The Redeemer Royals Men's Basketball team are the OCAA Consolation Champions. The Royals defeated the Fanshawe Falcons Saturday afternoon to claim Redeemer's third Championship fifth place finish for the 2016-2017 season. Men's Basketball joins Men's Soccer and Men's Volleyball as top 5 teams in the Province.
After losing their opener on Thursday afternoon to the #1 ranked Sheridan Bruins, the Royals bounced back nicely, winning their next two matches against the Seneca Sting and the Fanshawe Falcons to finish with a 2-1 record in their first Championship appearance in program history.
After a poor shooting performance in Friday's match against Seneca, Redeemer's offense came alive on Saturday, heating up from first tip-off. It was the story of the game as they shot 51.4 per cent (38-74) from the field, 44 per cent (11-25) from three point range, and 90.5 per cent (19-21) from the free throw line. Redeemer was also unselfish, dishing out 31 assists on their 38 made field goals.
Fanshawe outrebounded Redeemer by nine (51-42) while also outscoring them, 40-19, from the charity stripe.
Redeemer came out scorching from the field to start off the game, going on a 19-5 run and forced Fanshawe into eight first quarter turnovers. Guard Anthony Terry (#2) hit two early three pointers, forcing the Falcons to call an early timeout.
Fanshawe made it respectable, trimming the double digit lead to nine (25-16). OCAA Player of the Year Rayvon Higdon (#15) had nine points while forward Spencer Kerssies (#22) had two three point plays and finished with eight in the quarter.
In the second quarter, Fanshawe got their offense going, scoring 26 points. Falcons guards Moses Orozco-Rayo (#2) and Connor Therrien (#13) came alive in the quarter, scoring 10 and eight points, respectively. However, behind Higdon's 10 points in the quarter, the Royals held a slim lead, 45-42, at halftime.
Falcons starting centre Lex Van Iperen (#33) left the game due to injury and did not return.
Higdon led all scorers at the half with 19 points while Orozco-Rayo had 10 to lead Fanshawe.
Both teams came out guns blazing as it felt like the NBA All-Star Game with the offensive display from the Falcons and the Royals. Fanshawe finally came all the way back, leading by four (61-57) with 6:05 left, forcing a Royals timeout. It was the only lead the Falcons would have, as Redeemer went on a 20-8 run to close out the quarter and lead 77-69 after three. Fanshawe coach Tony Marcotullio received a technical foul in the quarter.
Higdon was flawless from the field, scoring 12 points in the quarter, while guard Foster Brown (#10) and Kerssies had six points each in the quarter for Redeemer.
Fanshawe forward Alfred Johnson (#22) had nine in the quarter while guard Chris Parker (#3) had seven.
In the fourth quarter, Redeemer continued its hot shooting by going on a 11-5 run. A technical foul from Royals coach Jamie Girolametto, however, led to three made free throws from Fanshawe to cut the lead to 11. However, the Royals turned on the jets, going on a 16-4 run to go up by 23 (104-81), essentially icing the game, as both teams emptied out their benches.
Higdon finished up his first Championship as a Royal with 31 points to lead all scorers and also had a triple double, with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
He was one of four players who scored in double figures for Redeemer as Kerssies had 22 points while Brown had 18 and Terry had 12. Guard Nicholas Green (#5) led the team with three steals in the win.
Johnson led Fanshawe with 18 points while Parker, Oroczo-Rayo, and Therrien all had 16 each. Guard Deandre Austin (#8) had 11 points and a team high seven assists while Parker (who had a team high nine rebounds) and Orozco-Rayo had three steals apiece.
Higdon was named Player of the Game for the Royals while Oroczo-Rayo was named Player of the Game for the Falcons.
Source: Centennial College with files from Redeemer Athletics
