In front of a packed crowd in their home opener on Thursday night, the Falcons (1-1) won 99-94 in an exciting game against the Lambton Lions (2-1).
The Birds were off to a hot start against the Lions, scoring the first ten of twelve points in the game. Second-year Luka Philavong (London, ON) hyped up the crowd after knocking down a corner three in front of the Falcons bench. Lambton quietly took over the lead midway through the first, then rookie Azad Chahal (London, ON) hit back-to-back three balls. Shortly after, to beat the shot clock, veteran Terence Williams (Windsor, ON) added three to the Birds' score. The Falcons shot 75% behind the arc in the first quarter. Entering the second, the score was tied up at 28.
After a high-scoring first, the pace of the game slowed down. Captain Aidan Whalen (Cambridge, ON) came up big for the Falcons while gathering an offensive board and going back up to sink the ball into the opposing team's net. At the 4-minute mark, the score stood at 39-38 for Lambton. In transition, Philavong, advanced the ball to teammate Blake Roy (Springfield, ON). Roy finished through a foul in a show-stopping play. Edge Capuno (Winnipeg, MB) had the crowd in awe after a dazzling behind-the-back move which resulted in a two-point play for Fanshawe. The Falcons were up ten at the half and won the second quarter 27-17.
Philavong began the third with a beautiful up-and-under move, leaving the Lambton defender behind him. Philavong and Chahal then followed with triples in consecutive possessions. On the defensive end, Williams swatted a Lambton shot mid-air to record Fanshawe's third block of the evening. In front of the Lambton bench, Chahal knocked down his sixth three-pointer of the game and the Falcons led 82-74 at the end of the third quarter.
The visitors stepped in the fourth and took the lead with three minutes left, 91-90. Whalen recorded a crucial and-one play for the Birds to give them back the advantage. With one minute and nine seconds left in the ball game, Philavong increased Fanshawe's edge by four points off a sweet up-and-under move which sealed the Falcons' fate. The final was recorded at 99-94 for the Falcons. Chahal and Whalen led Fanshawe with 26 and 22 points respectively.
Next up, the men will face the undefeated St. Clair Saints (2-0) at home on Friday, November 3 at 8 p.m.
