For the first time since 2011 the Niagara Knights men's basketball program (13-6, 5th OCAA West) is heading to the OCAA Championships. The Knights will open the tournament, hosted by the Humber Hawks, against their west division rival Sheridan Bruins (15-3, 1st OCAA West) at 1:00pm on Friday, March 3.
The Knights advanced to the tournament with a 100-80 victory over the George Brown Huskies (13-7, 4th OCAA West) in the opening round of the OCAA playoffs. The Knights now take on the top ranked Sheridan Bruins in the three day tournament on their quest for the program's first medal since winning bronze in the 2008-09 season. The Bruins begin the tournament as the OCAA's hottest team, picking up eight straight victories to close out the regular season.
After an up and down second half the Knights have found their stride. They closed out the regular season with a 78-71 win over the host Humber Hawks (13-5, 3rd OCAA West), before hitting the century mark against the Huskies to start the playoffs.
Niagara will lean heavily upon a balanced offence to try and get past the Bruins. The Knights had five players reach double-digit scoring in their victory over the Huskies, led by 19 from Marako Lundy (Nassau, Bahamas). Lundy has been the consummate leader throughout the season, averaging 19 points per game and setting a Niagara single-season record with 42 steals.
Friday's matchup with feature two of the OCAA's juggernaut offences. The Knights offence was one of the most potent throughout the regular season, averaging 86.3 points per game, third best in the OCAA. However the Bruins offence was less than a single point behind, with 85.5 per game on the season.
If the Knights can get past Sheridan they would face either the host Hawks or the St. Lawrence-Kingston Vikings (13-7, 2nd OCAA East) in the semi-final at 6:00pm on Saturday, March 4. The gold medal match is scheduled for 5:00pm on Sunday, March 6. All games throughout the tournament will be streamed live at www.humberhawks.ca.
