Thursday, November 20^th saw the Niagara College men's basketball program get a firsthand look at why the Humber Hawks are the number one ranked team in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association. The Knights were defeated 90-77 in front of a large home crowd at the Welland Campus Athlete Centre.

The Knights opened the game strong, carrying a 22-21 lead after the first quarter. The two talented sides traded baskets over the next two frames, a period of time that saw six lead changes.

The difference in the contest proved to be the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Knights trailed by just six points heading into the final frame, but a 10-0 run by the Hawks saw the Knights fall behind 78-62, and quickly diminished any comeback hopes for Niagara.

The Knights were again paced offensively by shooting Guard Trevon Ash (San Diego). Ash finished with 24 points on nine of 18 shooting. Ash is averaging a team high 20.6 points-per-game, the fourth highest in the OCAA West.

Also turning in strong performances for Niagara was first-year forward Delroy Grandison who finished 12 points and a team high eight rebounds. Second year forward Ty Rogers gave the Knights 15 points, while first-year point guard Lequan Hylton lead all players with five assists.

The Knights were without veteran forward Ryan Christie who is still recovering from an injury suffered earlier this month.

The loss drops the Knights to 3-4 on the season. The team has two games remaining before the mid-season break in December. Up first is a tough road matchup versus the CCAA's 15^th ranked Mohawk Mountaineers (4-1) on November 27^th. The team will wrap up 2014 on December 4^th when they travel to Ancaster to take on the Redeemer Royals (1-4).