Knights Men’s Basketball Team Suffer First Loss At Home

The Niagara College Knights Men’s Basketball team lost 94-80 to the three-time defending OCAA Champions, the Humber College Hawks last night in Welland.

The Knights would jump out to a 24-18 lead in the first quarter. However, the Hawks would end the first half on a 9-4 run and go into the dressing room trailing 41-40.

The second half belonged to the Hawks, especially the fourth quarter when they heated up from behind the arc and outscored the Knights 25-15 to clinch the victory and hand Niagara their first loss at home this season.

Alex Campbell (Brampton, ON) had a season-high 35 points in the loss for the Knights, including shooting 9-for-10 (90%) from the free-throw line. Rashad Morley (Nassau, Bahamas) had 14 points and 21 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season. Jimmy Bilenga (Hamilton, ON) also chipped in with 13 points for the Knights.

Meanwhile, Akeem Sween (Mississauga, ON) and Daviau Rodney (Brampton, ON) scored 22 and 20 points for the Hawks, who remain in first-place in the OCAA West Region with a 9-2 record.

With the loss the Knights fall to 8-4 and a five-way tie for second place.

Like the first meeting with the Hawks, the Knights three-point shooting, or lack thereof, was the difference in the game. They shot just 4-for-24 (16.7%) from behind the arc, while the Hawks were 10-for-26 (38%)

In their 80-50 loss to Humber back on December 2, the Knights went 2-for-22 (9%) from three point range.

The Knights will now have a 10 day lay-off before travelling to Brampton on Saturday, February 4 to take on the Sheridan College Bruins. Game time is 6pm.

Niagara beat Sheridan 73-70 in their first meeting back on November 30 in Welland.

Knights Women’s Basketball Team Humble The Hawks

The Niagara College Knights Women’s Basketball team defeated the Humber College Hawks 55-48 at the new Athletic Centre last night.

The Knights trailed 9-7 after the first ten minutes, but going into half-time it was the Knights leading 22-21.

In the second half, the Knights never trailed the Hawks en route to the seven point victory. Anita Cloutier (St. Catharines, ON) and Erin Graszat (Hamilton, ON) each had 11 points for Niagara. Kaitlyn McPherson (Welland, ON) had 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the double-double.

Atissa Cronk (Kingston, ON) had 14 points, and Kaitlyn Paulley (Sarnia, ON) pumped in 12 points for the Hawks.

With the win the Knights record improves to 6-6, while the loss drops the Hawks to 6-5 in the OCAA West Region standings.

The Knights will now have a 10 day lay-off before travelling to Brampton on Saturday, February 4 to take on the Sheridan College Bruins. Game time is 4pm.

Niagara beat Sheridan 78-67 in their first meeting back on November 30 in Welland.

Knights Men’s Basketball Team To Battle Hawks For First Place

The Niagara College Knights Men’s Basketball team will battle with the three-time defending OCAA Champions, the Humber College Hawks on Wednesday night for 1st place in the OCAA West Region.

The Knights Men’s team has a record of 8-3, and are tied for 1st place with Humber, Fanshawe, and Algoma. The Knights are coming off a weekend split in their two games up in Sault Ste. Marie. On Saturday, they beat the Sault College Cougars 98-70 before dropping a 82-62 decision to the Algoma University Thunderbirds on Sunday. Despite the loss to the Thunderbirds, the Knights have won six of their last eight games and a perfect 4-0 at home.

Meanwhile, the Humber Hawks Men’s team sport a record of 8-2 and come into Wednesday’s game riding a seven game winning streak. Their two losses this year both came while on the road at Sheridan and Fanshawe.

This is the second meeting of the year between these two teams. The Hawks beat the Knights 80-50 back on December 2 at Humber College.

Five-year guard Mike Dvorak (Barrie, ON) had a game-high 22 points including shooting 3-for-5 (60%) from behind the arc. First-year guard Alex Campbell (Brampton, ON) and second-year guard Jimmy Bilenga (Hamilton, ON) were the only Knights to reach double-digits in scoring with 13 and 10 points respectively. The Knights shot a dismal 16-for-66 (24%) from the field and 2-for-22 (9.1%) from 3-point land in the loss.
Alex Campbell has scored 172 points in 11 games (15.68 ppg) – good enough for 14th place in OCAA scoring, while Bilenga has pumped in 166 points in 11 games (15.1 ppg) and sits in 19th place amongst individual scoring leaders in the league.

Fourth-year forward Akeem Sween (Mississauga, ON) has 154 points in 10 games (15.4 ppg) for the Hawks – which puts him in 16th place in scoring in the OCAA.

Like the Women’s Basketball team, the Knights men’s team will have to protect the basketball in order to gain a series split this season and remain in first-place. Niagara is first in the OCAA in turnovers, averaging 14.6 turnovers per game.

“Humber are a very experienced team, with only two first-year players” said Assistant Coach Mike Hurley. “We will definitely have to limit our mistakes and shoot better than our last meeting with the Hawks in order to get the win,” he added.

SPECIAL PRE-GAME PRESENTATION
The Niagara College Knights Men’s Basketball team will be doing a special pre-game ceremony for fifth-year forward Jeremy Settimi (Hamilton, ON), who had his collegiate career shortened because of continuous knee injuries. His leadership and passion for the game did not go unnoticed at Niagara, and he will be sadly missed. We will be recognizing his contributions to our program with a short pre-game ceremony.
Admission proceeds from this game will be going to the Niagara College United Way Campaign.
Adults $5.00
Niagara College Students/Seniors $3.00
High School Students $2.00
Children 13 and Under Free
Knights Nation Members Free

Pre-Game Ceremony 7:45pm (Approximately)

Men’s game time is 8pm.

Knights set to battle with Humber Hawks

The Niagara College Knights Women’s Basketball team will be hosting the Humber College Hawks on Wednesday, January 25 at Niagara College’s new Athletic Centre at the Welland Campus.

The Knights Women’s team has a record of 5-6 and are tied for 6th place in the OCAA West Region with the Mohawk College Mountaineers. Despite coming off a 64-54 loss at Algoma University, the Knights have won four of their last six games.

Meanwhile, the Humber Hawks Women’s team are 6-4 and are tied for 4th place in the OCAA West Region with the Lambton College Lions. The Hawks had a six game winning streak ended last week in a 56-51 loss at home to the first-place Fanshawe College Falcons.

This is the second meeting of the year between these two teams. The Hawks beat the Knights 54-35 back on December 2 at Humber College. First-year forward Atissa Cronk (Kingston, ON) had a game-high 18 points and 15 rebounds for Humber including shooting 6-for-12 (50%) from the floor. First-year forward Miranda Ross (St. Catharines, ON) had 11 points for the Knights including shooting 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
The Knights fourth-year guard Allana Arundell (Toronto, ON) has scored 130 points in 11 games (11.8 ppg). Her 130 points puts her in 14th place in the OCAA. Second-year forward Shelby Johnston (Welland, ON) has pumped in 114 points in 11 games (10.4 ppg) – good enough for 20th place in individual point totals in the OCAA.

The Knights, who split the season series with the Hawks in 2010-2011, will have to shut down Cronk and protect the basketball in order to gain a series split this season. Niagara is second in the OCAA in turnovers, averaging 14.5 turnovers per game.

Admission proceeds from this game will be going to the Niagara College United Way Campaign.

Adults $5.00
Niagara College Students/Seniors $3.00
High School Students $2.00
Children 13 and Under Free
Knights Nation Members Free

Game time is 6pm.

Niagara College Athletes of the Week (January 16 – 22, 2012)

Miranda Ross (St. Catharines, ON) of the Women’s Basketball team and Yosef Zaid (Windsor, ON) of the Men’s Volleyball team are the Niagara College Knights Athletes of the Week (January 16 – 22, 2012).

Ross, a first-year player and graduate of Eden High School, had a solid weekend in a pair of games for the Knights. The 6′ 1″ center had 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the Knights 69-39 win over Sault College on Saturday. On Sunday, she just missed recording back-to-back double-doubles by scoring a team high 16 points while grabbing 9 rebounds in a 64-54 loss to the Algoma University Thunderbirds. Ross is in the Occupational and Physio Therapy Assistant program at Niagara.

Yosef Zaid had 15 kills and three service aces for a team-high 18 points in the Knights 3-2 loss to the Mohawk College Mountaineers last Wednesday. The first-year 6′ 0″ outside hitter is enrolled in the Health and Fitness Promotion program at Niagara.

Niagara College Knights Basketball Teams Split Weekend Road Trip

The Niagara College Knights Women’s and Men’s Basketball teams swept the Sault College Cougars on Saturday evening before being swept the next day by the Algoma University Thunderbirds in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

The Knights Women’s team defeated the Cougars 69-39 on Saturday evening. Eight of the 10 players reached the scoresheet for Niagara with first-year forward Kaitlyn McPherson (Welland, ON) leading the charges with 12 points on 6-for-8 (75%) shooting from the floor. Miranda Ross (St. Catharines, ON) chipped in with 11 points, while Shelby Johnston (Welland, ON) and Allana Arundell (Toronto, ON) each had 10 points in the Knights first OCAA league game of 2012.

On Sunday afternoon, the Knights Women’s team were defeated 64-54 by the Algoma University Thunderbirds. After the first quarter, the Knights would find themselves down 18-10. The Knights would rally to tie the game at 26 at the break. The Thunderbirds would hold a one point lead after three quarters before erupting on a 20-11 run in the final quarter to seal the victory. With the win, the Thunderbirds would win both games against the Knights this season. Back on November 6, Niagara lost 49-37 to Algoma.

With the weekend split, the Knights Women’s Basketball team record is now 5-6. They sit in 6th place in the OCAA West Region, just two points back of the fourth place the Lambton College Lions and the Humber College Hawks. The Knights will battle the Hawks on Wednesday, January 25 at the Welland Campus new athletic centre. Game time is 6pm with admission proceeds going to the Niagara College United Way Campaign.

Like the Women’s team, the Knights Men’s Basketball team would have no problem getting past the Sault College Cougars on Saturday evening. The Knights were 98-70 winners over the Cougars. First-year guard Alex Campbell (Brampton, ON) had a game-high 26 points for the Knights who jumped out to a 23-8 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Jimmy Bilenga (Hamilton, ON) and Ashton Stephenson (Brampton, ON) had 15 and 13 points for the Knights. Niagara would shoot 45-for-72 (62.5%) from the field and 4-for-10 from behind the arc.

On Sunday afternoon, Jovain Wilson (Pickering, ON) led the Algoma University Thunderbirds men’s basketball team to an 82-62 win over the Niagara College Knights on Sunday at the George Leach Centre.

Wilson racked up 25 points, 16 of them in the fourth quarter.

Algoma struck early, posting an 11-point lead by the end of the first quarter. The Thunderbirds held onto a 37-29 lead at the halfway point, and were up 13 points over Niagara going into the fourth.

Wilson said going into the fourth quarter he couldn’t help but be reminded of Nov. 6, the last time he and his teammates faced Niagara.

Algoma was leading 67-51 after three quarters that day, but the Knights made a dramatic comeback in the fourth, tying the game 77-77 and then dominating in overtime to beat the Thunderbirds 87-81.

It was a “tough loss,” that the six-foot-two forward did not soon forget.

“I watched the game film a couple times,” said Wilson.

He said he and his teammates believe they have since fixed the problems that led to that early loss, having faced down a similar situation against Sheridan later that month. He said he was determined not to make the same mistakes on Sunday.

“We just kept the energy up on defence and we played hard, we played all 40 minutes today, and it was a big win for us,” he said.

Alex Campbell (Brampton, ON) was the only player to reach double-digits in scoring for Niagara. He scored 18 points in the loss with 15 of the points coming in the second half.

With the loss the Knights record is now 8-3, which puts them in a four-way tie for first place in the OCAA West Region along with Humber, Algoma, and Fanshawe.

The Knights, who are 4-0 at home this season, will take on the three-time defending OCAA Champions, the Humber College Hawks on Wednesday evening at the Welland Campus new athletic centre. Niagara will look to avenge a 80-50 loss to the Hawks back on December 2 at Humber.

Game time is 8pm with admission proceeds going to the Niagara College United Way Campaign.

Knights Men’s Volleyball Team Fall To Mountaineers In Five Sets

Like the Niagara College Knights Women’s Volleyball team, the Knights Men’s Volleyball team were also not able to close out their match with the Mohawk College Mountaineers on Wednesday night, after leading by two sets.

The Knights would lose 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 27-25, 28–26, and 15-12). With the loss, the Knights record falls to 3-8. They are in 7th place in the OCAA West Region. Josef Zaid (Windsor, ON) led Niagara with 15 kills and three aces for 18 points. Cody McClellan (Chatham, ON) had 12 kills and one block for 13 points, and Zach Weening (Bradford, ON) had seven kills and five blocks for 12 points.

“Mental errors on our part to finish sets contributed to our loss”, said head coach Nate Groenveld. “We will also take a lot of positive notes from this match,” he added.

The Knights will look to snap their three game losing streak on Saturday, January 28 when they host the second-place Nipissing University Lakers (10-1). Game time is 8:00pm.

Knights Women’s Volleyball Team Unable To Hold Off Mountaineers

The Niagara College Knights Women’s Volleyball team were not able to close out their match with the Mohawk College Mountaineers on Wednesday night, after leading by two sets.

The Knights would lose 3-2 (18-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, and 15-10) to the Mountaineers. With the loss, the Knights record falls below the .500 mark at 5-6. They are tied for 6th place in the OCAA West Region with the Redeemer University College Royals. Jenna Bray (Burlington, ON) led Niagara with 13 kills and five aces for 18 points. Marieka Ouimette (Spencerville, ON) had 13 kills and two blocks for 15 points, and Lindsay Murray (Welland, ON) had 11 kills, one ace, and three blocks for 14 points, and a game-high 25 digs.

“Tonight’s match was an interesting one,” said head coach Joey Martins. “Going up two sets to nothing, playing nearly flawless volleyball, and then they came back to win the next three sets. Combined with our lack of play and their intensity, we were unable to close out the match,” he added.

The Knights will look to snap their two game losing streak on Saturday, January 28 when they host the second-place Nipissing University Lakers (9-2). Game time is 6:00pm.

57th Annual Tribune High School Boys Basketball Taking Place At Niagara

Day two of the 57th Annual Tribune High School Boys Basketball will be taking place today (January 12) at the new athletic centre at Niagara College. There will be eight teams competing in four quarter-final championships games.

The Denis Morris Redmen from St. Catharines will square off against the A.N. Myer Marauders from Niagara Falls at 3:30pm.

In the second game at 5:00pm, the Westlane Spartans from Niagara Falls will face the Eden Flyers from St. Catharines.

At 6:30pm, the Ridley Tigers will take on the seven-time defending champions, the Notre Dame Irish of Welland.

In the nightcap at 8:00pm, the Centennial Cougars of Welland will play the Holy Cross Raiders from St. Catharines.

Niagara College is in the second year of a five-year agreement as title sponsor of this historic tournament.

Knights Volleyball Teams Swept By Falcons In First Match of 2012

The Niagara College Knights Volleyball teams travelled to London on Wednesday night for their first matches of 2012. Unfortunately for the Knights, both teams lost to the Fanshawe College Falcons in OCAA league action.

The Knights Women’s team lost 3-2 to the Falcons, after being within one point away from winning the match, two times, in the fourth set. While the Knights Men’s team fell 3-1 to the Falcons.

Leading the way for Niagara was outside hitter Jenna Bray (Burliungton, ON) with 13 points. The former Fanshawe Falcon was playing in her first league game for the Knights. Three other Niagara players reached double digits in scoring. Marieka Ouimette (Spencerville, ON) and Nicole Schoonderwoerd (Tavisock, ON) each had 11, while Lindsay Murray (Welland, ON) scored 10 points.

“We found ourselves behind a lot in this match fighting back from 6 or 7 points down,” said Head Coach Joey Martins. “The girls never gave up, and made each set close and interesting. We must now bounce back and get ready for our next match.”

With the loss, the Knights record falls back to the .500 mark at 5-5 good enough for 4th place in the OCAA West Region, while the third place Falcons improved to 8-2. The Knights are back in action on Wednesday, January 18 when they host the Mohawk College Mountaineers (2-8). Game time is 6:00pm followed by the men’s game at 8:00pm.

Admission proceeds from this game will go towards the Niagara College United Way Campaign.