(London, Ontario) – At the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre on Saturday night, the Falcons Men's Basketball squad (13-7) fell to the #12 CCAA ranked Niagara Knights (15-5) by a close score of 92-91.
The Falcons came out strong to start the game, with a smooth take to the basket from Salim Bagabe (Kitchener, ON). A triple from Moses Orozco-Rayo (London, ON) sparked a Fanshawe run to go up 19-9. Niagara was able to stop the bleeding with a couple of layups, however Chris Parker (Toledo, OH) would then go off for five straight points to make the score 27-19 after the first quarter.
The Knights got hot from behind the arc to open the second frame on a 9-0 run. A transition layup from Parker maintained Fanshawe's slim lead. Niagara and Fanshawe were both shooting an impressive percentage from the field after the first 20 minutes, at a 53% and 49% clip respectively. At half time the score was 50-48 in favour of the Falcons.
The teams exchanged baskets throughout the third quarter, with the home team getting offense from Alfred Johnson (London, ON) and Zach Soltis (Cambridge, ON). Orozco-Rayo then stepped it up for Fanshawe, scoring nine points in the quarter. Unfortunately, the red and white found themselves down 70-68 going into the final frame.
Parker knocked down a baseline 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Six straight points from Soltis followed by a put-back from Bagabe gave the Falcons a one point advantage. Niagara then made a jumper to retake the lead. Unfortunately, Fanshawe could not convert on a last second shot attempt and fell by a final score of 92-91.
Fanshawe will be on the road for an OCAA crossover playoff game against the Durham Lords (13-6, 3rd in East) on Saturday, February 23 at 8pm.