March 10, 2022...WELLAND - The Niagara Knights men's basketball team saw their post-season dreams come to an end Wednesday night in Ancaster with a 65-62 qualifier loss to the Redeemer Royals. The Royals will now move on to the OCAA quarterfinal round to face the first place East Division George Brown Huskies on Saturday.

Things looked good for the Knights through the first half when they ended the first two frames up 14 with a 37-23 lead. 

With fans making their way back into the stands across the OCAA, Redeemer's notoriously packed gym was loud and looking for the home team to secure a win. The home crowd was treated to a fiery third quarter by the Royals as they went on an 19 point run through the third quarter, holding the Knights pointless until the 4:32 mark when they found themselves trailing 42-39.

Despite being hot on the heels of the Royals, the Knights were never able to regain the lead for the remainder of the game.

The final nail in the coffin came from a made free throw by Redeemer to put them lead just out of reach for the Knights, going on to with 65-62.

The Knights were led by Kennan Larmand with 15 points, followed by Delroy Grandison with a double-double (19 rebounds and 13 points.) Grandison finished second in the OCAA in rebounds per game with 12.7. The Knights were without sharp shooter Nick Yioldassis who led the OCAA in 3pt percentage at 52.9.

The Knights were bounced from the post-season in 2019-2020 in their cross-over game by the eventual OCAA Champions, George Brown.