Saints march into tournament on a mission

There is no shortage of love for the St. Clair men's basketball team heading into the provincial championships at the Sportplex. Shak Pryce was named an OCAA first team all-star while Jalen Harmon and Chad Vincent-Simon made it to the second team.

Pryce was also named to the CCAA All-Canadian team after transferring from the University of Windsor and having an immediate impact at St. Clair. "I think I transitioned smoothly." said Pryce who won back to back OFSAA championships at Pine Ridge high school with three of his teammates (Jessiah Deerr, Miles Hall and Darnell Peddie). "Keeping tabs on this team since they've been here, I knew how they played so it was an easy transition for me."

Shak led the team in scoring and finished 7th in the OCAA with an average of 20 points per game. He had three 30-point games this season but wasn't focused on building up his stats. "We have great talent. We're very deep. I love sharing the ball. I think passing makes two people happy so I trust a lot of guys. We make shots, they get to the rim. It's been a lot of fun."

Preventing people from getting to the rim is Terence Williams who was rewarded as OCAA defensive player of the year. "Bringing energy to the game is always important." said the Windsor native. "I really put my emphasis on that since day one. I want to get the guys fired up and ready to compete."

Last season Humber had home court advantage and rode it to the provincial and national title. The Saints have won ten straight games and are hoping for the same fate when they open against Conestoga. "We've had this marked on our calendar since we lost the national championship game." said co-head coach Matt Sykes. "It's something we've been preparing for. I think we've hit our stride at the right time. We just have to stay healthy and play our basketball."