LAVAL, QC
The fairy tale continues for first year Coach Dan Martin.
Less than 48 hours after earning Coach of The Year honours, the 33 year-old Martin led Champlain Saint-Lambert Cavaliers to a second provincial title in three years, and fourth in school history.
The Cavaliers defeated the defending champions Vanier College 80-71 Sunday afternoon, behind rookie forward Nikita Kasongo 18 points, 10 rebounds performance.
Champlain (14-4) the regular season champions had too much depth for the Cheetahs (9-9) as First Team All-stars, Kasheem Thomas and TJ Umar combined for only 8 points in the game. Led by JJ Hamel-Carey 20 points, the Cavaliers’ bench outscored Vanier’s 35-6.
Third year forwards, Abdul Kamane and Schneiders Suffrard had 27 and 16 points respectively for the Cheetahs. Rookie guard, Ibrahim Ngom chipped in with 17 of his own. The rest of the team combined for 12 points.
After going 6-11 from the 3 points line in the semi-final game against John Abbott, sharpshooter Godsman Kwakwa went scoreless in the title game on a 0-7 shooting night (0-4 from behind the arc).
Champlain will have a week to prepare for its 6th national championship trip. This year’s tournament will be held at Mohawk College in Hamilton, ON from March 18-21.