A Battle to the Buzzer: Collingwood Cavs Edge St. George's Saints in Classic Semi-Final
Collingwood Cavaliers v. St. George’s Saints
December 12, 2025
An excited crowd at Collingwood on a Friday evening for a No Regrets semi-final — you really couldn’t script it better. The hometown Cavs were looking to ride the energy of their spirit-heavy crowd, but the Saints, ranked 7th in 4A and always well-coached and poised, came in ready for a heavyweight battle. And that’s exactly what we got: two tough, disciplined teams trading punches all night, each answering every run the other tried to make.
St. George’s came out sharp, pushing pace and attacking the Cavs’ gaps early. With six minutes to go in the first quarter, the Saints held a 14–10 edge, capitalizing on their early momentum. Collingwood kept responding, as they had all tournament thus far, but St. George’s continued to find answers — finishing the opening frame up 26–20.
End of first quarter: Saints 26 - Cavs 20.
The second quarter brought more of the same: the Saints threatening to stretch the lead, and the Cavs clawing their way back with timely buckets and defensive hustle. At 3:43 to go in the half, St. George’s still led 36–32, but Collingwood refused to let the game get out of reach. A strong closing push by the Cavs flipped the energy in the gym, and by halftime they had nudged ahead 41–39 — a sign of the back-and-forth battle we were in for.
Halftime score: Cavs 41 - Saints 39.
The third quarter opened with yet another twist: with 5:45 left, the Saints reclaimed the lead, 46–45, as both sides continued to run their sets with crisp execution. But Collingwood found another gear in the back half of the quarter. Led by their balanced attack and strong perimeter play, the Cavs stormed into the final frame holding a 61–55 advantage.
End of third quarter: Cavs 61 - Saints 55.
If anyone in the gym thought the game was decided, the fourth quarter proved otherwise.
St. George’s came out swinging. With 6:28 left, the Cavs’ lead had shrunk to 66–64. Even as Collingwood stretched it to four it was quickly back two again as the Saints would not go away. The Cavs finally strung together a pair of big buckets to go up 79–72 with 2:54 remaining, and when they pushed it to 81–72 with 2:34 to go, it felt like they might finally be in the clear.
But this is St. George’s — they weren’t ready to go away quietly.
A quick cut to 81–74, followed by a massive three from #5 Urban with 1:30 left, brought the score to 81–77 and put every fan in the gym back on the edge of their seat. The Cavs hit one of two at the line (82–77), but the Saints responded again, converting inside to make it 82–79. Then, chaos: St. George’s forced a huge steal on the inbound — but couldn’t capitalize. On the next possession, Collingwood was whistled for a clear-path foul, sending the Saints to the line with two free throws and possession. St. George’s hit one of two, making it 82–80, and suddenly the Saints had the ball with the chance to tie or take the lead.
With 30 seconds left, the Saints got a clean look from deep — but it came up short. After the rebound and outlet, Collingwood’s #12 Huang was fouled, with Saints #5 Simmons fouling out on the play. Huang missed the first but hit the second, making it a 3-point game with 15 seconds left. St. George’s got the ball into the hands of Urban, who has played well all tournament, but his deep attempt missed. The Cavs secured the rebound, drew a foul with two seconds left, and #5 Bell calmly knocked down the first free throw to ice it. The second rolled out, but it didn’t matter.
The home town crowd exhaled.
A phenomenal semi-final, worthy of the No Regrets stage. Both teams went on runs, both teams absorbed punches, and both teams showed incredible poise in the biggest moments. But in the end, the Cavs found just enough to hold on, earning their spot in tomorrow’s championship game.
Final Score: Collingwood 84 – St. George’s 80.
No Regrets.