(London, Ontario) – The Fanshawe Falcons Men's Basketball squad (3-4) came back from an early deficit and defeated the Mohawk Mountaineers (2-4) at the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre by a score of 93-82 on Sunday afternoon.

In the first quarter, Falcons rookie Aidan Whalen (Cambridge, ON) opened the scoring with a layup. Mohawk responded with a couple of three-pointers. Fanshawe stayed within reach with transition points from Edge Capuno (Winnipeg, MB), however Mohawk was extremely hot from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers had a 35-21 lead after the first frame, shooting 9/14 from long range. 

Ali Traore (Toronto, ON) had a strong drive to the rim to get the Birds off to a good start in quarter two. Dante Richards (Oakville, ON) then had made a triple and drew a foul for a four-point play to cut Mohawk's lead to ten. A beautiful backdoor pass from Aldin Malkic (London, ON) to Richards brought the game within seven points. At half time the score was 51-44 for the visiting team.

Adrian Stevens (Toronto, ON) quickly got out in transition with a layup for the Birds in the third quarter. Stevens then hit a triple, followed by a dunk that excited the Falcons bench to take the lead 55-52. A steal and bucket from Faris Adamou (Mississauga, ON) continued the strong play for Fanshawe. Amadis McKay Nodarse (Winnipeg, MB) hit a three to put the red and white up three points, however Mohawk hit a triple of their own at the third quarter buzzer to tie the game at 70.

Stevens continued his impressive play in the fourth frame, hitting another three-pointer, then finding Traore for a layup in the paint. Malkic controlled the defensive glass for the Falcons, and had back-to-back takes to the rim to put Fanshawe up 84-75 mid-quarter. Mohawk attempted to press but the Falcons attacked the pressure, with Capuno scoring a couple easy layups. A block from Whalen secured the win for Fanshawe, 93-82. Five Falcons scored in double digits including Stevens (21), Richards (17), Traore (15), Capuno (11) and Whalen (10). Malkic and Adamou contributed 11 rebounds each.

The Falcons will have a quick turnaround and travel to Brampton to face the Sheridan Bruins (3-4) on Tuesday, March 1 at 8:00 p.m. The game can be streamed at www.fanshawefalcons.ca/watchlive.

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