St. Clair Men’s Basketball Beat #7 Mohawk

Hamilton, ON – The St. Clair College Men's Basketball team is taking a run at first place after beating Mohawk College in Hamilton Saturday night by a score of 92-86.  Mohawk (14-4) was ranked 7^th in Canada and holding the top spot in the OCAA's West Division while the Saints (14-3) are currently ranked #10 in the nation.

St. Clair took control early opening a 12-point lead and held a 21-17 advantage after the first quarter.  But Mohawk answered in the second with their best effort of the game for a 42-39 halftime lead.  The Saints battled some early foul trouble and regained their form in the third to take back the lead 65-62 heading to the final frame.  St. Clair was able to maintain control down the stretch with as much as an 8-point cushion but weathered many near overtake attempts by the home team.

The Saints were able to post nearly 49% shooting overall in the contest and held Mohawk to just 39%.  Mohawk kept the game close by capitalizing on a few more St. Clair turnovers and enjoyed more attempts at the free throw line.  But a couple extra makes from distance and some key defensive stops carried the day for the Saints.

Shakael Pryce (Pickering, ON) made five triples on his way to a game high 35 points for St. Clair and added 11 rebounds for the double-double.  Jalen Harmon (Ypsilanti, MI) scored 18 points including 6-for-6 at the charity stripe for the Saints. Although succumbing to the foul limit Chad Vincent-Simon (Scarborough, ON) managed to net 15 points for St. Clair to go with 6 rebounds with teammate Jesiah Deerr (Whitby, ON) chipping in with 11 points off the bench. 

Former Saint Jerry Mercury Jr. (Toronto, ON) fashioned a double-double for Mohawk with 24 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.      

With a share of 1^st place in the West already assured, St. Clair still needs a win over Niagara College (11-6) on Sunday for the top seed heading into the playoffs. Tip time is 3:00pm at Niagara's Welland campus gym.

The Saints have not finished the season with a share of the division title since 2004 and have not won it outright since 2002.  The Saints are hosting the OCAA Provincial Championship at the SportsPlex March 3-5 and receive an automatic entry into the quarterfinals.