Jan. 21 Niagara College report

Basketball player Jordon McDonald is this week’s Niagara College male athlete of the week.

The Mississauga native had a season-high 21 points and added 15 rebounds to power the Knights to a 103-90 victory over the St. Clair Saints. The 6-foot-3 forward now has back-to-back 15 rebounds and has moved into third place in Ontario Colleges Athletic Association rebounding, averaging 10.8 rebounds per game.

Also contributing to the victory for the third-place Knights (10-3) were: Van Hutchinson Jr., 32 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to finish one assist short of his third triple double of the season; Governor Simcoe grad Rahim Bardi, a season-high 19 points in just 20 minutes of playing time; Welland Centennial product Alex Elliott, 14 points; and, Keveshan Padachey, 12 points on 4-6 shooting from long range.

“We played well in spurts, but need to be more consistent through four quarters,” Niagara head coach Phil Mosley said. “A different guy is stepping up each game and we feel that will pay off for us heading into the final stage of the season.”

The Knights host the Mohawk Mountaineers (5-6) Friday at 8 p.m.

Because of the snowy conditions, last Saturday’s scheduled game versus Lambton Lambton College was postponed until Feb. 3 at 3 p.m.

NIAGARA’S TOP FEMALE

Earning Niagara College’s female athlete of the week award was Hamilton native Jordan Koslowski.

The former Canadian Colleges Athletic Association All-Canadian won the award for the third time this season.

In a 3-2 victory over Sheridan (27-25, 25-22, 18-25, 23-25 and 15-11), Koslowski scored 20 points, including 16 kills, three service aces and a block. Defensively, the fourth-year outside hitter had a team-high 14 digs.

Her 20-point performance moves her into the sixth spot in the OCAA in points per set with 4.0.

Also contributing for the fifth-place Knights (8-4) were: Welland’s Natasha Desjardins, 15 points on 14 kills and a service ace; Zeniah Pinnock, 10 kills; St. Catharines libero Madelyn Berg, 12 digs; and, Melissa McFadden, 32 assists.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Bridget Atkinson 20 points and 12 rebounds to power the sixth-place Niagara’s women’s basketball team (7-6) to a 72-67 victory over St. Clair.

Niagara grabbed an 11-point lead at the half and hung on for the victory.

“We really started well, but didn’t play well in the third,” Knights head coach Mike Beccaria said. “But we executed well down the stretch and for the most part held our composure in a tight game.”

Also contributing to the victory were: Alannah Yates, 15 points; Thorold grad Hannah Baker, 11 points; and, St.Mike’s grad Rysa Delmundo, 10 points.

Niagara hosts Mohawk (3-9) Friday at 6 pm.

Because of the snowy conditions, last Saturday’s scheduled game versus Lambton Lambton College was postponed until Feb. 3 at 1 p.m.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The fourth-place Niagara College men’s volleyball team improved to 8-4 on the season with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22 and 25-16) victory over the Sheridan Bruins.

Since opening the season 0-3, the Knights have won eight of nine matches.

Performing well for Niagara were: Elijah Bugiardini, 14 points on 12 kills and two blocks; Jaydon Milne, 10 kills; and, Ben Fillmore, 28 assists.

Niagara hosts the Conestoga Condors (6-6) Thursday at 8 p.m.