Windsor, ON – The 2023 edition of the 2022-23 Men's Basketball Championship 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 supercharged crowd at the SportsPlex had much to cheer about early as the Saints controlled both ends of the floor, shooting 50% 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, ON) 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, ON) 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, ON) and Miles Hall (Toronto, ON) scored 10 and 5 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. St. Clair shot a blistering 51% from the field and 42% from beyond the arc on 13 made triples, while holding the Huskies to 35% shooting from the field and 24% from distance, neutralizing the usually balanced attack of George Brown.
George Brown had three players tally double figures, led by tournament All-Star Robert Ocampo who scored a tournament personal best 20 points in a losing effort. Nas Robert (Toronto, ON) had 15 points and 6 rebounds and was joined by the other Husky tournament All-Star Caldre Campbell who had a solid 13 point, 4 rebound, 6 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.
Robert Ocampo was named Player of the Game for George Brown. Chad Vincent-Simon was named Player of the Game for the St. Clair Saints.
Tournament MVP
G, Shak Pryce (St. Clair Saints)
Tournament 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)
Source: St. Clair Saints
