(London, Ontario) – On Wednesday evening at home, the Fanshawe Falcons Men's Basketball squad (1-4) fell to the Lambton Lions (3-2) by a score of 99-98 in an exciting overtime battle.
Fanshawe opened the scoring with a three-pointer from Adrian Stevens (Toronto, ON), followed by a jumper from rookie Ali Traore (Toronto, ON) to give the Falcons an early lead. Lambton stayed within reach, but a layup from Aidan Whalen (Cambridge, ON) gave the red and white a 19-15 lead after the first quarter.
Fanshawe extended their lead in the second frame, with five straight points from Dante Richards (Oakville, ON). A nice reverse layup from Traore, followed by a charge drawn by Edge Capuno (Winnipeg, MB) excited the home team. A beautiful dish from Richards to Faris Adamou (Mississauga, ON) had the Birds up 49-36 at half time.
Lambton came out strong after the break with a couple of quick buckets, but a layup from Aldin Malkic (London, ON) maintained the Falcons advantage. Triples from Richards and Capuno continued the scoring for Fanshawe, however the Lions slowly chipped away at the lead. The score at the end of the third quarter was 64-62 for the Falcons.
Lambton continued their strong play in the fourth and took their first lead of the game. The teams exchanged points throughout, with Richards and Malkic notching points for Fanshawe. Late in the quarter with 22 seconds left, the Lions took a four point lead. With Richards at the charity stripe, he made his first free throw then intentionally missed the second. Stevens grabbed the offensive rebound and knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 85 and force overtime.
The Lions took a lead again in overtime, but Aidan Whalen (Cambridge, ON) had a put back to tie the game once again. Stevens made a three to give Fanshawe a 98-97 lead with 12 seconds left, however Lambton scored on a tough layup to take the game 99-98. Richards and Stevens scored an impressive 34 and 27 points, while Traore added 13 points and 11 boards.
The Falcons next game will be on the road against the Redeemer Royals (4-1) at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 25. The game can be streamed at www.fanshawefalcons.ca/watchlive.
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