Having lost in a thrilling game to Seneca College the previous night, the Vikings men's basketball team was looking to put that game behind them when they took to the court against the Georgian College Grizzlies. The season series was split between the two squads with St. Lawrence winning earlier in the season 58-53, while Georgian recently won 64-68 over the Vikings, at the George Brown College Invitational.

The teams would battle for the lead in the first half, with a total of 10 lead changes occurring within the first 15 minutes of the game. Jahmal Edwards was sent to the line five times and went 6-of-9 and recorded 14 points and eight rebounds in the process. Getting his second straight start, Jon Visentin had a great half boxing out the opposition and distributing the ball offensively. First year player Nathanel McIntosh made a great defensive steal in the second quarter that resulted in a quick break for the Vikings. St. Lawrence would rally late in the second, to have a 36-30 lead.

Both teams would tighten up defensively in the third making every scoring opportunity a challenge, only allowing a combined 19 points to be scored. St. Lawrence would continue to dominate defensive rebounds, but were unable to capitalize frequently, offensively. Georgian would crawl back in the fourth after a pair of quick steals, to make the score 49-46. St. Lawrence would eventually settle to restore their lead with Emmanuel Bolamba making a pair of key jump shots.

With two minutes remaining, St. Lawrence would make a pair of turnovers that resulted in four points for the Grizzlies and a 60-55 lead for SLC. After exchanging fouls and another turnover, the game quickly turned into only a three-point lead for the Vikings with only 30 seconds remaining. Head coach Barry Smith would call a time-out but St. Lawrence would be called for a five-second violation.

With only 15 seconds left, the Vikings had another opportunity to score only to have the ball turned over once again. After the Grizzlies would miss a pair of free throws, St. Lawrence would control the rebound and Nathanel would make one of his foul shots. Finally with 1.4 seconds remaining and a 63-61 lead for St. Lawrence, the Grizzlies were left one last opportunity to score but Jon Visentin controlled the offensive rebound and secure the Vikings win.

Jahmal would finish with a double-double, recording 20 points and 14 rebounds. Nathanel also had a strong finish, going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 11 points.

The Vikings are back at it next Saturday, January 19 at 4 p.m. against the 5-6 La Cite College at the St. Lawrence College gymnasium.

Source: St. Lawrence College