January 24, 2025
WELLAND, ON: The Niagara College men's basketball team (7-7) returned home riding a 5-game winning streak to face-off against the 6th place Conestoga Condors (6-10) Friday evening at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre. Despite taking an early lead, the Knights unfortunately fell to the Condors, losing a close 77-74 thriller.
Witnessing the Knights take an 11-point lead at the end of the 1st, it appeared as if they were ready to set it on cruise control and ride out the remainder of the game. The 2nd quarter, although a much closer affair, had the Knights going into the halftime break leading by 10. The Condors came out of the locker room and decided to give the Knights a run for their money, immediately putting them on their heels and outscoring the Knights by 7 points to end the third – bringing them within 3 points. The 4th quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with both teams trading points throughout. In the end, the Knights just could not muster up enough to close out the game, taking the 3-point loss.
Khayden Stewart, the 5th year guard representing Pickering High School, led the Knights on the court playing 32 minutes and scoring 22 points - Stewart also contributed 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. The big man from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Isiah Panom, showed why he's here and why he should be known – putting up 12 points in 21 minutes, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals, causing some havoc for the Condors offence whenever they went into the paint. Skylar Samuel was 1 rebound shy of a double-double, posting 13 points in 24 minutes, 9 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist.
Head coach Lequan Hylton recognized that this game was the tale of two halves and was reluctant to add that the team is "kind of battling the same issues we did in the first part of the season" (referring to the shooting woes as well as scoring off turnovers). He added "we know the adjustments we need to make, and this is a good learning experience for our team and staff".
The Knights look forward to some much-needed rest as they get the week to prepare for back-to back games next weekend. On Friday, January 31st, the Lambton Lions (5-9) come into town for an 8:00pm evening tilt with the Knights at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre. The next day, the Knights get set to take on the St. Clair Saints (12-2) for an afternoon matchup, with tip-off set for 4:00pm.
For more information on the Knights teams, please visit us at https://goknights.ca/landing/index
