On Wednesday night, the OCAA's #1 ranked Royals defeated the Niagara Knights 91-70 on the road for their 15th win of the season. With the victory, the Royals are now set up for a shot at the OCAA West Division Title on Saturday in a tilt against the St. Clair Saints. 

Jacobus Vanderpol continued his torrid play as of late, recording a game-high 25 points in the win and also adding 9 rebounds. For Vanderpol, it was his fourth 20-plus point performance in his last six games, as the 4th year forward is having an All-Star type 2nd half of the season. Spencer Kerssies, Elijah Lostracco, and Justin Lenters all finished with double-digit points as well for the Royals in a game that saw the visitors only trail in the first two minutes of the first quarter. 

Wednesday's win for Redeemer was significant in a number of ways. The victory guaranteed the Royals a home playoff game on February 29th. The opponent is yet to be determined. It will be Redeemer's 3rd consecutive year hosting the first round of the playoffs in the confines of the Royals gymnasium. Securing a top four spot and guaranteeing a playoff game at home was no small feat for Redeemer as 5 teams in the OCAA West were all within 3 wins of each other. 

The 15th win of the season for the Royals also put's Redeemer in a situation where if they win their final league game of the season on Saturday, they will clinch their 2nd ever Division Title. The only other time in the team's history that they won the Division was in 2017-2018 when the team went 19-1 behind 3x All-Canadian Rayvon Higdon. Redeemer's 15-4 record with one game remaining is the 2nd best record in program history. 

Saturday's match will be a tough test for the Royals as they will have to earn ever bit of the Title, facing off against the 13-5 St. Clair Saints. A win for the Saints could end up with St. Clair winning the Division and taking the #1 seed into the OCAA Playoffs. 

In their only other meeting this season, St. Clair defeated the Royals 85-81. Saturday's match tips-off at 4:30pm and can be streamed at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/redeemer/