DURHAM 74, GEORGIAN 61

BARRIE, Ont. - The Georgian Grizzlies men's and women's basketball teams welcomed the Durham Lords on Friday night and their guests were anything but friendly.

In a battle between the top two seeds in the OCAA east division standings, the Grizzlies men's team came out to a great start jumping out to a 21-13 lead by the end of the first quarter.

As hot as the Grizzlies were in the first quarter, the Lords were in the second erasing Georgian's eight-point lead and gaining themselves a seven point lead by halftime 38-31.

The second half started cold again for the Grizzlies as they found themselves down by 16 points in the third quarter. Georgian showed their resiliency chipping away at the Lords lead getting to as close as a four-point deficit with less than five minutes to play.

Unfortunately for the Grizzlies that was as close as they could come as the Lords pulled away late for an 84-70 final for Durham.

Rookie guard Jonathan Edwards (Mississauga, Ont.) had a season-high 22 points in the loss for the Grizzlies.

The Lords were led by fifth-year veteran Eric Smith (Ajax, Ont.) who had 23 points and rookie Aaron Hayles (Pickering, Ont.) who had 21 points in Durham's seventh straight victory.

The Grizzlies now trail the Lords by three games for first in the east and also have to worry about the fast charging St Lawrence-Kingston Vikings who are just one win back with a game in hand.

It was a similar end for the Grizzlies women's team as a frustrating second and third quarter saw the game slip away from their reach in a 74-60 victory for the Lords. A late game surge by the Grizzlies pulled them closer but the Lords, who led by as many as 25 points, couldn't be overcome.

Mackenzie Merkley (Guelph, Ont.) continued her strong play as of late scoring a team-high 14 points while Grizzlies teammate Hannah Pearsall (Guelph, Ont.) had 12 points.

Rookie Kelsey Dunkeld (Barrie, Ont.) had another impressive game for Georgian with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Grizzlies had no answers for a pair of three-year veterans from Durham. Lindsay Panchan (Ajax, Ont.) had 21 points while teammate Kayla Marshall (Ottawa) had 18 points accounting for over half the Lords offence.

Georgian's basketball teams will be back in action this Tuesday night for a pair of big games when they travel to face the Seneca Sting. The Grizzlies will play their next home game Saturday, Feb. 7 when they face the Fleming Knights.

Source: Georgian College

BARRIE, Ont. - The Durham College women's basketball team has benefitted from having Lindsay Panchan (Ajax, Ont.) back in the lineup this week as the first-year guard has led the team offensively in both games this week.

Panchan had 31 points in Tuesday's loss the Centennial Colts, her first conference game since December.

On Friday night in Barrie she led the Lords with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for back-to-back games with a double-double.

Kayla Marshall (Ottawa) was five points off her season-high with 18 points in the contest. She added six assists and two rebounds.

Mackenzie Merkley led Georgian with 14 points, while Hannah Pearsall picked up 12. Kelsey Dunkeld was the rebound leader on the night with seven.

Durham led the contest 18-16 after the first quarter and 42-28 at halftime. The Lords outscored the Grizzlies 17-11 in the third before Georgian outscored Durham 22-15 to close the gap slightly in the fourth and final quarter.

The win puts Durham College two points back of Centennial for third in the OCAA East Division and eight points behind first-place St. Lawrence, which plays the Lords on Wednesday in Kingston, Ont.

Source: Durham College