The Niagara College Knights men's basketball team made a statement to their OCAA opponents on Thursday night with an emphatic 77-68 victory over the perennial powerhouse Humber Hawks. The Hawks have finished first in the OCAA West Division in each of the last 5 seasons.
Head Coach Steve Atkin felt "happy with the win" but noted that team had "a lot to clean up in the victory."
Led by the strong play of 6-foot-8 forward Anto Raic the Knights led by 9 points at the half. Coach Atkin felt Raic, a 4th year Pre-Community Services student from Welland, "gave the team a great effort coming off a sprained ankle." Raic had 14 points and 9 rebounds in the first half alone, but foul trouble limited his minutes in the second half.
The Hawks rallied in the second half and took a 5-point third quarter lead, led by the game high scoring of Tyrone Dickson. Dickson finished the game with 23 points.
Sparked by an outstanding performance by 6-foot-4 forward Marako Lundy, the 4th quarter belonged to Niagara. Lundy, a 2nd year General Arts student from Nassau, Bahamas served as an offensive catalyst for the Knights , coming off the bench and recording 14 points in just 12 minutes of 4th quarter play.
"Down the stretch Marako was huge for us" added Atkin. Included in Lundy's performance was a final minute 3-pointer that put the Knights up by 6.
Reigning OCAA West Division Rookie of the Year Alex Campbell led all Knights in scoring finishing the game with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Up next for the Knights is a Saturday, November 10th matchup against the Sheridan Bruins. "Travelling to Sheridan will be a tough challenge" said Atkin. "If your team doesn't show up in a tough league like the OCAA West you can drop a game to any team."
The 2-1 Knights' next home game is scheduled for Thursday, November 15th at 8:00pm when the team plays host to the Redeemer Royals.
All Knights varsity games are free admission, and are broadcast live on www.sportslive.ca.
