The 5-3 Niagara College Men's Basketball Program travelled to Sault St. Marie this weekend to contest a pair of games against the Sault College Cougars (2-7) and the Algoma Thunderbirds (6-3). Saturday night saw the Knights defeat the Cougars 70-55, while on Saturday afternoon the Knights lost to the Thunderbirds 86-68.
The Knights made the northern journey missing three starters from their roster. Guard Jimmy Bilenga and forward Lawrence McNeil are both currently injured, while forward Anto Raic missed the trip due to illness.
Knights Head Coach Steve Atkin called his team's depleted win against Sault College "a real character victory." The team led from the game from the opening tip-off, and stretched their lead by as many as 21 points.
Eight of the nine Knights' players dressed for the game recorded points and the team's leading scorers were guard Ashton Stephenson and forward Marako Lundy with 17 and 16 points respectively.
Sunday saw the Knights face a much tougher opponent in the Algoma Thunderbirds. The 3:00pm Sunday afternoon tip-off meant the Knights faced the number nine ranked Algoma Thunderbirds on less than 24 hours rest.
The depleted and tired Knights "just ran out of steam" said Coach Atkin. The Knights kept the game close, trailing by just a point at the end of the third quarter. The Thunderbirds however, came of strong in the fourth outscoring the Knights 37-20 in the final quarter.
The red hot shooting of fifth year guard Jovain Wilson provided the difference in the contest. The six-foot-two native of Pickering shot 12-25 from the floor finishing the contest with a game high 38 points.
Leading the way for Niagara was guard Alex Campbell with 22 points, and forwards Darian Rowe and Marako Lundy with 16 and 15 points each.
The Knights will look to rebound in their final two games of 2012. The team will visit the (6-1) Fanshawe Falcons on Friday, November 30th, before hosting the (3-5) St. Clair Saints on Sunday, December 2nd at 3:00pm at the Welland campus athletic centre.
All Niagara College Varsity Athletics feature free admission, and are live broadcasted and archived at www.sportslive.ca.
