The 19-1 Redeemer Royals have earned their way into the OCAA Men's Basketball Championship. The Royals defeated a gritty and determined team from Loyalist on Saturday in an OCAA Playoff Crossover match. With the win, the Royals advance to the Final 8 Championship being hosted by Niagara College, March 1-3. 

While the Redeemer Royals entered the game as strong favorites to defeat the Loyalist Lancers, the visitors gave the home team all they could handle. With 17 lead changes and 10 ties throughout the match, the game was anything but routine for the West Division Champion Royals. 

When the final buzzer rang however, it was the Royals who had booked their ticket to the Final 8, pouring in 26 4th quarter points for an 88-75 victory.

The road to gold now gets much harder for the top ranked Royals. First up, Redeemer will face a familiar foe in the OCAA Championship Quarterfinal. Redeemer will match up against the OCAA 5th ranked Lambton Lions. The Royals swept the season series 2-0, winning the games by 16 and 10 point margins. 

The Lions defeated the Centennial Colts 83-74 to advance to the Championship.

If the Royals hope to keep their 13 game win streak intact, they will need to limit Lambton's all-time career points leader, Branden Padgett. Padgett averaged 26.3 point per game this season. In both matches against the Royals, Redeemer kept Padgett under his average, allowing only 16 and 19 points in the two matches.

Redeemer will counter with their leading point getter, Rayvon Higdon. Ray torched the Lions with 32 and 26 points in both matches. 

If the Royals defeat the Lions Thursday, they will move on to face the winner of quarterfinal #2 between the Humber Hawks and the George Brown Huskies. A loss would mean a trip to the Consolation side of the bracket and a game against the loser of the Hawks and Huskies game. 

You can follow along with the Royals at the Championship Website here.