SAINTS LOOK TO DEFEND OCAA HOOPS TITLE
St. Clair men's team eyeing a podium finish for the third straight year at Final Four
The St. Clair Saints men's basketball will not be sneaking up on anyone.
The defending OCAA champs head the to Final Four in Oshawa as the West Division champs and eyeing a podium finish for the third straight year. After a one-year absence, the St. Clair women's team will also play in the Final Four in Sarnia.
“Our third year, we just know we've built a culture at St. Clair,” Saints fourth-year guard Darnell Peddie said of the men's team. “We expect a lot from our guys each and every night, all 14 guys, so we're locked in and ready for the Final Four.”
While that success has made the Saints a target in recent years, it's also helped the team elevate its game on a daily basis.
“We've had a target on our backs all year from last year and it's been a good season,” Saints co-head coach Brendon Seguin said in reference to last year's title and this year's division crown.
“Guys come in and have embraced it. A lot of our regular season games were high intensity where teams want to knock you off. For us, there's not a lot of nervousness, but excitement.”
The Saints will play East Division second-place finisher George Brown in semifinal play on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The winner advances to Sunday's gold medal match, while the loser will play for the bronze medal on Sunday against either East Division champ and Final Four host Durham or Humber, who meet in the other semi.
“It's an interesting one,” Seguin said of facing George Brown. “They're very big across the board, wings and inside. We're more guard-oriented. It's a big matchup and it should be interesting.”
Thanks to last year's conference title, the OCAA will send two teams to the eight-team national championship, which is set for March 13-15 in New Brunswick. So, the semifinals winners will also earn an automatic berth at that tournament.
“National championships are not easy and these guys almost become accustomed,” Seguin said. “Expectations are stay controlled and play one game at a time.”
This year's squad is a little different from a year ago, but there's plenty of depth and talent led by fifth-year forward Chad Vincent-simon, who was the OCAA player of the year.
Jesiah Deerr and Andrew Loyuk were both all-star selections this year, but the Saints also got big contributions from Peddie, Tim Steward, Galdo
Tutu and Glynn Willis-paris in winning Saturday's quarterfinal game to advance to the Final Four.
“It's a little different in terms of makeup and what we're good at,” Seguin said. “Last year's team was a very good man (defence), but this team is good at mixing and matching to win in different ways. It gives us more flexibility.”
The Saints women had to change direction on the fly this season after 6-foot Jordan Gutt left the team to return home to Israel in December after just five games.
“We had a bona fide 6-foot player with guard skills,” Saints head coach Andy Kiss said of Gutt. “We had to reinvent on the fly.”
The Saints turned to a familiar old formula for success. They were guard heavy in winning silver medals at the OCAA championship in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
“It's a little déjà vu having a good system that is guard rich with skill,” Kiss said.
No player had a bigger season than fifth-year guard Kaitlyn Overeem, who led the conference in scoring. The University of Waterloo grad used her final year of playing eligibility to join the Saints and play with younger sister Lauren Overeem.
“When we were announcing Lauren, Kaitlyn was at the signing and we planted the seed to play a year with her sister,” Kiss said. “She's a special player and I believe we have the best player in the league.”
There's plenty of support in the lineup from OCAA rookie of the year Ania Buklarewicz, Shaelyn Murphy, Janae Smith, Lily Collins and Chelsea Crep.
“Our goal, and this goal was set very early in the year, our goal was OCAA gold and to get to nationals,” said Kiss, who was the OCAA coach of the year. “Ever since (Gutt) left, our goal was OCAA gold.”
To advance, the Saints must take gold with only one OCAA representative set to attend the eight-team CCAA national championship, which is set for March 13-15 in Alberta.
The Saints will face East Division champion Algonquin, who have not lost this season, on Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. semifinal. A win will send the St.
Clair to the gold-medal game against the winner of the other semi between Niagara and West Division-champion and host Lambton.
“When special situations arise in these games, we need to execute,” Kiss said.