OSHAWA, Ont. - Durham College men's basketball head coach Desmond Rowley added two more key players to his line-up as Brandon Heath and Andrew DeGroot have committed to the Lords starting in January.

"The coaching staff is excited to have Brandon and Andrew join our team in January," said Rowley. "Both players have shown that they have tremendous talent and will be key factors in accomplishing the team's short and long term goals."

Heath is from Markham but played for Reach Prep Academy out of Jacksonville, Fla. At Reach, the 6-foot-0 point guard averaged 17 points and six assists per game. He was also a defensive standout averaging three rebounds and two steals. He is enrolled in general arts and science in preparation for business.

DeGroot is a 6-foot-7 forward who played for Bill Crothers high school in Markham. In his senior season, he averaged a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. Playing club basketball, he was selected to the 2012 York Region Media Group Tier I boys basketball all-star team chosen by a poll of York Region Athletic Association coaches. He will be enrolled in the sports management program at Durham in January.

There is a lot of optimism heading into the second half of the season with the addition of Heath and DeGroot as well as big man Dylan Pelissero. Former OCAA player of the year Eric Smith is also back healthy after missing seven conference games in 2013.

Sitting at 3-7, the Lords are two games out of a playoff position but have 10 games remaining in the OCAA regular season.

Durham will open up the New Year in a non-conference tournament as they take part in the George Brown New Years Classic from Jan. 3-4 in Toronto.

Source: Durham College