The Niagara Knights men's basketball program (7-3, 4th OCAA West) will look to open 2018 with a victory when they host the UTM Eagles (0-9, 11th OCAA West) Friday, January 12th. The Knights will look to extend their winning streak to three after collecting back-to-back December home victories over Humber and Fanshawe. The last meeting between the two west division programs resulted in a dominating 81-58 Knights' victory.
Friday night will also see the Knights celebrate Fall Sport Grad night, honouring the graduating members of Niagara's fall varsity programs. The graduating members include Marc-Andre Boucher (Soccer), Carlos Williams (Soccer), Tyler Stranges (Soccer), Brianna Pietrangelo (Soccer), Nicholas Goffredo (Cross Country), Josh Turner (Cross Country), Abegale Rodrigues (Cross Country), Leah Hosack (Cross Country), and Letisha Vantresca (Cross Country). Niagara College would like to thank each athlete for their respective contribution to the success and continued development of their varsity program.
After contributing strong performances in the month of December, the Knights will look to their veteran's Jordan Wilson (Nassau, Bahamas) and Van Hutchinson Jr. (Nassau, Bahamas) to lead the Knights to their third victory in as many games. Their hot play as of late has resulted in in the Knights positioning themselves comfortably in the upper tier of the ultra-competitive OCAA west division.
If the Knights hope to find success against the visiting Eagles, the must find a way to shut down their star 1st year forward Zamam Khan. The rookie out of Ottawa, Ontario is having an incredible year for the Eagles, leading the OCAA with 25.8 points per game while contributing 11.8 rebounds.
Tip-off for Friday night's west division battle is set for 8pm at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre.