February 11, 2023..LONDON - The Niagara Knights men's basketball team secured their third straight win in a 86-80 battle with the Fanshawe Falcons on Saturday afternoon in London.
Coming into the game, Fanshawe had recorded just three wins this season but did not go down easy. In a tight opening quarter, The Knights managed to keep the Falcons at bay to hold a slim 24-21 lead to head into the second quarter. Fanshawe managed to come back and outscore the Knights 18-17 in the second but Niagara hung on to keep the lead at 41-39 at the half time buzzer.
Niagara opened the second half with a big third quarter that saw them start to put some distance between them and the Falcons with a 10 point lead midway through the third at 54-46. Niagara held Fanshawe to just 13 points in the quarter and held down a 76-56 lead to start the final frame.
The Falcons decided they weren't going down without a fight in their home gym and chipped away at the Knights lead to eventually come within five of the Knights 84-79 lead with eight seconds left. Niagara would eventually hang on to get the 86-80 win.
Delroy Grandison and Reggie Williams led the way with 27 and 23 points respectively.
With the win, the Knights move to 10-6 in the OCAA West standings which currently remains a tight race to the finish for playoff positioning. Niagara currently sits fourth with two games at hand. Should Niagara keep the fourth place spot after this weekend, they would be in a position to host a playoff qualifier February 25th.
Head coach Phil Mosley knows every win this late in the season is critical and requires a team effort.
"I think are guys are gaining some confidence as we put together some wins at a crucial time in the season," said Mosley. "We are getting solid contributions from the entire roster and our depth is starting to pay off as the season winds down."
Niagara has just two games left on their regular season schedule which will be played out at home this weekend. Saturday will see the St. Clair Saints (13-3) roll into town for a 3:00pm tip-off, followed by Lambton (9-8) Sunday at 3:00pm. Saturday's afternoon matinee will also recognize two graduating players from the men's basketball program - Williams and Grandison - prior to tip-off.
