TORONTO - The Durham College men's basketball team was within seconds of advancing to the final at George Brown College New Year's Classic but a desperation three-pointer off the glass by the No. 12 nationally ranked Huskies sent the game to overtime where the home side came out on top 97-85.

With Durham holding a four-point lead in the final minute of play after Brandon Halliburton (Brampton, Ont.) hit a three, the Huskies nailed one of their own to close the gap back to one.

Following a time out, Dondre Huggins (Scarborough, Ont.) was fouled and converted on both of his free throw opportunities. With Durham playing tight defence, the Huskies threw up a three-pointer that ended up banking off the backboard and in, sending the semifinal to overtime.

George Brown dominated the overtime period outscoring Durham 16-4 to book a spot in the championship final against the St. Clair Saints.

Halliburton was unstoppable as he ended up with 26 points, four rebounds and three assists. Julian Hinckson Jr. (Ajax, Ont.) also had a big night with 13 points and 16 rebounds while Funsho Dimeji (Malton, Ont.) and Tyler Henry (Pickering, Ont.) had 19 and 12 points, respectively.

Durham advanced to the semifinal for the first time in three years with an impressive 86-75 win over the Georgian Grizzlies.

Hinckson Jr. had 25 points and seven rebounds against the Grizzlies while Dimeji had a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Making his return to the lineup, Andre Barrow (Markham, Ont.) had seven points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals in over 34 minutes of play.

Durham will now turn their attention to OCAA conference play where they will look to knock off the undefeated Seneca Sting (10) next Friday night in North York. In their previous meeting that closed out first semester action, Seneca beat Durham 81-76 in overtime after tying the game with a buzzer beater.

Source: Durham College