Lambton College Sports Information
SARNIA – Fought to the final whistle but couldn’t seal the deal.
The Lambton Men’s Basketball Program dropped a hard-fought contest against the visiting Fanshawe Falcons on Wednesday night inside the Cestar Group Athletics & Fitness Complex. The visitors used a 14-2 run over the final four-plus minutes to come away with an 89-82 win over the Lions to open the 2024 portion of the OCAA season for both programs.
With the loss, the Lions fall to 5-6 on the year while the Falcons improve to 6-5.
Early on, it was clear that fans were in for a back-and-forth battle between the Lions and Falcons. Much like their first meeting of the season back in October in London, neither team was able to gain much separation from one another all evening.
Fanshawe opened the game on an 8-2 run before guard JK Thomas (Marion, Indiana) connected on back-to-back three pointers on consecutive possessions to knot things up at 8-all early on. Thomas’ two three-pointers kicked off a 19-4 run for the home side, giving the Lions a nine-point lead late in the first frame. Fanshawe trimmed the deficit down to six before the first quarter came to a close.
Little did they know at the time, but that nine-point lead for the Lions at the 1:30 mark of the first quarter would be the biggest lead for either team on Wednesday night.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter, where the Lions held a 67-65 lead with 10 minutes to play. Much like the second and third frames, the Lions and Falcons went back-and-forth as both teams were looking for some separation from the other.
Jack Thorup (St. Mary’s Ont.) hit a jumper with 6:49 to play, and Byanungu Ngakira (London, Ont.) added a layup shortly thereafter to give the Lions a five-point lead, an advantage they would maintain for over three minutes. Whenever the Falcons tried to cut the deficit down, the Lions had an answer on the other end of the floor.
With 4:15 to play, Jerry Wilson (Detroit, Michigan) got a layup to fall to restore the five-point cushion for the Lions, at 80-75. From there, the Lambton offense went cold, and the Falcons took full advantage. Fanshawe closed the game on a 14-2 run over the final 3:34, overtaking the Lions to pick up the seven-point road win, 89-82.
Thomas finished the night with a game-high 31 points. It marks his third straight game with at least 30 points, and he has at least 10 points in all 11 games this season. Wilson had 15 points on 50.0% shooting from the field, while Kaleb Deans (Brampton, Ont.) had 10 points off the bench.
From here, the Lions will look to get back on track when they head out on the road for the first time in 2024. The Lions will take on the Sheridan Bruins in Brampton on Saturday, January 13th. Tip off is set for approximately 3:00 p.m., at the conclusion of the Women’s Game beforehand.