ALGONQUIN 70, DURHAM 67

OSHAWA, Ont. - Leke Bankole's buzzer beater hit off the rim as the Durham College men's basketball team dropped a 70-67 decision to the Algonquin Thunder.

Despite missing their leading scorer Anthony Ottley, the Lords were able to score 67 points against one of the better defences in the OCAA on only 36.5 percent shooting. Durham led by 39-31 at halftime in large part by their willingness to attack the basket. In total the Lords had 20 free throw attempts and made good on 80 percent of them.

In the second half, Durham continued to play hard which was evident by their tough perimeter defence where they were able to limit Algonquin's three-point shooting to 13.3 percent. However, Algonquin was able to outscore Durham 19-9 in the third quarter, and outlast the Lords comeback effort in the final minutes to pick up their tenth win of the season.

Lords captain Christoff Pierre of (Brampton, Ont.) made good on 10 of 12 free throws and finished with a game high 21 points while adding four assists. Randy Osei (Brampton, Ont.) was 6-for-13 from the field for 14 points.

Algonquin's Garnett Blais of Ottawa shot 67 percent from the field and finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds for the Thunder.

In one of the more exciting games as of late, the Lord's will look to build off their valiant effort to make one last late season push to climb up the standings. The Lords are 3-9 on the year but are still in the middle of the playoff chase.

Durham's next game is on the road as they take on the Georgian Grizzlies (1-11) on Wednesday, January 23 in Barrie. The match against Georgian is the beginning of a four game road trip.

Source: Durham College