OSHAWA, Ont. – Opening their season at home in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre on Friday night, the Durham Lords men's basketball team fell 93-85 to the visiting Georgian Grizzlies.
Despite a close contest which saw 19 lead changes, it was the Grizzlies who came out on top, taking advantage of a strong second half which saw them outscore Durham by 11 points in the third and fourth quarters combined.
DC was exceptional strong in the paint, recording 60 of their 85 points down low, but Georgian's bench scoring (29-17) and point off turnover (25-18) advantages proved costly for the Lords.
The Lords will now hits the road for a pair of games in the nation's capital, challenging the Algonquin Thunder on Friday, Oct. 25 before matching up the next day with the La Cite Coyotes. Both games will be streamed on
OCAA LIVE.
• First-year forward
Gabriel Andre (Ottawa, Ont.) led the Lords in their season and home opener, notching a team-high 20 points on 10-for-14 from the field.
•
Tyrique Walters,
Romareo Stephenson (Markham, Ont.), and
Fioti Mabanza (Whitby, Ont.) each added 13 points apiece on the night for DC.
• Two Grizzlies broke the 20 point plateau in the victory with Tyler Vanessen scoring a game-high 25 and Jaan Bukhari notching 21.
• The veteran Stephenson added seven rebounds, three steals, and three assists, while fellow team leader Mabanza registered an impressive eight assists adding two steals and a block defensively.
• Coming off the bench for Georgian, Samuel Odzenma nearly had a double-double pulling down nine boards to go along with his 17 points.
Overall Record: 1-6 (W-L)
Conference Record: 0-1
Next match: Friday, Oct. 25 @ Algonquin Thunder • (8 p.m. – Ottawa, Ont.)
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