February 7, 2024, WELLAND
The Knights Men's Basketball team (11-7) played their last regular season game at home hosting the Sheridan Bruins (9-8) at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre on Wednesday evening. This was also senior night for our basketball teams and the Knight's Men's Basketball program celebrated six graduating student athletes. Riley Bleich, Nikola Hrnjez, Raheem Dennis, Kenneth Reckley Jr, Khayden Stewart, and Mark Taylor were all thanked for their contributions to the team as graduating seniors.
This game started very back and forth before the Knights were able to go on a small run partway through the first quarter. The Knights won the first quarter with a score of 21-17 heading into the break. The second and third quarters were much more closely contested with many different momentum switches as well as some sloppy fouls, however the Knights were able to head to the half with a 4-point lead and then wrap up the third quarter with a 5 point lead.
The fourth quarter was a story of its own. It again was very back and forth with Sheridan scoring 2 points and then Niagara answering with a 2-point basket of their own. The back and forth play up the court and the momentum switches continued through this fourth quarter and the Knights were able to take a 7-point lead with 1 minute remaining in the game. The rest of the game was controlled by Sheridan as they worked to close the gap and were able to draw three fouls in the final 45 seconds of the game to ultimately come out on top with a final score of 83-82 for the Bruins.
Despite the Knights having four different players contributing points in the double digits, they were not playing their best defensive game and were not able to hold off Sheridan's demanding offense. The Knights were also not overly strong from the free throw line, shooting only 40%, however they were not given as many opportunities to shoot for free throws as they committed 24 fouls to Sheridan's 14. The starting 5 contributed 54 of the team's total points and Ethan Alino-Dela Cruz as well as Riley Bleich were able to come off the bench to add an additional combined 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Knights now have the week to rest and prepare as they wait for the completion of the remaining regular season games as well as their fate for their first crossover playoff game. Times, dates, and opponents for playoff games will be determined once league play wraps up on Sunday, February 11th. Stay tuned to our social media channels for more information on playoff brackets, seedings, and games. You can follow us on Instagram at nc_knights.
