The Niagara College men's basketball program headed to south western Ontario this weekend for their biggest two games of the 2014-15 season. Needing at least one win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Knights defeated the Lambton Lions (10-7) 87-80 on February 14th before falling to the St. Clair Saints 91-77 on February 15th.
The 1-1 road trip sees the Knights move to 7-10 on the season and still in the OCAA West Division playoff hunt with one game remaining.
The win against the playoff bound Lions prompted first-year head coach Keith Vassell to call the game a "huge win for us from motivational stand point." He continued "our team has made huge strides in becoming closer and developing good team chemistry and it's reflecting on the court."
The win gave the Knights their fourth consecutive victory, and kept the team in contention for the final OCAA playoff spot.
Six-foot-four forward Marako Lundy (Nassau, Bahamas) played his strongest game since rejoining the Knights in December. Lundy finished with team highs in both points (19) and rebounds (8). Lundy also added four assists to his stat line.
Second-year forward Aaron Chapman played his strongest game in a Knights uniform, finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and two steals. The six-foot-three native of Huntsville has been outstanding for the Knights over the last six games, averaging 13 points and four rebounds per game.
After Saturday's hard fought victory, the Knights faced a short 12 hour turnaround before taking to the court to face the St. Clair Saints. The Knights led the Saints at halftime, but appeared to fade in the second half. Niagara was outscored 52-37 in the second half, as the St. Clair rolled to the 14 point victory.
Chapman led the Knights with 18 points, while Lundy and Delroy Grandison (Kingston, Jamaica) added 14 each.
The Knights now sit tied with the Sheridan Bruins and St. Clair Saints for the sixth and final playoff spot in the OCAA West Division. The Saints will face the Fanshawe Falcons on Sunday February 22nd in their final game, while the Knights will host the Sheridan Bruins at 8:00pm on Friday, February 20th at the Welland campus athletic centre.
A win by the Knights and a loss by St. Clair will see the Knights advance to the OCAA playoffs. A victory by the Bruins will see Sheridan advance regardless of the St. Clair outcome. If both the Knights and Saints win their final regular season games, St. Clair will advance via the OCAA tiebreaker format.
Friday's critical matchup versus Sheridan is set for an 8:00pm tip-off. Admission is free for all Niagara College students and those under the age of 18. For those unable to be in attendance, all Knights home games are live broadcasted via www.ocaatv.com.
