DURHAM 82, SENECA 74

OSHAWA, Ont. - The Durham Lords can still win a medal on home court at the belairdirect OCAA Men's Basketball Championship.

After falling out of gold medal contention on Friday, the Lords came back to best the Seneca Sting 82-74 in the bronze quarter-final, delighting the home fans at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre.

The Lords advance to the bronze semifinal at 10 a.m. on Sunday, where they will play the loser of the semifinal between the Humber Hawks and Fanshawe Falcons.

Dylan Pelissero (Oshawa, Ont.) threw his weight around at both ends of the floor for the Lords, as the big forward set career highs with 29 points and 19 rebounds, along with three steals.

Darian Rowe (Maple, Ont.) added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Eric Smith (Ajax, Ont.) contributed 13 points, six rebounds and three assists coming off the bench.

The Sting were led by their fifth-year players competing in their final varsity games. Felix Adjei (Toronto) led the way with 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Joshua Yorke-Frazier (Scarborough, Ont.) added 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while Jamal Boyce (Toronto) contributed 11.

Rookie centre Jesse McIntosh (Toronto) scored all nine of his points in the fourth quarter to go along with 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to extend Seneca's season to Sunday.

The game opened as a tight contest on both sides, occasionally trading baskets with neither team letting the other get away. Seneca's offence came largely thanks to the long ball, as they converted three out of four three-point attempts to take a 16-12 lead over the Lords through 10 minutes.

Adjei, in particular, had a strong quarter for Seneca, as he accounted for half of the Sting's offence.

The second quarter was also tight, but the Lords did get hot for a time, rattling off a 9-0 run midway through the frame to take their first lead of the game at 23-20 with 5:19 to play. The teams traded baskets from there, with Durham taking a slim 31-30 lead into halftime.

Pelissero led the charge with 15 points and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes as the Lords consistently worked the ball down low.

The second half started off with four lead changes in under a minute, but it didn't take long for the Lords to get hot after that, scoring 15 unanswered points in a 3:36 stretch to go up 48-34 with 3:22 to go. The Sting cut the deficit to nine in the final three minutes, but three made free throws from Aaron Hayles (Pickering, Ont.) with 2.6 seconds remaining, restored a 57-45 advantage for the Lords with one quarter to play.

Durham's interior play eventually got to the Sting, who got into early foul trouble in the fourth quarter. Though Seneca battled to cut its deficit to 74-72 with one minute to play, the Lords aggressive play paid dividends at the line, as Durham's final 10 points came on free throws.

Source: Durham College