On Saturday, February 28th, the Niagara College men's basketball (8-10, 6th West) program went on the road to face Seneca College (13-7, 3rd East) in the OCAA crossover qualifier. In front of a hostile crowd, the Knights rallied late but fell to the Sting 99-84. Seneca jumped out to an 11 point lead after the first quarter, a deficit too large for the Knights to overcome.
Despite the loss, four Knights ended the game with double digit point totals. First year forward Delroy Grandison (Kingston, JA) led the Knights with 26 points, followed by Marako Lundy (Bahamas) with 14, Jo'hann Jenkins (Delhi) and Tenerro Ferguson (Bahamas) with 11 a piece. Reigning OCAA men's basketball athlete of the week Lequan Hylton (Mississauga) finished with a game-high nine assists.
Seneca was led offensively by Joshua Yorke-Frazer and Felix Adjei, who scored 28 and 29 points respectively.
The loss sees the 2014-15 OCAA season come to a close for the men's basketball program. Under their new head coach Keith Vassell, the Knights improved by five wins this season. With Aidan Alize-Minty joining the coaching staff, second year forward Aaron Chapman (Huntsville) was the lone returning student-athlete from the 2013-14 season.
Despite the fresh faces and lack of OCAA experience, Niagara improved this season in most statistical categories, including points (+10.7), rebounds (+1.7), and assists per game (+1.2).
Multiple first year players led Niagara all season long, including standout forward Delroy Grandison. The welding techniques major led the Knights in most offensive categories, finishing the season with a slash line of: 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, ranking him top 25 in the OCAA in each category.
First year point guard Lequan Hylton became the floor general for the Knights over the second-half of the season. A graduate of St. Joan of Arc Catholic School, Hylton averaged nine assists during the last seven games of the year. His 4.1 assists per game saw the police foundations major finish 11th in the OCAA rankings.
After taking a one year break, forward Marako Lundy rejoined the Knights in the second half of the season. After averaging 13.8 points per game in his first two seasons with Niagara, Lundy finished this season with career-bests in points (15.9), rebounds (6.4), assists (3.4), and steals per game (2.4). His return to the Knights was a major factor in their successful playoff push.
Another major factor for Niagara was Aaron Chapman. Over the final six games of the season, the early childhood education major saw his minute totals increase to over 20 per game. Chapman took advantage of his playing time, scoring in double digits in those six games, averaging a career-best 13.7 points per game over that span.
With the season complete, attention will now be focused on incoming recruits and returning student-athletes. After improving the men's basketball program in just one season, it will be interesting to see what head coach Keith Vassell has in store for the 2015-16 season.
