November 8, 2025
WELLAND, ON: The Niagara College Knights (2-4) were faced with the Lambton Lions (4-1) Friday evening at the Simplii Financial Athletic Center at the Welland Campus. The Knights battled hard all game, making a charge late in the game, but they eventually fell 74-73 to the Lions.
The Knights had many players who were key to their performance tonight. Chris Spann led the team with 21 points, followed by Isiah Panom with 16 points. Both players became dominant forces in the second half of the game for the Knights. Spann also finished the game with an impressive 7 steals and 3 assists. The depth of the roster allowed coach Lequan Hylton to look to his bench and be confident that they could perform at the level he was asking them to.
The Knights shot 85% from the three-point line in the 4th quarter. This kind of performance was what turned the game around for them. They also improved to 69% from field goal range in the 4th.
"We felt great going into tonight. We were confident and really gave it our all," says veteran Kadin Moore. "We came up short; we started a little too late. At the end of the day, we can only learn from this game and focus on the next one."
The Knights did not have much time to learn from this game, as they were back in the gym Saturday afternoon for a 3pm showdown versus the visiting St. Clair Saints (2-2).
The Niagara Knights men's basketball team took on St. Clair as their 6th game this season - a tough-fought battle from 2 west division teams in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA). The final score at the Simplii Financial Athletic Center this afternoon was 85-76 in favor of the Knights.
The Knights started off very strong, taking a crucial 37 to 30 first half lead. The Knights came out much slower to start the 3rd quarter, going down 59 to 55. Needing a big 4th quarter, the Knights came out strong with a 12-to-0 scoring run to set St. Clair back on their heels with only six and a half minutes remaining in play. The Knights kept pushing and never let St. Clair close the gap.
Joseph Buckley had a phenomenal game hitting multiple clutch shots late in the game. Buckley put up an impressive team-leading 19 points as well as 2 steals, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds. Chris Spann who also played a stellar game put up 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals making it very hard for St. Clair to set up in the offensive zone. Skylar Samuel had some very positive things to say post-game about how this team is growing and developing as a younger team and how he has become a leader with the Knights. When asked about the clutch 12-to-0 run in the 4th quarter, Skylar commented that "the team talk was keep going; we had a bad 3rd quarter, but we got to bounce back in the 4th. We knew we were going to bounce back, and we knew how to do it".
This victory is the Knights' 2nd of the season, as they look to build momentum heading into the final few games of the first half of the season.
They will be back at home on Saturday, November 15th for a matchup against the Redeemer Royals in their ReuKnighted Alumni event. Women's basketball plays at 12pm, men's basketball at 2pm with women's and men's volleyball games following at 6pm and 8pm respectively. If you cannot attend in person at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre in Welland, you can catch all the action on OCAA LIVE.
For more information on the Knights' teams, please visit us at www.goknights.ca
