February 17, 2024, WELLAND
The 4th place Niagara College men's basketball team took to their home court Saturday afternoon to host the 5th place Seneca College men's basketball team in the first round of the OCAA playoffs. The Knights started off strong with a 9-0 run to start the first quarter and looked comfortable holding onto the large lead outscoring the visiting Sting 24-18 in the first quarter.
The Knights were moving the ball around the court well and communicating defensively, but the Sting were able to use their bench to send in some fresh blood and change things up a little bit. Seneca outscored Niagara in each of the next three quarters, but the Knights were able to keep the game close right until the very end.
A last second tip of the ball after a weak rebounding effort by the Knights led to a buzzer beater basket that tied the game at 62 points and forced overtime. Seneca came out running into overtime taking momentum from that 23-12 fourth quarter and using it to outscore the Knights 13-8 in the final frame and squash the playoff dreams of the Knights men's basketball program.
There was a deafening silence inside of the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre after that final buzzer rang out and the cheers of the Seneca Sting left for the locker rooms. Knights players were comforted by fans and family members who were able to attend the game as they tried to come to terms with how the game fell apart right in front of them.
Head Coach Phil Mosley would like to add that he "feel[s] bad for 13 young men who dedicated themselves to our program and represented their school with class, sportsmanship, and integrity. I thought we executed our defensive game plan very well, but struggled offensively with poor perimeter shooting against their zone".
The team will take the next few days to rest and recover before looking ahead to next season and planning their offseason training. The Knights men's basketball program would like to thank their fans for all their support over the course of a turbulent season. We look forward to seeing everyone back out at the games throughout the 2024-2025 season when things start back up in October. Please follow us on social media (@nc_knights) or visit us online (www.goknights.ca) for all updates and information regarding the Knights.
