Knights ground Eagles in hoops
Van Hutchinson Jr. is the chairman of the boards in men’s college basketball.
So far this season, the 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 11.8 rebounds per game, tops on the Niagara Knights and best in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association.
Hutchinson had 11 rebounds, all but one on defence, and scored 13 points as the Knights defeated the visiting University of Toronto-Mississauga Eagles 89-64.
Niagara’s second win in a row improved the provincially ranked team’s record to 4-1. Only the 5-0 Humber Hawks have a better record than the Knights in the West Division.
Jordon McDonald had a gamehigh 15 rebounds and Livingston Bromwell 10 as the Knights won the battle of the boards by a 53-41
margin.
“Tonight we started strong with great intensity on defence and once again found balanced scoring throughout,” head coach Phil Mosley said.
Dave Morrison and Governor Simcoe Secondary School graduate Rahim Bardi netted 14 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench.
“We are learning how to trust each and share the ball, and that makes us tough to play against,” Mosley said. “We have two tough road trips ahead, and we will need to rely on each other more to handle the rigours of playing on the road.”
Niagara tipped off the doubleheader against UT-Mississauga with a 62-50 victory in the women’s game.
“We liked our defensive effort tonight,” head coach Mike Beccaria after his team snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 2-3.
Taking care of the ball is the first order of business for Niagara this season.
“This team is going to have to be a really good defensive team if we are going to achieve what we’ve set out to do, so it’s great that we are trending that way.”
Three graduates from high schools in the region paced the Knights in points: Hannah Baker, Thorold, 21; Bridget Atkinson, Welland Centennial, 18; Tia Stys, Holy Cross, 10.
Stys was the team’s top rebounder with 12.
“It also helps that we made shots tonight, something that was clearly problematic recently,” Beccaria said.
“We’ve been preaching toughness and rebounding as the way to move forward, while asking players to relax on offence and let the game come to them.”
Niagara travels west this weekend for twin bills against the Lambton Lions, Friday night in Sarnia, and versus the St. Clair Saints, the following afternoon in Windsor.
Lambton is 3-2 in both men’s and women’s hoops. St. Clair is 2-2, men’s; and 3-1, women’s; heading into Friday night home games against the Mohawk Mountaineers, 2-3, men’s; 1-4, women’s.
Volleyball
Niagara was swept up in winning on the weekend in men’s and women’s volleyball.
Head coach Tommy Sloan’s men defeated Cambrian 3-1 and Boreal Viperes 3-0.
Enjoying even more success on their home court at the Athletic Centree in Welland was the women’s team coach by Natasha Spaling. They defeated both the Golden Shield and Viperes in straight sets.
“Of course, it’s always nice to win, but I think the real victory for comes in our level of play,” Spaling said. “I have demanded a lot for our team in the past week, and every single person on this team contributed to these wins.
“I was really impressed with our ability to communicate, trust our system and, most of all, our grit to correct mistakes quickly and effectively during the match.”
Set scores in the women’s match versus Cambrian were 25-17, 25-16, 25-17. Jordan Koslowski, eight kills, two service aces, stuffed block, 18 assists; Natasha Desjardins, eight kills, service ace, five digs; and Zeniah Pinnock, eight kills, service ace, 15 assists; were standouts for Niagara.
Koslowski, 15 kills, service ace, 22 assists; and Pinnock, nine kills, six service aces, 17 assists; were key contributors in the sweep of Boreal — 25-8, 25-15, 25-18.
Elijah Bugiardini led the Niagara men with a game-high 16 points, Jaydon Milne and Micah Nieuwets 11 each in the win over Cambrian — 25-11, 25-10, 22-25, 25-12 — while Tristan Swinden and Milne had eight points apiece in the sweep of Boreal — 25-17, 25-20, 25-17.
Niagara improved to 2-3 after starting the men’s volleyball season with three losses.
“We executed our game plan very well for the most part,” Knights head coach Tommy Sloan said after the Cambrian game. “We made a few too many errors in the set, but overall I’m happy with our progress in this match.
“Overall, it was a solid weekend and it feels good to get ourselves into the win column.”
The women, 3-2, also are winners of two in a row heading into a Friday night action at home against the Redeemer Royals.
Redeemer is 3-2 and 0-5 in men’s and women’s volleyball, respectively.