January 30, 2023...WELLAND - The Niagara Knights men's basketball team were edged out by the Sheridan Bruins Friday night in Brampton, 95-94. The loss drops Niagara to 7-6, while Sheridan moves to 9-5 for third in the OCAA West Division.

Sheridan outscored the Knights 31-24 in the first quarter before Niagara was able to bounce back in the second to outscore the Bruins 22-14 and claw their way to a 1-point lead at 46-45 to end the first half.

The second half was again a back-and-forth battle between both teams with Sheridan ending the third with a 75-66 lead. 

Late in the fourth the Knights made a last ditch effort to try and take the lead, with Delroy Grandison hitting a three with seven seconds remaining on the clock to come within one point of the Bruins lead. With two missed free throws, the Knights had one last chance to take the lead on an eventual missed three pointer by Reggie Williams. Sheridan would hang on for the 95-94 win.

Grandison led the Knights with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Ethan Alino-DelaCruz followed with 21 points of his own.

"This loss stings," said head coach Phil Mosley. "We battled back hard to give ourselves a final shot for the game. Our defensive effort in the fourth quarter was exceptional and I believe the lessons we can take away from this game will be invaluable going into the final playoff push."

The Knights will look ahead to a tough schedule to finish off the regular season, beginning with Humber (8-5) in a Wednesday night road trip. Including Wednesday night's tilt at Humber, Niagara has just five regular season games remaining on the schedule before gearing up for playoff season.