St. Clair basketball teams fall short in final home game

by Kurtis Friesen

The St. Clair College men’s and women’s basketball teams played their final home games of the season Feb. 13 against Mohawk College with polarizing results.

The fourth ranked women’s team out of St. Clair got out to a quick start and continued their dominating play through the second quarter.  A 33-21 lead at halftime put them in good position to seal the deal in the second half.

However, the momentum shifted drastically in the second half. They outscored the Saints 27-12 in the third quarter to take a three-point lead into the final quarter.

St. Clair responded well and forced the game into overtime, but Mohawk edged out the Saints en route to an 81-78 victory.

Kelly Rizea led the way for the Saints with 17 points and seven rebounds, including five three-pointers.  Her sister Kendyl, who ranks among the best in the country statistically, also had an impressive outing, putting up 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

The men’s team didn’t fare nearly as well.  They were in tough against the defending national champs and it became evident early on.

Mohawk held the Saints to just five points in the opening quarter, though St. Clair responded with 20 more points before halftime.  Despite this, the Mohawks breezed their way to an 84-43 blowout and improved to 13 wins and three losses on the year.

Matt Nuna and Alex Temesv accounted for nearly half the Saints’ total, combining for 19 points.

The men are currently in a three-way tie for eighth in the division and will make their way to Toronto for the weekend, where they’ll face Humber College and the top-ranked Sheridan College to close out the season.

The women will also meet Humber and Sheridan in the last two games of their season.  They currently trail Humber by two points for third place in the West.