On Saturday evening at the Toldo Lancer Centre, the Lancer men's basketball team came out with a 69-62 victory over the visiting Waterloo Warriors to successfully land back in the win column.
 
The win moves the team to 8-4 overall on the season, and into a tie for first place with the Laurier Golden Hawks.
 
STATS
For the blue and gold, Najee Brown-Henderson led the team from start to finish on the offensive side with an impressive 24 total points while Thomas Kennedy also made it in for double-double digits with 15 total points and 17 rebounds.
 
The Warriors were led by Raf Llorin with 16 points overall in the contest.
 
GAME FLOW
In the opening quarter, the Lancers kept early possession of the ball as they looked to press in this match-up. Down 6-1 with five minutes remaining, Quinn Carey and Yohann Sam both worked their way into the box to tip it in for a couple of baskets and equalize the game at 9-9. Warriors guard Raf Llorin kept the black and gold in the game, contributing 6 points off of 2 back-to-back three's, and Windsor trailed 17-11 at the break.
 
To open the second, Windsor came out on fire and Ziphion Grant made a long range shot to cut down the Warriors lead by 2. Putting some pressure on, Brown-Henderson followed up with a three of his own. The blue and gold did a better job at making baskets and Thomas Kennedy's shot in the paint helped carry the squad's momentum. However, Waterloo would challenge the Lancers by tightening up their defense and limiting their scoring chances. Kennedy went on to block a shot and back the other way hit a three to tie the game again, 27-27 with time of the essence. Windsor was able to take advantage in the quarter, outscoring the Warriors 18-12 to make their mark in the game. The Lancers went into the locker room tied up 29-29 in hopes to breakthrough after the break.
 
The blue and gold came out full of energy early in the third quarter as Sam went on a breakaway to dunk the ball and grab the lead for the first time in this game. Thomas Kennedy also made a move to hang from the rim and pick-up some points. With two minutes left on the clock, the blue and gold picked up the pace and Windsor held a 53-44 lead into the final quarter.
 
The fourth quarter saw both teams battle go into high gear with the Lancers forcing the Warriors into a 12-point deficit. Lorenzo Barbieri was active on the defensive side to steal the Waterloo ball and hand it to Ziphion Grant to put the cherry on top and dunk the shot. With the ability to apply pressure when needed, Xavier Ochu found himself wide open to make a shot outside the arc. After Thomas Kennedy's shot off the rebound, Windsor triggered the Waterloo's whistle for a quick timeout with 1:48 left. In the end, the Lancers pressed hard for a hard fought 69-62 win after taking over the court midway through the match-up.
 
UP NEXT
The blue and gold will travel up to Kingston, ON to face the Queen Gaels on Friday, January 20th at 8:00 pm following the women's contest. You can watch the teams battle it out on OUA.tv.