OSHAWA, Ont. – Far from the ideal way to win a basketball game – after allowing 12 straight fourth-quarter points by the Canadore Panthers – the Durham College men's basketball team erased the 12-point deficit and won 78-76 on Saturday night.
 
Funsho Dimeji (Malton, Ont.) scored the Lords' final six points, four of which were from the free-throw line, to tie the game and then give Durham a four point lead. He finished the night with 15 points and four boards.
 
Brandon Halliburton (Brampton, Ont.) led Durham's offence for the second-straight game with a team-high 27 points and eight rebounds.
 
Although there were five lead changes in the opening half, the Lords held the 31-28 advantage at halftime. The evenly matched game continued in the second half with the two teams finishing the third quarter tied 51-51.
 
Canadore then opened the fourth on a 12-0 run, forcing Lords' head coach Desmond Rowley to call a timeout to rally the team. Durham bounced back to go on a 6-0 run and force a Panthers timeout.
 
From there the teams traded baskets as Halliburton hit a three to close the gap to three, with Durham down 68-65.
 
The Panthers pulled away again with a short six-point run of their own – but the Lords didn't tap out as Halliburton put together a few more quality shots to cut the lead to two before Dimeji took over.
 
With one second remaining Tarez Hepburn dropped a layup as he was fouled. He couldn't convert the three-point play as Durham held on for back-to-back wins.
 
Hepburn finished with the game-high 31 points and nine boards.
 
David Okoroafor and Wil Konybai each were in double-digit scoring for the Panthers with 13 and 10 points respectively.
 
The Lords next action is now this Friday in Kingston against the St. Lawrence Vikings. Tip-off is 8 p.m.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS
Overall Record: 3-4
Conference Record: 2-1
 
Next game: Friday, Nov. 11 @ St. Lawrence Vikings (8 p.m. – Kingston, Ont.)