The Lancers gutted out a gritty win on their home floor Friday night, defeating the Algoma Thunderbirds 73-68 at the St. Denis Centre.
 
GAME STATS
Lucas Orlita dropped 24 points to lead all players. The Thunderbirds were led by Nathan Riley, Marlon Lafortune and Michael Haptbourne who had 11 each.
 
Elijah Butler led all players in rebounds with 16. The Lancers were led Thomas Kennedy and his 14.
 
There were multiple double-doubles For the Lancers Telloy Simon had 16p/10r, and Thomas Kennedy finished with 13p/14r. For the Thunderbirds Elijah Butler ended the game with 10p/16r, while Nathan Riley put up 11p/13r.
 
GAME FLOW
The game started slow for both teams as poor shot selection and little ball movement plagued both sides in the early going. Despite this, however, the Lancers built up a lead for themselves and maintained it throughout. The Windsor defense was a force in the paint, with multiple turnovers when the Thunderbirds tried to the bring the ball inside. After a lacklustre first half, the Lancers closed the last minute on a 10-3 run fuelled by Lucas Orlita and Telloy Simon's buzzer beater, giving the Lancers a hard fought 33-20 halftime lead. 
 
The third quarter was tightly contested. The Thunderbirds cut into the Lancer lead, shooting far better than the first half. Elijah Butler was a force for the Thunderbirds in the third quarter but they were unable pull even with the home team. The Lancers were outscored in the fourth quarter for the first time all game, but Orlita came up clutch with a couple big threes to keep the Lancers ahead when Algoma got close. Despite the Thunderbirds making it very interesting at the end, the Lancers hung on for the win, 73-68.
 
UP NEXT
Windsor will close out the 2018-19 season on Saturday, February 16th when they once again take on the Thunderbirds in game two of a weekend doubleheader. Following the game, the team will make a special presentation to their graduating seniors.