OSHAWA, Ont. – After suffering a 28-point loss in North Bay, Durham College men's basketball head coach Desmond Rowley was hoping his team would bounce back with a strong defensive effort. His team would respond in a big way at home Friday night as the Lords pulled out a 68-59 win over Loyalist College.
 
Durham's defence would hold Loyalist to just 23 points in the first half, with the Lancers scoring 11 and 12 points in the first and second quarters respectively. Although they were not able to keep the Loyalist offence running at that pace, Durham's defence still did a good job of defending as they held the Lancers to just 59 points in the game.
 
With the game tied at 35-35, Durham ended the third quarter on a 12-4 run to take an eight-point lead. The Lords would not relinquish the lead outscoring Loyalist 21-20 over the final 10 minutes to pick up their second win of the year.
 
Durham had a good night shooting three-pointers as they were 9-for-17. Rashaun Bennett (Scarborough, Ont.) and Noah Korovesi (Scarborough, Ont.) were each 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
 
Aaron Hayles (Pickering, Ont.) had a big night for the Lords recording 22 points while picking up seven assists and two steals.
 
Bennett was 6-for-9 from the field for 16 points while Korovesi and Awil Weheliye (Toronto, Ont.) had 11 and 10 points apiece. Lords veteran Darian Rowe (Maple, Ont.) had eight points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
 
Funsho Dimeji had a double-double for Loyalist with 13 points and 11 rebounds while Jayvon Grant-Lake scored a team-high 19-point performance.
 
Durham (2-3) is tied with six-teams in the OCAA eastern conference with four points apiece.
 
The Lords will be on the road on Saturday for their annual exhibition game against the Hilbert Hawks in Hamburg, N.Y.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS
Overall Record: 3-6
Conference Record: 2-3
 
Next Game: Saturday, Nov. 7 @ Hilbert (4 p.m.)