November 17, 2024
WELLAND, ON: The Niagara Knights Men's Basketball team (2-4) hosted the Canadore Panthers (0-7) for Sunday afternoon matchup at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre. The Knights outscored the Panthers 23-13 in the first quarter, and never looked back, earning their first win at home with a final score of 91-67.
Starting the 2nd quarter with a 10-point deficit, the Panthers came out strong, going on a 6-0 run and forcing an early timeout by the Knights. The Knights did not let this dampen their spirits as six different Knights contributed to the scoreboard this quarter, but were lead by Khayden Stewart's 7 points and 4 assists.
The Knights entered the second half holding an 11-point lead and looking to extend that. The Knights ball movement, decision making, and creativity gave them numerous scoring opportunities in the third quarter, shooting 52.9% from field goal as a team (9-17).
The Knights were able to keep the game simple and close it off winning the 4th quarter 22-12 and the game by 24 points. The Knights used a lot of their depth for this game, as we saw five different Knights score in the double digits. 3rd year Skylar Samuel scored 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks while 5th year Raheem Dennis put up 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. 2nd year Bach Yiech also had a strong game with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.
When asked about the team's first home victory, head coach Lequan Hylton said "we were able to get the victory because our guys stayed focused throughout the whole game and everyone was able to contribute".
The Knights will look to carry this momentum with them as the travel to Sarnia and Windsor for a 2-game road trip this weekend. They will play at Lambton on Friday evening with tipoff scheduled for 8pm and then head to St. Clair for a 4pm game against the Saints on Saturday.
For more information on the Knights teams, visit us at goknights.ca.
