January 13, 2020… WELLAND – After finishing off the first half of the season at 3-6, the Niagara College Men's basketball squad started 2020 in winning fashion downing the Conestoga Condors (4-8) 93-84.
Both the Condors and Knights were hungry for a win to improve in the standings as the road to the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) provincial championship edges closer.
The first quarter of play saw both teams end the first frame all tied up at 15 aside, before the Knights managed to close out the first half with a 36- 32 lead.
Things got interesting in the third quarter, including a power outage midway through. The short break didn't seem to break either team's momentum, ending the third still neck-in-neck at 60-56 Knights.
Niagara would refuse to relinquish their lead, ultimately going on to down the Condors 93-84.
Knights veteran guard Lequan Hylton (5th year, Mississauga) led the way with 29 points on the night, going 8-16 from the field and 7-14 from the three point arc. Johnnie Richardson (3rd year, Niagara Falls) also came out with a big game for white and blue, netting 19 points, while third year forward Sterphone Augustin (Third year, Nassau, Bahamas) added 15 points while grabbing 17 rebounds.
Head coach Phil Mosley knows this was a big win for his team heading into the back half of the season.
"This was a gutsy win tonight," said Mosley. "Our guys stayed together and worked hard on both ends to secure this victory. We have had difficulty closing out games and tonight we battled and managed to hold off their second half surge."
Next up for Niagara is a trip to the Sheridan Bruins (7-3) home gym Tuesday night at 8:00 P.M. The Knights are 0-1 against the Bruins this season, after losing a heart breaker back in November.
