Nov. 18 Niagara College report
The Niagara College Knights men’s basketball team had a .500 week in Ontario Colleges Athletic Association play thanks to a 91-67 victory over visiting Canadore on Sunday.
“We were able to get the victory because our guys stayed focused throughout the whole game and everyone was able to play and contribute,” Niagara head coach Lequan Hylton said. “I also want to give a shout-out to third-year guard Adrian Pajor, who has stepped up immensely this season. We will practise hard this week to prepare for our road trip versus Lambton and St. Clair.”
Earlier in the week, Niagara dropped an 95-90 overtime decision on the road versus Mohawk.
Leading the way for Niagara against Canadore were: Skylar Samuel with 18 points; Raheem Dennis with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists; Khayden Stewart with 15 points and seven rebounds; Bach Yiech with 14 points and five boards; and, Isiah Panom with 12 points and five rebounds.
Top performers for Niagara against Mohawk were: Samuel with 23 points and eight boards; Dennis with 22 points and 13 rebounds; Kadin Moore with 15 points; Pajor with 11 points and nine rebounds; and, Panom with 10 points.
Niagara (2-4) is at Lambton (3-3) Friday and St. Clair (6-0) Sunday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s women’s basketball team pushed its record to 4-1 in OCAA action with a 64-55 victory over Mohawk.
“This game was a fantastic one for us, but it was less about the win and more about the mindset. Our goal beyond winning was to learn from our loss at Humber this past Sunday and have a game that reflected the team we are physically, as well as mentally; disciplined, resilient, and gritty,” said Destiny Pacquin, who was named player of the game after recording seven points and four rebounds. “I think we were especially happy with our win against Mohawk because we did just that. And we did it playing the physically strongest team we’ve played yet, in my opinion, and during a close and tough four quarters. We continue to want to improve.”
Head coach Kimbal Mackenzie was proud of his team’s resilience and grit.
“It was a solid team win where everyone contributed,” he said.
Topping the stat sheet for the Knights were: Janee Harrison with 22 points and eight rebounds; Taryn Mitchell with 15 points; and, Lexxus Bell with seven points and nine boards.
Niagara is at Lambton (4-1) Friday and St. Clair (2-3) Sunday.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The Niagara men’s volleyball team completed an unbeaten week on the road with a 3-2 victory (25-23, 22-25, 13-25, 25-23 and 21-19) over St. Clair.
“We love the five-set thrillers it seems. What a response and show of resiliency to come away with wins in these tight games,” Niagara head coach Steve Stone said. “Lots of contributions from a variety of guys. Full-team effort in this one which is a testament to our depth.”
Leading the way for Niagara were: libero Noah Trembly with 13 digs and two assists; Wizdom Smith and Rowan Redekop with a combined 31 points, 22 kills, two assists, three service aces, eight digs and six blocks; and, Matthew Perron with 37 assists, four points, one kill, two service aces, nine digs and a block.
Earlier in the week, Niagara defeated Redeemer 3-2 (25-21, 15-25, 25-22, 16-25 and 15-12).
Playing well for Niagara against Redeemer were: Rowan Redekop with 10 points on five kills, three blocks, two digs and two service aces; Matthew Takacs with nine points on six kills, two services aces, a dig and a block; and, Micah Nieuwets with eight points on six kills, six digs and two blocks.
Nieuwets, an Eden grad, was named Niagara College’s male athlete of the week.
“Micah showed great leadership in two victories last week. Niagara defeated the Redeemer Royals and St. Clair Saints, both in five sets. Micah combined for 17 points on 14 kills, 14 digs, two blocks, an assist and a service ace,” a college press release said.
Niagara (5-3) hosts Cambrian (3-3) Saturday at 3 p.m. and Boreal (0-6) Sunday at 2 p.m.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Niagara’s women’s volleyball team (5-3) had an up and down week, defeating the Redeemer Royals 3-0 (28-26, 25-20 and 25-20) and falling 3-1 (20-25, 23-25, 25-21 and 22-25) to the St. Clair Saints
“The ladies battled hard the entire way through and weren’t able to seize the opportunity to push a fifth set. We came out slow but really got settled in and were able to push back,” Stone said after the St. Clair match. “We’ve got to be more detailed in our execution and awareness. We do that and those tight ones turn into wins.”
Topping the stat sheet versus Redeemer were: Montanna Taylor with 23 assists, 11 points, five kills, five digs, four blocks and two service aces; Sam Cormier with 12 points, three kills, nine blocks and two digs; and, Tess Kelly with nine points, three kills, five digs, four service aces and two blocks.
Performing well versus St. Clair were: Abbey Gooder with 16 points, 13 kills, three assists, two service aces, seven digs and a block; Cormier and Natalie Little with a combined 32 points, 25 kills, two service aces, an assist, seven digs and five blocks; and, Taylor with 36 assists, nine points, six kills, five digs and three blocks.
Cormier, a Sir Winston Churchill product, was named Niagara College’s female athlete of the week.
“Sam, the current OCAA total blocks (28) and blocks per set leader (0.97), showed tremendous composure in securing a win against the Redeemer Royals and a tough battle against the St. Clair Saints that resulted in an unfortunate team loss,” a college press release said. “Sam combined for 30 points on 18 kills, 12 blocks, three digs and an assist last week.”
Niagara (5-3) hosts Cambrian (2-4) Saturday at 1 p.m. and Boreal (0-6) Sunday at noon.
