Saints win last second thriller

By Justin Prince

The St. Clair College Saints beat the Lambton College Lions 64-60 in a game that came down to the wire Nov. 8.

The game started back and forth after the Saints and Lions made back-to-back threes within the first two minutes.  The Lions attempted to pull away with a 10-2 run to take a six point lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, both teams struggled on offense.  The Lions and the Saints made four shots respectively in the quarter.  The Saints got their first lead of the game after Lions head coach James Grant distracted his point guard while calling a play, which led to a Lions turnover.  The Saints held a 26-24 lead at halftime.

The Lions got a spark in the third quarter from leading scorers Shawn Hill and Jon Ravenhorst, who had seven and five points respectively after having weak first halves.  The Saints were up by three at the end of the quarter.

Neither team could pull away in the fourth quarter as both made shots down the stretch.  Stephan Gray started the scoring for the Saints in the quarter with his only three-pointer of the night.  The Lions answered back to take their first lead of the half with 5:50 remaining in the game after making a layup.

The Saints got a momentum swing on offense from a Jamaal Thompson dunk in the final minute of the game.  He went to the bench as Gray finished the three-point play to make it a two point game.

Saints head coach Matt Devin said Thompson hurt his eye on the play and was fine in the locker room.  Devin also said he was impressed by the play.

“It was an incredible play,” said Devin.  “It gave our guys a big boost and it was one of the best plays since he’s been here.  It was great to see.”

The Saints added another free throw to make it a three point game with 8.2 seconds remaining.  The Lions inbounded the ball to starter Jason Marshell for the last shot of the game, but he turned the ball over on a last-second shot.  The Saints added another free throw to win the game by four.

Matei Nuna, who finished the game with 10 points for the Saints, said he was looking to find his teammates instead of scoring because he had a fever the morning of the game.  He said his fever caused him to miss more shots than usual.

“It was a close game.  None of their shots fell and none of our shots fell,” said Nuna.  “It came down to defence and I guess the team who made the most shots in the end took the victory.”

Grant said it was a defensive game as whole for both teams and was surprised Ravenhorst and starter Mike Lucier struggled in the game on offense.

“I thought the shooting was a little lower than we expected,” said Grant.  “(The Saints) played hard defence and just sometimes you can’t shoot it I guess.”

Devin said he was happy his team won the game despite it going back and forth.

“We’re starting to build a reputation that we’re a tough team in the fourth quarter,” said Devin.  “We’re never really out of any game.  We battled back and forth.  But down the stretch both teams executed and we just got one extra stop.”