Saturday, February 11th saw the CCAA No. 4 ranked Niagara College men's basketball program improve to 12-2 with an 84-79 victory over the visiting Lambton Lions. The win secures the Knights an automatic entry into the eight-team OCAA Championship by way of a first round bye in the post-season.
The Knights appeared to have the game in complete control leading as many as 18 mid-way through the fourth quarter. A furious 19-2 run by the Lions closed the gap to just two points in the final 40 seconds. The Knights however maintained their composure forced a key turnover and eventually secured the hard fought home court win.
The Knights were again led by second year guard Van Hutchinson Jr. The six-foot-four native of Nassau, Bahamas stuffed the scoresheet to the tune of 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals.
Two other Knights finished in double digit scoring as Lequan Hylton (Mississauga) and Levi Mukuna (Hamilton) finished with 13 and 11 points respectively.
The Knights will face a tight turnaround as the team will host the St. Clair Saints (6-6) at 3:00pm on Sunday, February 12th. The two teams last met on November 11th in a game that saw the Knights walk away with the 90-82 victory. St. Clair is battling for the final playoff spot in the tight OCAA West division, and are coming off a recent 15 point victory over a strong Fanshawe Falcons team. Tip-off for Sunday's game is set for 3:00pm.
Sunday will also serve as the annual Knights Basketball "Grad Game," where graduating members of the Knights men's basketball program will be honoured centre court prior to tip-off. This year's graduating men's basketball players include Lamar Copeland, Lequan Hylton, Vicrum Kailey, Haroleon Lawrence, D.J. Morrison, and Payam Saboni.
