The Windsor Lancers men's basketball picked up an impressive win over the No. 5 Lakehead Thunderwolves, downing them with a late comeback in front of a raucous home crowd, 92-85.
 
The Lancers trailed almost the whole way, but dug deep to send their lone senior, Chris Poloniato out with a win on senior night. The Lancers did just that and more, improving the Lancers to 10-10 on the season.
 
GAME STATS
The Lancers were led by Telloy Simon who dropped 24 on 38 per cent shooting. Thomas Kennedy and Shakael Pryce double-doubled,  as Kennedy put up 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Pryce had 17 points and 11 assists.
 
Lakehead's Laoui Msamby led the game in scoring, dropping 26 points on 69 per cent shooting.
 
The Lancers outscored the Thunderwolves 31-10 in the final quarter on route to their upset win.
 
GAME FLOW
The Thunderwolves got off to a hot shooting start in the first quarter, taking an early lead over the Lancers and keeping it for the whole quarter. The blue and gold however, were shooting at a decent clip too and earning plenty of trips to the foul line, keeping the game close. Though Lakehead shot an absurd 65 per cent from the field, the Lancers kept it close with timely shooting, most notably, two threes from Pryce and Simon that couldn't have come at a better time, narrowing the score to 29-22 in favour of Lakehead after 10 minutes.
 
The Lancers defense tightened up in the second, slowing down75-61 the Lakehead offence but the blue and gold also struggled in the second quarter. The saving grace for the Lancers was the charity stripe, where the Lancers went 6-for-9 on route to a 46-38 halftime deficit.
 
Windsor came out flying in the third as Poloniato caught fire and Kennedy rocked the rim on a dunk that brought the building to its feet as the Lancers made it a one point game. The blue and gold picked up the pace and looked to have the Thunderwolves on their heels. However, a  late quarter response from Lakehead, including two straight threes, forced the Lancers to call timeout, down nine again. The three point barrage continued from Lakehead and after three, their lead stood at 75-61 over the Lancers.
 
After the late slump in the third it looked as though the Lancers may be out of gas. The blue and gold dug deep in the fourth and pulled out a run for the ages. Simon nailed back to back three pointers as the Lancers began to shrink the lead. And, while the hosts started making their shots, the Thunderwolves went ice cold down the stretch. Another Simon three put the Lancers ahead late and set up Poloniato for a moment that could only be described as poetic. The senior guard caught the pass in the corner, set his feet and launched a cold blooded dagger straight to the bottom of the net, sealing the 92-85 upset victory over the No. 5 Lakehead Thunderwolves.
QUOTE FROM THE GRADUATE
"Before the shot, I just wanted to win," said outgoing senior guard Chris Poloniato. "After the shot, I was glad we won. I'm just so glad to be a Lancer."
 
UP NEXT
Windsor heads to Waterloo to take on the Warriors on Friday February 14th in an 8:00 p.m. tip-off on www.OUA.tv.