Saints Basketball Weekend Update January 26 2025

St. Clair College Men’s Basketball Smother Fanshawe in London

The St. Clair College Men’s Basketball team (13-2) had one of their best defensive performances of the season Saturday afternoon in London smothering Fanshawe College for a 92-67 victory at the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre.

The Saints held the Falcons (4-11) scoreless for nearly the first 6.5 minutes of the game while jumping ahead 13-0. St. Clair was comfortably in front 21-8 entering the second quarter where they put up an impressive thirty more points before halftime on 55% shooting from the floor in the frame for a 51-28 intermission lead. Fanshawe was able to keep the next two quarters a little more even, but the damage was done as the Saints increased the spread to as much as 29 points with a few minutes to play.

St. Clair benefited from high percentage opportunities scoring 46 points in the paint while converting over 46% from the floor thanks in large part to creating 30 points after forcing 24 Fanshawe turnovers. The Saints were outrebounded 56-45 in the game but shot an efficient 36.8% (7-for-19) from 3-point land.

Balanced St. Clair production saw eleven dressed players notch a basket in the game led by Ethan Reid-Massiah (Toronto, ON) who had a game high 17 points off the bench to go with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Jacob Masters (Toronto, ON) made three triples as part of his 17 points for the Saints while Mazin Tiea (Windsor, ON/Kennedy) and Elijah Loder-Frame (Toronto, ON) each scored 10 points. Tiea added 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 5 blocks who shared his usual playing time with teammates. Amari Frye (Ypsilanti, MI) continued his fine playmaking with 7 assists to go with 9 points for St. Clair.

The Saints start the final three games of their regular season next weekend with a matchup at Mohawk College in Hamilton on Friday before visiting Niagara College in Welland on Saturday. St. Clair wraps up their OCAA West Division schedule at the SportsPlex Feb. 8th when they host Redeemer University (Ancaster).

St. Clair College Women’s Basketball Prevail over Fanshawe in London

The St. Clair College Women’s Basketball team bumped their OCAA West Division record to 5-8 on the season Saturday afternoon with an important 57-55 road win over rival Fanshawe College (7-6) in London.

Another defensive battle took place at the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre as the teams shared 14 turnovers and a 9-9 tie after the first quarter. The play picked up a little in the second quarter as the Saints worked themselves to a modest 26-22 lead after making five triples in the frame led by Peri Colthurst (Windsor, ON/St. Joseph’s) who had three rainbows of her own for 9 points. Fanshawe had their best performance in the third quarter overtaking St. Clair 47-43 heading to the fourth and after a pair of free throws had their biggest lead at 49-43. The Saints erased the deficit midway through the final quarter and the teams played within a score the remainder of the battle. St. Clair’s Kaelyn Batten (LaSalle, ON/St. Thomas of Villanova) broke a 55-55 tie scoring the deciding basket with just under a minute to play. From there the Saints survived on some good defensive plays even though Fanshawe could not convert on the tying free throws with a few seconds remaining on the clock.

The teams both shot under 30% from the floor in the game and even though St. Clair saw a 25-11 inadequacy in fouls, Fanshawe could not make enough (24-for-40, 60%) at the charity stripe to create separation. The Saints netted 25 points after forcing 25 Fanshawe turnovers in the contest which helped produce a 24-12 advantage in the paint. St. Clair also outplayed Fanshawe 22-8 in points off the bench.

Shae-lyn Murphy (Windsor, ON/Holy Names) led the Saints registering a double-double on 14 points and 11 rebounds to go with 4 assists and a pair of steals. Batten fell just shy of a double-double after finishing with 13 points and 9 rebounds but was a ballhawk for 7 steals.

St. Clair gets back on the road next weekend with a game at Mohawk College (Hamilton) on Friday followed by a visit to Niagara College (Welland) on Saturday. Their final regular season game will be on Feb. 8th when they host Redeemer University (Ancaster).