MBB | Voyageurs Drop A Heart-breaker

The Laurentian Voyageurs and Windsor Lancers went down to the wire on an entertaining Friday night of basketball as the Lancers edged out the Vees by a score of 81-78.  

The Voyageurs started strong. They went on a 10-0 run to lead by 11 with just 43 seconds left in the first quarter. They ended the quarter by outshooting (30.4% to 21.4%) and outscoring (24-11) the Lancers. Leading the charge were veteran guard Sam Ivey and Cedric Nga Mbiaba, both with five points respectively and Kadre Gray and Joseph Hlady with four and three points respectively. 

But, the Lancers came out firing in the second quarter. With the help of 50.0% shooting, they outscored the Voyageurs 23-18 in the quarter and cut the lead to just eight at the half. Leading the way were Thomas Kennedy with nine points and Jordan Fullerton and Telloy Simon both with four points. 

The Voyageurs had a miserable third quarter. They shot only 25.0% from the field, compared to their foe who shot 57.1%. However, their defensive efficieny was just enough to keep them in the lead when the quarter came to a close. Leading the way for the Lancers were Shakael Pryce with 11 points and Thomas Kennedy and Jake Polski both with four points. Similarly, Gray had a good scoring quarter as he added 12 points to the Voyageurs' tally. 

The fourth quarter proved to be a very entertaining one. Both teams went back and forth; taking and losing the lead. The Lancers put their foot to the metal and grabbed an eight point lead with just 4:18 left in the match. But then, the Voyageurs came roaring back cutting the lead to just one with 1:40 left when Ivey drained a clutch three point bucket. Eventually, the Lancers would get a three point lead due to missed scoring opportunities and turnovers. The Voyageurs, with just seven seconds left in the match, controlled the last ball possession and set up the play for Curtis Gordon to take the game-equalizing shot but his three went wide. However, the Voyageurs quickly managed to intentionally foul Jordan Fullerton who grabbed the rebound in order to give themselves a chance to tie the game. Fullerton missed both of his free throws and the Voyageurs came up with the rebound and quickly called a timeout to advance the ball up the court and gave themselves another opportunity at tying the game. Coming out of the timeout, Gray was handed the responsibility of taking the game-equalizing three point shot which, unfortunately came short and the Voyageurs dropped their first game of the young season. 

The Voyageurs will now have a week to rest and prepare for their next game when they will battle the Western Mustangs on home court on Friday, November 8. Tip off is scheduled for 8 pm.

 Wali Khan