ST. LAWRENCE (K) 106, LA CITE 93

KINGSTON, Ont. - It wasn't pretty but the 7-5 St. Lawrence Vikings men's basketball team extended their winning streak to five games after grinding out a 106-93 victory over the 2-10 La Cité Coyotes.

SLC head coach Barry Smith was less than impressed with his team's defensive effort throughout the game.

"I'm disappointed with how we played today. We couldn't cover effectively and it led to a sloppy defensive effort," said Smith.

After a tight first quarter, that had the Vikings pull away late with a 25-15 lead, the Coyotes began to capitalize on the sloppy SLC turnovers and outscore the Vikings 28-26 in the second quarter. Twenty-one of La Cité's 43 points had come from the 14 SLC turnovers.

Jaz Bains continued to add to his successful season, recording 20 points in the first half alone, as the Vikings relied on his production and three-point shooting from Andrew Dawkins who went 5-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Up 51-43 to start the second half, the Vikings struggled out of the gate as they continued to look sluggish on the court. SLC would produce offensively, with all five players on the court contributing, but still struggled to defend against La Cité, who did a great job of moving the ball in the offensive end.

However in the fourth quarter, after a La Cité timeout, it appeared a switch had gone on for the Vikings, as they showed more energy and aggression on both ends of the court. La Cité would continue to hit long range three-points to keep the score close, but the Vikings were able to hang on and win 106-93.

Bains finished with a team-high 35 points, 11 assists, and five steals. Donald Gibson recorded a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Dawkins shot 5-of-8 from the three-point line, contributing 24 points and eight rebounds.

The Vikings host the 6-6 Algonquin College Thunder, who are coming off a tough loss to Loyalist College on Friday night game. Game time on Saturday is 3 p.m.

Source: St. Lawrence College