Men’s Basketball Dig Deep for 83-65 Win over Niagara

Windsor, ON – The St. Clair College Men's Basketball team improved to 2-0 early in their OCAA West Division season after an 83-65 win over Niagara College (Welland) Saturday afternoon at the SportsPlex. 

Playing without All-Star guard David Gomez Jr. (Pontiac, Michigan) for much of the game St. Clair managed to gut out a win at home with explosive offense early and a strong defense down the stretch.  The Saints were red hot in the opening period early connecting on 5 triples and took a 32-12 lead into the second quarter.  St. Clair cooled down after Gomez exited and were only ahead 45-36 at halftime.  Niagara continued to chip away in the third quarter and were within a bucket (50-48) but the Saints weathered the storm for a 64-57 lead heading to the fourth.  From that point St. Clair shut the door and held Niagara to just 8 points down the stretch.  The Saints allowed their depth to shine in this game outscoring Niagara's bench 47-17 and scored 26 points off 22 turnovers.  St. Clair also shot 80% from the free throw line making 12 more points form the charity stripe then the visitors. 

Rookie guard Husam Shallo (Toronto, ON) led St. Clair offensively with 20 points including 5 triples and added 6 rebounds.  Jesiah Deerr (Whitby, ON) made 5 triples of his own his way to 19 points for St. Clair to go with 6 rebounds.  Darnelle Peddie (Pickering, ON) scored 11 points adding 6 rebounds with Jalen Harmon (Ypsilanti, MI) chipping in with 10 points for the Saints.  Glynn Willis-Paris had 10 rebounds and 7 points protecting the interior with a block and 3 steals. 

Lequan Hylton (Mississauga, ON) led all scorers with 25 points for Niagara in a losing cause. 

The St. Clair Men's Basketball team continue their regular season schedule when they travel to Canadore College (North Bay) on Saturday.