Box Score OSHAWA, Ont. - The Durham College men's basketball team defeated the St. Lawrence Vikings 79-65 on Friday night to earn their seventh win in nine games.
 
This was their first meeting of the 2017-18 OCAA regular season, although the Lords played the Vikings in the semifinals of the David Stewart Tip Off Tournament – a game that Durham won 74-57.
 
Durham jumped ahead to a 16-10 lead in the first quarter and hit two shots in the first 30 seconds of the second quarter to force the Vikings to take a timeout to calm things down. Heading into halftime with a 39-32 lead, Dondre Huggins (Scarborough, Ont.) was the lone player in the game in double digits at 11 points. The Lords were benefiting from a strong field goal percentage in the half as they shot 48.4 per cent while the Vikings were only shooting 30 per cent.
 
Looking to comeback and build on a three-game winning streak, the Vikings came out of the break applying a lot of physical pressure defensively and taking advantage of open shots. That didn't stop the Lords from battling just as hard to lead 58-49 after three quarters.
 
The fourth quarter was close but the Vikings could not stop enough Durham offensive drives in order to cut away at the deficit and the Lords held on for a 79-65 win.
 
Brandon Halliburton (Brampton, Ont.) – the OCAA leader in points per game continued his hot season with 23 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals against the Vikings. Dondre Huggins (Scarborough, Ont.) shot 7-for-13 for 17 points in his team-leading 37:02 of play.
 
St. Lawrence's leading scorer was Brad Richards with 15 points and a game-leading 13 rebounds.
 
Durham has reached seven wins in the shortest amount of time since their 2014-15 OCAA bronze medal season.
 
The Lords will host the unbeaten Seneca Sting on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at the CRWC as Durham will look to close an already small gap at the top of the OCAA's east region.
 
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS
Overall Record: 10-3
Conference Record: 7-2
 
Next Game: Wednesday, Nov. 29 vs. Seneca Sting (8 PM – CRWC)