Men’s Basketball Look to Tame Colts in Quarters
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Centennial (1-2, 1-2) | 23 | 20 | 12 | 40 | 95 |
|
St. Clair (3-0, 3-0) | 24 | 25 | 29 | 32 | 110 |
Windsor, ON – The St. Clair College Men's Basketball team continue their playoff run on Saturday when they host Centennial College (Scarborough) in the OCAA quarterfinals which tips at 6:00pm at the SportsPlex.
The Colts finished 4th in the East Division with a 13-5 record and are ranked 6th in the latest OCAA provincial poll having qualified for this matchup after an 86-73 win over Fanshawe on Sunday. The West Division Champion Saints sport a 15-3 regular season record and hold the #2 ranking in the province having moved past the crossover round with a 103-60 win over La Cité on Saturday. St. Clair has been ranked nationally most of the season and jumped to #5 in this week's CCAA poll.
The Saints will put their league leading 95.3 points per game up against the 5th best OCAA offense from Centennial who average 88.6 per contest. The Colts are also a good defensive unit holding their opponents to the 3rd least number of points at 72.6 per game. The Saints are ranked 7th in points against at 77.2 per game.
St. Clair is led by 5th year forward Chad Vincent-Simon (Scarborough, ON) who is the newly minted OCAA Player of the Year as well as an All-Canadian selection and puts up 18.5ppg (OCAA 6th) while adding 5.9 rebounds per game. He shot 42% from distance (OCAA 8th) and made the 5th most free throws (63-for-79) while his 79.7% conversion rate was 11th best in the province from the charity stripe.
Jesiah Deerr (Whitby, ON) was named a West Division Second-Team All-Star and currently ranks 8th on the All-Time Saints career scoring list (1,605) and averaged 14.6ppg this past season to go with 5.2rpg while making the 7th most triples (45) in the province.
St. Clair's Andrew Loyuk (Windsor, ON/Kennedy) was also selected to the West Division Second-Team All-Star group and was named the OCAA Rookie of the Year after a season where he posted the 4th best OCAA assists average at 4.3 per game to go with 11.9ppg. Galdo Tutu (Windsor, ON) averages double figures for St. Clair at 10.1ppg and teammate Mazin Tiea (Windsor, ON/Kennedy) recorded 12.4ppg along with a team best 6.9rpg to go with a league best 2.0 blocks per game.
The Saints will be tested by 3rd year 6'6" forward Deandre Goulbourne (Toronto, ON) who was an East Division First-Team All-Star selection and leads Centennial at 18.6ppg (OCAA 5th) along with 5.7rpg. 1st year 6'5" forward Tavonn Mars-Buckley (Toronto, ON) was 8th in provincial scoring at 17.4 per game for the Colts with a resume that includes East Division Second-Team All-Star, East Division Rookie of the Year and East All-Rookie team selection.
All full-time St. Clair students in attendance will be eligible to win one of two $500 scholarships that will be picked during game.
The Saints are extending Fan Appreciation to all full-time St. Clair College employees who along with their immediate family will receive free admission to the Saturday's playoff games after proof of identification. The St. Clair Women's Basketball team also host their quarterfinal at 3:30pm against George Brown College (Toronto).
For those not able to attend it will be live streamed by WE Digital Productions at www.ocaalive.com/en/channel/st-clair-college.65