Friday, January 12th saw the Niagara Knights men's basketball program earn their first victory of 2018 after defeating the UTM eagles 81-69. The victory puts the Knights at 8-3 on the season while moving them in a tie with Humber for third place in the ultra-competitive OCAA west division.
The Knights began the game slow, managing to score a mere 12 points at the end of the first quarter. Niagara continued to battle hard in the second quarter, managing to grab a 32-31 lead heading into halftime.
Scoring troubles followed the Knights into the second half, finding themselves trailing the Eagles 49-48 heading into the final quarter.
The Knights' offence found their answer in the fourth, outscoring the Eagles 33-20, leading the program to a commanding 81-69 victory.
"I liked how our team responded trailing at start the fourth quarter" said Knights' head coach Mike Hurley. "We came together as a group and found our scoring touch when it mattered."
Leading the Knights offensively was 3rd year forward Jordan McDonald (Mississauga, Ont.), who contributed a team high 17 points and a season best 18 rebounds to the winning cause.
The Knights will look for their 4th straight victory when they travel to Hamilton, Ontario Thursday, January 18th to square off against the hometown Mohawk Mountaineers.