SARNIA, ON - The struggling Lambton Lions came into the weekend with high hopes of notching their first win, but their visitors had other plans. 

On Friday the Lions played host to the #9 ranked Niagara Knights. Last season these two teams traded blows, creating an intense rivalry. Friday was no exception as the teams went shot for shot for much of the contest. Outside shooting was a high priority for both teams, as they combined to fire up 65 shots from range. However it was the Knights who shot the highest percentage throughout the contest, finishing at 36% from the field as opposed to the Lions 26%. The Lions grinded throughout the entire game, getting good opportunities and out rebounding the Knights but it wasn't enough as Niagara took it 78-68. 

Jason Marshell finished with a team-high 19 points and Branden Padgett followed with 17. Ousmane Kromah continued his strong campaign with 12, Colton Vaters had 11, Frank Benneh finished with 5, and Mark Lue-Hue and Xavian Edwards each ended with 2. 

Saturday afternoon, the Lions came out with a vengance against the Mohawk Mountaineers. Lambton exploded in the 1st quarter, jumping out to an early 32-19 lead thanks to strong outside shooting from Colton Vaters. The Lions showed unselfish play, moving the ball and finding their man in what was their strongest quarter of this campaign. Unfortunately Lambton came out in the 2nd quarter and played perhaps their worst quarter, turning the ball over and taking ill-advised shots that led to easy points for the Mountaineers. 

With Mohawk holding a 4 point lead going into the 2nd half, the hot shooting of the Lions began to cool. After shooting an absurd 64% from range in the first half, Lambton was only able to muster a 17% conversion rate in the 2nd half, creating easy rebound opportunities for Mohawk to bring the ball the other way. However the tenacious defense of the Lions helped push the ball back the other way as they stayed within range, coming as close as 3 points late in the contest. Unfortunately Lambton was forced to foul Mohawk and they didn't miss, as Mohawk walked away with the 93-87 victory. 

Vaters was the high-man for the game with 21 points while Edwards finished off his double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Padgett came away with 16, Marshell with 9, Kromah had 8, Jay Trojeok finished with 7, Lue-Hue with 5 and Benneh with 4. 

Lambton will hit the road for 2 this weekend as they travel to Toronto to face the Humber Hawks and the #2 ranked Sheridan Bruins.