KINGSTON, Ont. - The St. Lawrence College (SLC) men's basketball team faced the fifth place Seneca College Sting on Friday, Jan. 10, in both teams first Ontario Colleges Athletics Association (OCAA) regular season game of 2014.

In the previous match up between the two teams, the Sting squeaked out an 81-79 victory in Toronto. This time, however, SLC won 81-72 to split the season series.

Looking to avoid a repeat defeat, the Vikings played a quick first half, not showing any sign of being a sluggish team that had just been off for four weeks. It also showed on the stat sheet, as SLC shot over 60 per cent in the first 20 minutes of play. Five-year veteran Terence Thomas would go 2-of-4 from the three-point line, and rookie, Andrew Dawkins recorded 12 points in just 13 minutes of action.

The Vikings continued their strong play in the second half, with several players chipping in on both ends of the court. Thomas and Dawkins continued to get clean looks at the net, meanwhile, Chris Offspring and Donald Gibson rotated in and out of the centre position, dominating rebounds, and offensive opportunities down low.

"I thought we played strong overall, but down the stretch we checked out of the game and let Seneca back into it," said SLC head coach Barry Smith. "Seneca is a strong team and I think we may have caught them on an off night tonight. We cannot play so loosely with lead against a top five opponent."

The Vikings would finish the game shooting 51 per cent, with Dawkins recording 24 points. Thomas would finish with 19 points.

The Vikings next game takes place in Belleville on Friday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. when they face the Loyalist College Lancers. The Vikings beat the Lancers 74-59, in a mid-season upset victory, which featured Offspring finishing with 26 rebounds and 26 points.

Source: St. Lawrence College