as it would get down the stretch with the Saints completing the game on a 10-2 run to secure the win.
Lambton kept the game close on the strength of their distance shooting after making 9 triples. But St. Clair got to the basket with relative ease for a 56-28 advantage in points in the paint on their way to 48% overall shooting.
Shakael Pryce (Pickering, ON) had a fine game for the Saints scoring a game high 29 points to go with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Chad Vincent-Simon (Scarborough, ON) scored 19 points for St. Clair adding 6 rebounds with teammate Terence Williams (Windsor, ON) chipping in with 12 points while contributing 5 rebounds and 5 steals.
Lambton’s Jerry Wilson (Detroit, MI) made 7 triples and scored 28 points in a losing cause.
St. Clair will wait until next weekend to host their final home games with Redeemer University College (Ancaster) visiting on Feb. 10th followed by a matchup with Humber College (Etobicoke) on Feb. 11th.
Shooting Cold for St. Clair Women’s Basketball in Sarnia
The St. Clair College Women’s Basketball team’s shooting matched the temperatures outside and led to a 50-34 loss against 2nd place Lambton College in Sarnia Wednesday night. The Saints (6-6) remain tied for 4th place in the OCAA’s West Division and have some work to do if they want to secure a home court playoff date with four games remaining on their schedule.
The Saints started well and took a 16-13 lead after the opening quarter but were undone in the second frame after posting only one basket which created a 27-18 deficit by halftime. St. Clair never really threatened the remainder of the contest as Lambton increased their cushion down the stretch.
Lambton only needed to shoot 33% overall from the floor in the game as St. Clair could only convert 22% in response which included two makes from distance. The home team also enjoyed a 58-38 rebounding advantage over the Saints.
Alyssa Lucier (Wallaceburg, ON) and Shae-lyn Murphy (Windsor, ON/Holy Names) were the only Saints to reach double figures scoring 11 points apiece. Grace Smrke (Sudbury, ON) did her best to maintain control of the glass for St. Clair finishing with 13 rebounds.
Lambton’s Breanna Pretty (Sarnia, ON) led her team to the win with a game high 19 points and added 12 rebounds to record a double-double.
St. Clair will have some extra preparation time before hosting their final home weekend Feb. 10-11 at the SportsPlex with Redeemer visiting on the Friday and Humber on the Saturday.