SARNIA, ON - In front of a capacity crowd, the Lambton Lions couldn't slow down the Falcon attack as they fell to Fanshawe 102-75. In what was the home opener for the Men's team, the night started in great spirits.
It began with the Lambton College 50th Anniversary Ceremonial Tip-off, featuring Lambton Hall of Fame members Steve Pepper and Dave Gotts. Pepper was involved with the basketball team for over 2 decades, which included 4 years as a player, 2 as an assistant coach, and 18 as the head coach. As a player he was named Varsity Athlete of the year in 1990-91, and as a coach was named the OCAA West Division Coach of the Year twice. Gotts was the longstanding Athletic Director for Lambton and played an integral role throughout the OCAA. He sat as Vice President, was on the Executive Committee for two terms, and chaired multiple committees over his tenure. To complete the ceremony, veteran guards Branden Padgett and Jason Marshell unveiled last seasons Bronze Medal Banner, highlighting the achievements of the 2015-16 team.
When the official tip-off was thrown, an intense battle began. A couple 3-point makes from Ousmane Kromah had the Lions out to an early lead, but the Falcons showed they wouldn't back down. Both teams traded blows, with the lead changing hands multiple times throughout the first half. Defense was certainly not at the forefront, as both Lambton and Fanshawe shot over 45% from the field in the first half with the Falcons holding the 4-point advantage going into the break.
It seemed like a different team emerged from Fanshawe's locker room in the 2nd half, as they turned up their defensive effort to completely stifle the Lions. Lambton looked fatigued at times in their defensive end, putting the Falcons on the line 20 times in the 2nd half as opposed to just 5 attempts for the Lions. Strong indivudal efforts from Padgett (21 points) and Marshell (16 points) didn't prove enough as Fanshawe swelled the lead up to 102-75 for the victory.
Other Lambton players on the scoresheet were Kromah with 9, Jay Trojek ad Mark Lue-Hue with 8 each, Frank Benneh with 6, Colton Vaters with 3, and Xavian Edwards and Tanoundy Sylla with 2.
The Lions look to get in the win column this week when they host the Niagara Knights Friday at 8:00PM and the Mohawk Mountaineers Saturday at 3:00PM.