LOYALIST 80, DURHAM 72

OSHAWA, Ont. - In a rematch of the first round of the David Stewart tip-off tournament, the Loyalist Lancers were able to reverse their fortunes and earn an 80-72 victory over the Durham Lords in OCAA men's basketball action.

The Lords managed to start the game quickly with their stubborn zone defence which held Loyalist to only 12 points in the first quarter, as they led by four points at the break.

Early into the second quarter, the Lancers tied the game up at 18 and never looked back as Loyalist went into half time leading 40-35.

Durham started off hot in the second half cutting the lead to 40-39 thanks to a slick drive by third year guard Christoff Pierre (Brampton). Pierre went on to lead all scorers with 29 points, shooting 75 percent from the field. Along with Pierre's offensive contributions, his aggressive style of play led to a couple of key Loyalist turnovers.

With less than two minutes to go in the third quarter, the Lords took their first lead of the half to go up 55-54. However, the Lancers quickly stole the lead with back-to-back threes, which may have been the turning point in the game as the Lords were never able to rally back from the five point deficit.

Although the Lords continued to play with high intensity, transitioning into a full court press defence, they still trailed by three with four minutes remaining. Loyalist would finish the game scoring the final four points to win by a score of 80-72.

With the loss, the Lords fall to 0-3 while Loyalist improved their record to 2-1.

Anthony Ottley (Brampton) led all first half scorers with 20 points. The Lords big man went on to finish the game with 26 points and nine rebounds.

Mamadou Sakho-Mutombo (Pickering) quietly finished one point shy of a double-double finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Patrick Kalala had a team-high 22 points for Loyalist while Zach Marcelline and Brayden Gohn had 17 points apiece.

For the game, the Lancers shot 49 percent from the field including 10-of-21 from behind the arc and 84 percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Lords finished the game shooting 45 percent from the field, 8-for-9 from the charity stripe but only managed to hit two of 16 three point attempts.

Durham's next game will be on the road as the Lords take on the St. Lawrence Vikings on Wednesday, November 14. Game time in Kingston is at 8 p.m.

Source: Durham College