The whole weekend at the St. Clair Sportsplex was magical. From the opening tip the building was buzzing with excitement with the home team considered contenders to win it all and make up for the disappointment of last year's loss in the final to Humber. St. Clair opened with a workmanlike 97-85 win over Conestoga.
Saturday night provided the toughest test of the tournament for St. Clair. Lambton (9-9) got everyone's attention after throttling Sheridan (12-6) in their opening game 105-69. "They're a really well coached team. They got better and better as the season went on." said Saints co-head coach Matt Sykes.
St. Clair trailed by ten point in the second half but a 16-6 run tied things up at 67 by the end of the third quarter. Shak Pryce knocked down a triple with over three minutes left breaking an 80-80 tie as St. Clair went on to win 90-88.
"Lambton really punched us." said co-head coach Brendon Seguin. "They were physical with us all night. They're big. We took all that and snuck out with a win. It mentally prepared us."
The storybook was ready to be written. St. Clair at home in the final with a chance to avenge last year's loss to Humber. The stage was set. In the way, a 19-1 George Brown Huskies team that was ranked third in the country, one slot ahead of St. Clair.
It was evident from the opening tip that the Saints were not going to be denied. They jumped out to 28-13 lead after the first quarter and never looked back en route to a convincing 106-77 win.
"We were focused. We were dialed in." said tournament MVP Skak Pryce. "I teared up over there. It meant everything to me."
Holding back the tears of joy was college vp Ron Seguin who watched his son Brendon and Matt Sykes guide the team to its first provincial championship in program history (and first at the Sportsplex). "I'm proud of the school. He did his job" Said Seguin with a smile full of pride.
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