North Bay, ON – Men's Basketball earned their first home win of the season Friday, November 14, defeating the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks 71-68.
Nipissing looked hot to begin the first quarter, as Alex Blackmore scored 6 points on 3/5 field goal shooting, and Jeziyah Excell-Johnson sank a 3-pointer as part of his 5 points in the opening frame. Alvin Icyogere added 4 off the bench. The Lakers held the Ridgebacks to under 10 points to start the game, looking strong on defense. Nipissing took the opening quarter 17-9.
Ontario Tech battled back in the second quarter to keep this game within reach, scoring 18. Nipissing's Alvin Icyogere was 3/3 on shooting in the quarter, draining 8 points. Ryan Helm sank two 3-point shots, giving him 6 points in the second. The Lakers bench was key in Nipissing taking a 38-27 lead into halftime.
Nipissing and Ontario Tech battled hard in the third quarter. Both teams scored 18 in the quarter, neither looking to give up any more than the other wanted to score. Defense was key in this quarter. Nipissing's Jeziyah Excell-Johnson shot 3/5, including 2/2 from beyond the arc, for 8 points in the quarter. Alvin Icyogere had another 5 off the bench. The Lakers took a 56-45 lead into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter got heated as both squads clearly wanted to walk away with the win. Nipissing's Alex Blackmore had 6 in the quarter, while Mateja Vukic hit a crucial 3-pointer down the stretch to help the Lakers maintain their lead. Ontario Tech battled hard, trading buckets with the Lakers, and cut Nipissing's lead to just a handful with under a minute to go. After trading fouls, the Lakers managed to come away with the win, 71-68, after Alex Blackmore sealed the deal with two clutch free throws.
Leading scorers for the Lakers were Jeziyah Excell-Johnson with 17, Alex Blackmore with 12, and Alvin Icyogere with 17. Excell-Johnson and Douglas Junior Owusu Ansah each had 2 steals in the game, and Chris-Evrard Malonga had 2 big blocks defensively to help the Lakers
The Lakers move to 2-5 on the season with the win. Nipissing looks to keep the momentum rolling in their next game on Saturday, November 15 at 6PM against the Queen's Gaels.
#GoLakers
