SAULT STE. MARIE, ON: The Lambton College Lions travelled to the Sault this past weekend with playoffs on the mind. It ended up being a clean sweep for the road side as the women and men both took their two games. The wins moved both teams higher in the OCAA rankings with the men sitting at #3 and women #10 in the province after the regular season.
Game One: The Lambton women jumped out to an early lead and didn't look back as they defeated the Sault 68-34. The Lions held the Cougars to just four points in the second quarter and five in the third. Riley Williams led all scorers with 13 points. Yasmine Taylor had 11, Maddi Basso 9, Lauren VanLeerzem eight, Jassica Shaw seven, Paige Johnston six, Jessica Ellenor five, Melissa Ellis four, Jillian VanLeerzem three, and Christine Fleischer two. Ellis led the way defensively with 12 rebounds. The win moved Lambton to 8-9 on the season and within a game of fifth place in the OCAA West.
Game Two: The Lambton men stepped onto the court against a strong Cougars side in need of two straight wins to gain home court advantage in the first round of the OCAA playoffs. It was a tough first quarter for the nationally ranked Lions who led by only two points, but, things took off in the second frame behind some very unselfish guard play. Lambton would cruise to a 84-72 win. Mike Lucier led the team with 29 points and ten rebounds while Branden Padgett put up 27 and 13 boards of his own. Jason Marshell scored 13, Shawn Hill put up eight points and seven assists, Tony Smith four and Will Lara-Caston had three.
Game Three: The women's squad pushed their record to .500 and secured fifth spot in the West with a 77-41 win on Sunday in the Sault. Christine Fleischer led the team with 14 points. Jessica Ellenor and Riley Williams had 11 each, Jilleen VanLeerzem 10 with Jessica Shaw scoring six. Scoring was rounded out with Paige Johnston, Melissa Ellis, and Maddi Basso with five each, Lauren VanLeerzem with four, while Yasmine Taylor and Jordi Pisiak with three apiece. The Lions will now travel to the East to take on an opponent in the first round of the OCAA playoffs.
Game Four: The Lions men hit the court with a lot at stake on Sunday and after a close first half put up 35 points in the third on their way to an 81-54 win and home court in the cross-over playoff game this coming weekend. Branden Padgett put up a huge 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the contest. Mike Lucier contributed another double-double as he scored 17 and pulled down 17 rebounds. Shawn Hill had 14 for the Lions while Jason Marshell and Tony Smith each had seven, with Will Lara-Caston scoring three and Frank Benneh too.
With 31 points, Branden Padgett is the 2015-16 OCAA Scoring Champion!
Congrats to the teams on such strong regular seasons. Good lcuk in the playoffs!
#DEFENDTHEDEN