WINDSOR, Ont. - The script was written months ago when St. Clair College was selected as the host for the 2023 OCAA Men's Basketball Championship; win gold on your home floor and avenge the heartbreak of the 2022 finals. The Saints gave themselves a chance to make that dream a reality by defeating the Conestoga Condors and Lambton Lions on their way to their second straight gold medal game appearance. The 2023 edition featured a clash of the titans between the St. Clair Saints (17-3) and the George Brown Huskies (20-1). The Saints hoped to capture their first OCAA championship since 1967-68, while the Huskies looked to regain their place at the top of the mantle when they hung a banner in 2019-20 as champions.
The storybook season for the St. Clair Saints continued in the OCAA and it was one for the record books. All season long the Saints felt like a team of destiny, building towards defending their homecourt at the Final 8 championship and they did not disappoint the capacity crowd. The Saints dominated from the opening tip, never trailed in the contest, and for the first time in 55 years the St. Clair Saints captured the OCAA championship in blowout fashion with a 106-77 victory.
The supercharged crowd at the SportsPlex had much to cheer about early as the Saints controlled both ends of the floor, shooting 50 per cent from the field and forcing five George Brown turnovers to take a 28-13 advantage going into the second quarter.
George Brown found their shooting stroke in the second frame, paced by Robert Ocampo's (Toronto, Ont.) 13 first half points. Unfortunately for the visiting Huskies they were unable to slow down the St. Clair offence despite switching up their defensive approach multiple times in the quarter. St. Clair won the quarter and stretched the gap to 53-37 at the intermission. Chad Vincent-Simon (Scarborough, Ont.) topped the scoring leaderboard for St. Clair with 17 first half points.
The Huskies hoped to turn things around in the second half, but St. Clair had other plans. The Saints offence continued to fire on all cylinders, this quarter being led by one of the top bench units in the OCAA. Jesiah Deerr (Whitby, Ont.) and Miles Hall (Toronto, Ont.) scored 10 and five points respectively to open the gap even further as the Saints took a commanding 86-58 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was academic as the Saints continued to pour it on, extending the lead to as many as 31 points. The final horn sounded, and the St. Clair Saints were crowned OCAA Champions as they defeated the George Brown Huskies 106-77. Shak Pryce (Pickering, Ont.) was named Championship MVP and was joined on the Championship All-Star team by teammates Vincent-Simon and Terence Williams (Windsor, Ont.). Rounding out the Championship All-Star team were George Brown Huskies Ocampo and Caldre Campbell (North York, Ont.) along with Mohawk's Jerry Jr. Mercury (Scarborough, Ont.).
St. Clair shot a blistering 51 per cent from the field and 42 per cent from beyond the arc on 13 made triples. Not only was the Saints offence prepared for the biggest moment of the season, but their defence was also equally to the task. St. Clair held the Huskies to 35 per cent shooting from the field and 24 per cent from distance, neutralizing the balanced attack of George Brown en route to the victory.
Six Saints players finished in double figure scoring, kickstarted by Vincent-Simon who collected 27 points on 67 per cent shooting from the floor. Williams had 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists all while showing why he was named the OCAA Defensive Player of the Year. Pryce flirted with yet another triple-double, as he tallied 12 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists and consistently got his teammates quality looks at the rim. Rounding out the double figure scorers were Deerr with 12 points and eight rebounds, and Jalen Harmon (Ypsilanti, Mich.) with 11 points.
George Brown had three players tally double figures, led by Championship All-Star Ocampo who scored a tournament personal best 20 points in a losing effort. Nas Robert (Toronto, Ont.) had 15 points and six rebounds and was joined by the other Husky Championship All-Star Campbell who had a solid 13 point, four rebound, six assist stat line.
Both teams will now advance to the 2023 CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship hosted by SAIT from March 16-19 with the hopes of bringing home a Canadian Championship back to Ontario for the second consecutive year.
Ocampo was named Player of the Game for George Brown. Vincent-Simon was named Player of the Game for the St. Clair Saints.
Championship MVP
G, Shak Pryce (St. Clair Saints)
Championship All-Stars
F, Chad Vincent-Simon (St. Clair Saints)
G, Terence Williams (St. Clair Saints)
G, Robert Ocampo (George Brown Huskies)
G, Caldre Campbell (George Brown Huskies)
F, Jerry Jr. Mercury (Mohawk Mountaineers)
Fair Play Award: Mohawk College
Source: St. Clair Saints