All things must come to an end at some point.
For the Lambton Lions Men’s Basketball team, they are hoping that Saturday’s contest brings an end to their current four-game losing streak in OCAA play. The Lions head on the road for an afternoon contest against the Niagara College Knights, with tip off set for 4 p.m. inside the Welland Campus Athletic Centre.
Saturday’s contest marks the second of two meetings between the Lions and Knights during the regular season. Lambton knocked off Niagara back in their regular season opener on October 18th, picking up the 84-75 win in Sarnia.
With only a handful of games left before the 2020 OCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, teams are jockeying for position and looking to build momentum with the hopes of making a run come tournament time.
For the Lions, they can rest a bit easier knowing they have secured a spot in the eight-team field by way of hosting the event, but they will be looking to turn their fortunes around down the stretch and build some much-needed positive momentum.
“We’re coming into the weekend trying to end the skid we’re currently on,” said fifth-year forward Jason Watts. “We’ve made some adjustments to better prepare ourselves for games, and I think they will pay off if we execute and play together.”
The final sentiments from Watts were echoed by guards Maleek Ekumba and Shak Seymour, and both said that a key to the Lions’ success this weekend against Niagara would be to limit the mental mistakes on both ends of the floor.
Both rosters will look considerably different in Saturday’s meeting than they did when the two met back in October. The Lions will be without the services of Tyvell Peters and Spencer Baillie, while the Knights do not have the likes of Jordon McDonald or Donald Mims listed on their official roster on their website.
Up front, Watts will look to continue carrying the offense for Lambton as they aim to end their four-game slide. The veteran forward leads the Lions with 16.5 points per game thus far, and he’s recorded double-digit points in all but one regular season game in 2019-20. His 9.4 rebounds per game also lead the team, and he sits tied for 6th in the OCAA in rebounding.
Watts enters Saturday’s game on the verge of a career milestone. He currently sits with 99 career three-pointers made, with number 100 likely to fall at some point on Saturday afternoon.
The Knights are coming into Saturday’s tilt on the heels of a 99-82 loss to Sheridan. Niagara found themselves down early, but they fought their way back in the second half to close the gap. Kennon Larmand will look to continue his strong play as of late, and he will pose a new challenge for the Lions as he didn’t play in their first meeting.
With the playoff race heating up, the Knights will be looking for positive results as they find themselves in a race for the final playoff spot in the West Division. The Lions, on the other hand, will be looking to build momentum ahead of the 2020 OCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
Tip off on Saturday is set for 4 p.m.