After an up and down preseason that saw the Niagara College men's basketball (2-0, 2nd West) program finish 4-3, the Knights began the 2015-16 OCAA regular season with back-to-back road games against the Cambrian Golden Shield (0-2, 8th West).
Behind fourth-year forward Marako Lundy (Nassau), who scored 23 points in 16 minutes of action, the Knights took game one impressively, by a score of 99-68. Mississauga native Jordon McDonald finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds, recording a double-double in his first OCAA game. Defensively, second-year guard Lequan Hylton (Mississauga) led the team with four steals.
Upset after losing game one, Cambrian came out determined to win game two. Niagara played aggressive defence, however shots continued to fall for the Golden Shield. In the third quarter, Cambrian grabbed their first lead but Niagara would not let them have it for long, as they rallied to a 98-81 win.
Despite Cambrian shooting 51.6% from the floor, Niagara earned the victory by playing aggressively on both ends of the court, winning the hustle stats. The Knights were more aggressive on the boards (45-35), forcing turnovers (15-27), and second chance points (18-4).
Once again, Niagara was led offensively by six-foot-four Lundy, who ended the contest with 21 points, including two three-pointers. Lundy has now made 74 three-point shots for Niagara and has moved into a tie for seventh place with former student-athlete Lamar Grant on the Knights all-time list.
McDonald narrowly missed starting the season with back-to-back double-doubles, finishing game two with 12 points and nine rebounds. First-year perimeter threat Alex Elliott (Welland) finished with 15 points also.
The season series sweep now makes Niagara 18-6 against Cambrian all-time, 8-5 when played at Cambrian.
Up next for Niagara will be their 2015-16 home opener against the St. Clair Saints (1-1, 5th West) on Sunday, November 1st. All Niagara Knights home games can be watched live at www.goknights.ca/watchlive. Admission to all Knights home games is free for all students and those under the age of 17 and $5.00 for all other spectators. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00pm.
