Saltus Grammar School senior boys basketball team got their four-match tour of Canada off to a flying start when they defeated Royal St.George's 47-38 during their opening match played in Toronto on Thursday.

Shannon Lawrence paved the way for Saltus' 11 point victory by scoring 20 points.

Yesterday, Saltus were due to meet Trinity College School before closing out their brief tour with back-to-back contests against Hillcrest School and Ridley College today in Niagara.

Though pleased with Thursday's result, Saltus' coach John Beard expects a tougher challenge heading into today's final two contests.

"It's good to start out with a win but we are under no illusions that each game is going to be more and more difficult. What we have learned over the past few years from travelling over here is that whoever we come up against are usually very competitive sides. It is always great for the players to get this sort of exposure," he said.