February 6, 2023...WELLAND - The Niagara Knights men's basketball team hung on for an important 67-64 win over the Humber Hawks on Wednesday night in Etobicoke.

With both teams sitting close in the standings, the Knights took advantage of Humber's slow start out of the gate and dominated the opening quarter with a 20-8 lead to end the opening frame.

The Hawks seemed to come to life in the second, netting 24 points to close the gap on the Knights lead and close out the half trailing by 12 behind the blue and white.

A tight third quarter had the Hawks hit two quick threes to pull within two of tying the game. Niagara answered with two three's of their own and added one more to again put some distance between them and the Hawks. After closing out the quarter with back-and-forth play, the Hawks pulled with in seven of the Knights 58-51 lead.

Humber seemed to have the momentum heading into the fourth as they set the stage for a come back. Humber tied things up at 58 before going on a 9-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the game. Niagara, desperate for the win, pulled out all the stops to reagain the lead with 30 seconds left to play. The Knights hung on to edge out the Hawks 67-67. Both teams now sit with 6-7 records.

"A much needed win for us tonight on the road at Humber" said head coach Phil Mosley. "Our guys held off a fourth quarter rally by Humber by displaying discipline and grit in the last few minutes of the game to seal the victory. Our defensive effort carried us throughout the game."

Ethan Alino-DelaCruz led the Knights with 16 points, while Reggie Williams added 13 of his own.

Next for Niagara will be a Wednesday night match-up against the Conestoga Condors (9-5) at 8:00pm.