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LORDS BOOK A SPOT IN THE PLAYOFFS WITH A HUGE 64-63 WIN OVER GEORGE BROWN
Toronto (OCAA) – Book your ticket to London! The Durham Lords men’s basketball team earned a berth into the OCAA postseason as they held off the surging George Brown Huskies 64-63 in Toronto on Wednesday night. With the win, the Lords will now meet the OCAA defending champion Fanshawe Falcons on Sunday, February 24th with a chance to qualify for the OCAA Championship for the first time in ten years.
With a playoff position as stake for both teams, everyone anticipated the final game of the regular season to go down to the wire. Fans sat on the edge to their seat until the final buzzer as they watched George Brown come back from a 14-point first half deficit to tie the game at 60-60 with less than two minutes remaining. Not losing focus on their goal, the Lords managed to dig down deep and score the next four points to outlast the Huskies and win by a 64-63 margin.
After the Lords looked to be out of the playoff picture in January as they sat four spots out of a playoff position, head coach Peter Gordon did not give up on the season as he encouraged the team to remain confident and that a playoff spot was still attainable. This attitude reflected positively on the court and in the win column as Durham won six of their last seven games to move up in the standings and qualify for the postseason.
In tonight’s game, Durham surprisingly managed to stun George Brown out of the gate as they got out to a big 33-19 first half lead. Durham did a great job shutting town the home team’s top scorers as they surrendered a season low 19 points in the half.
George Brown looked like an entirely different team in the second half, as they cut into Durham’s to just six points with still 8:00 minutes left on the clock. Five minutes later and with momentum clearly on their side, the Huskies were able to take their first lead of the game at 56-54, stunning the green and gold that once held a comfortable 14 point lead.
Showing their resiliency and unwillingness to give up, Durham managed to bounce back to regain the lead (60-58), with just 1:30 showing on the clock.
After the Huskies evened up the score at 60-60, second year guard Sean Maingot (Ajax, ON) hit a big shot for Durham giving the Lords a two point lead with just thirty seconds remaining.
George Brown came up the court and missed an opportunity to level the score while freshman Liam McMorrow (Toronto, ON) scooped up one of his twelve rebounds, causing the Huskies to foul the big man and send him to the line with only 3.9 seconds remaining. McMorrow, who has struggled from the line this season shooting only 55%, came up big for Durham as he calmly drained both free throws to give the team a 64-60. George Brown made a hail-mary three-point at the buzzer, but it was too little, too late as the Lords celebrated their big win.
Rebounds were once again a major factor in the outcome of the game as Durham dominated the glass beating George Brown 52-37 in total rebounds. Over the past two games, the Lords held a 95-58 advantage in rebounds over their opponents.
McMorrow had his best game of the season as he netted 15 points to go along with his 12 rebounds. Coach Gordon noted after the game that McMorrow was a difference maker in the game as he did a great job clogging up the middle, causing George Brown to attempt low percentage shots from outside the perimeter.
Anthony Batchelor (Markham, ON) led Durham with 16 points on the night, ending his four year collegiate career with 1,524 total points. Nicolas Brown (Pickering, ON) and Maingot both netted eight points in the win.
The team will only have a short time to celebrate as they travel to London on Sunday, February 24th to take on the defending OCAA Champion Fanshawe Falcons (12-6) in an OCAA Championship qualifying match. Fanshawe, who finished third in the West Region, backed into the playoffs losing their final two games of the regular season.
The game on Sunday will once again be a must win situation for Durham as the winner will advance to the OCAA Championship, scheduled to run from February 28-March 1 at Mohawk College in Hamilton. Durham’s last appearance in the OCAA Championship was in 1998. Since that year, the Lords are 0-3 in OCAA Championship qualifying games.
GAME SUMMARY
Final Score
Durham 64
George Brown 63
Half-Time Score
Durham 33
George Brown 19
Durham Leading Scorers
Anthony Batchelor – 16 points
Liam McMorrow – 15 points, 12 rebounds
Nicolas Brown – 8 points
Sean Maingot – 8 points
George Brown Leading Scorers
Nathan Thompson – 16 points
LORDS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 17-13
Conference Record: 10-10
Next Action:
Sunday, February 24, 2008
OCAA Championship Qualifying Game
@ Fanshawe College (3:00 pm)
London, ON
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.721.3117 (F)
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca
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