Lambton College welcomed over 1,200 screaming fans to its new athletics centre Friday night for the OCAA Men's Basketball Championships.
The marquee matchup on day one of the tournament saw the host Lambton Lions fall to the top-ranked George Brown Huskies 82-65.
Forward Jason Watts led the way for Lambton with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but the Lions failed to advance past the quarter-final round of the tournament.
Tournament Honourary Chair and Toronto Raptors broadcaster Leo Rautins was on hand for the game.
Opening ceremonies of the OCAA Men's Basketball Championships at Lambton College. 6 March 2020. (BlackburnNews.com photo by Colin Gowdy)
"You got this beautiful facility, you got a great school, you got all these teams coming in, you got all these people coming to watch, I think, you know, sports brings people together. I think for Sarnia-Lambton and Lambton College to get this right now, with their new facility, it's just a great showcase," said Rautins. "Any of these opportunities to grow the game, bring attention to the game, bring attention to the OCAA, whatever level it is, it's fantastic right now, and the interest is, like I said, it just continues to get bigger and better."
Rautins didn't rule out the possibility of the Raptors paying a visit to Sarnia-Lambton in the future.
"You never know, I mean, they like to go around the country. This area has always been a good basketball area. You go Sarnia, Windsor, Chatham, it's always been a lot of good basketball interest, and the proximity to Detroit has always been a positive factor before there was ever the Raptors. So yeah, you never know. Even if it's not a training camp, but just coming in for a day, it'd be great to see."
Lambton College is hosting the provincial championships for the first time in school history after opening its new state-of-the-art athletics centre in October 2018.
Semi-final action continues Saturday with the finals Sunday.
For a full tournament schedule, click here.
