SARNIA, ON - The Redeemer Royals showed up in Sarnia this afternoon as the OCAA Team of the Week and made it a close one as the Lions held on 95-89.

Branden Padgett led the squad with 29 points but in his absence due to foul trouble in the third quarter it was Tony Smith (pictured) who took things over. Smith had his best game as a Lion, scoring 19 and grabbing 9 rebounds in the victory.

Mike Lucier picked up yet another double-double -- icing the game from the charity stripe in the process -- with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Marshell and Shawn Hill, each battling illness, scored 11 and seven respectively.

A big story line today was the return of Jaason Heron. The guard stepped on the court for the first time in 10 months, scoring an important 9 points for the Lions. Nick Higgins rounded out the scoring with 2.

"There were a lot of good story lines today," says Coach Grant. "It was nice to see Jaason get back on the court and have such a major contribution. Mike was rock solid with a double-double and we relied on him like the senior he is to put the game away. We had Jason, Shawn and Tony battling illness, along with Joel Wilson who was not able to dress, so the team really put a lot of effort into a win against a very well coached team."

Rayvon Higdon led the Royals with 30 points.

Lambton will hit the road to Toronto this coming weekend as they take on Sheridan and Humber.

The squad will return home on the 13th for a 3pm matchup against Mohawk.