LONDON, Ont. - The St. Clair College men's basketball team (6-10) came close but could not knock off Fanshawe College (10-6) dropping a 71-69 decision in London, Ont., on Wednesday night.

The Saints were behind 18-12 entering the second quarter but put together a nice effort before halftime to take back a 36-28 lead.

A low scoring third quarter by both teams saw St. Clair cling to just a 46-44 advantage heading to the final frame.

Each team traded small leads in the fourth quarter until the final minute where Fanshawe was ahead by eight points (67-59). St. Clair was able to fight back to a 68-68 tie before they sent Fanshawe to the free throw line where they took a 70-68 lead with just three seconds remaining.

After a timeout the Saints advanced to the frontcourt and after a Fanshawe holding foul Gil Atencio (Panama City, Panama) went to the line with a chance to tie the game.  Atencio split the pair unfortunately and St. Clair had to foul where Fanshawe added a point before getting an offensive foul to end the game.

St. Clair shot 35 per cent from the field for the game while Fanshawe recorded 47 per cent which proved to be the major statistical difference in the contest.

Atencio led the Saints in scoring with 15 points but cleared the glass for an astonishing 16 rebounds in a double-double effort. Jermaine Lynch (Windsor/JL Forster) and Nik Veigli (Cottam/Essex District) each scored 12 points for St. Clair with Shawon Anderson (Windsor/WF Herman) chipping in with 11 points off the bench that included three triples.

Fanshawe's Chris Parker (Toledo, Ohio) had a game-high 25 points in the win.

Source: St. Clair College