Submitted photo
FRONT L-R: Richard Marcano,
Jaason Heron, Nic Higgins, Jeff Asiamah, Russ Fox, Jason Marshell, Trey
Langford, Branden Padgett
BACK L-R: Coach Dave Elsley,
Frank Benneh, Jordane Tello, Joel Wilson, Shawn Hill, Ben Pierce, Mike Lucier,
Joe De Boer, Coach James Grant
The #8
ranked Lambton College Men’s Varsity Basketball Team are Champions of the New
Year's Classic Tournament after a 94-74 win over the Loyalist Lancers in
Belleville this past weekend.
The Lions
were led by Tournament MVP Mike Lucier (Forest, ON) who scored 30 points and
pulled down 11 rebounds in the Gold Medal Game. Branden Padgett (China MI), the
Tournament leading scorer, put up 27 points while Tournament All-Star Jason
Marshell (New Baltimore, MI) had 18. Jordane Tello (Hamilton, ON) continued his
strong play by contributing 11 points and 8 rebounds. Scoring was rounded out by
Frank Benneh (Windsor, ON) and Trey Langford (London, ON) with four apiece.
“It was a
very good weekend for our team in terms of not only success on the scoreboard,
but also coming together as a group on and off the court,” says Coach James
Grant. “We added a couple guys who we are expecting to provide instant impact
and they fit in a lot quicker than we imagined. It was a game changer for us in
terms of keeping guys fresh late into games. Obviously on an individual player
basis we saw some great performances as well. Lucier was dominant and has been
working the hardest he ever has. Padgett was really showing his skill level and
was making really intelligent decisions all weekend. Marshell was shooting the
ball really well. On top of that we had Tello come back from the break looking
healthy and really showing us some new things that we needed to see. Now it’s
time to get to work on preparing for the St. Clair match up here at home on
January 16th.”
The Lions
worked their way to the final by beating Collegial Nouvelles Frontieres from
Gatineau, QC by a score of 95-56 and Algonquin College from Ottawa 67-51.
Padgett
led the Lions with 32 points against Nouvelles Frontieres. High school teammate
Marshell had 23. Lucier scored 12, Benneh had six points with Langford also
scoring six. Newcomer Jeff Asiamah (Yonkers, NY) scored his first five points as
a Lion while grabbing four boards. Rounding out the scoring was Tello with four
points and 8 rebounds, Nick Higgins (Trenton, ON) with three, Ben Pierce
(Sarnia, ON) with two, and Jason Heron (Toronto, ON) and Joel Wilson
(Amherstburg, ON) each hitting a free throw apiece.
Against
Algonquin, the Lions outlasted the Thunder in a tough battle against Ontario’s
#1 defence. Lucier led the Lions with 22 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks, five
steals and three assists. Padgett also scored 22 with Tello putting in nine,
Marshell six, Heron six, and Benneh two.
Lambton
hosts St. Clair in their next OCAA West league game on January 16th at 8pm. They
then travel to London on January 18th to face the Fanshawe Falcons at Budweiser
Gardens prior to the National Basketball League of Canada game between London
and Mississauga.
