Men's Basketball
Durham defeats Fanshawe 77-66
 
OSHAWA, Ont. – It's not the colour they wanted to play for on Sunday, but the Durham Lords can still win a medal at the OCAA men's basketball championship.
 
The Lords took an early lead in the first quarter and never relinquished it to take a 77-66 decision over the Fanshawe Falcons in the first bronze semifinal at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre.
 
Durham will play for the bronze medal against either Lambton or St. Lawrence at 5 p.m., the first time the Lords have made consecutive OCAA final four appearances since the 1997-98 season.
 
OCAA East First Team All-Star Ajahmo Clarke (Ajax, Ont.) paced Durham offensively, scoring 20 points while adding eight rebounds and six assists. Eric Smith (Ajax, Ont.) added 17 points and four rebounds, while Taurell Coutou (Toronto, Ont.) came off the bench to score 13 points and four rebounds and earn player of the game honours for the Lords.
 
Ryan Pflanzer (London, Ont.) earned Fanshawe's player of the game honours with 13 points and four rebounds.
 
Chris Stanhope (Markham, Ont.) also had 13 points to go along with eight rebounds, but the OCAA West First Team All-Star didn't have his best game, as he also committed 10 of the Falcons' 31 turnovers before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
 
It wasn't a solid shooting exhibition from beyond the arc on either side, as the Lords and Falcons combined to make just six three-pointers on 28 attempts in the game.
 
The first quarter opened at an even pace on both sides through the first four minutes as both teams eased their way into the game. The Lords picked it up midway through the frame, going on a 10-1 run in a 2:52 stretch to take an 18-9 lead with 1:24 to play.
 
Though the Falcons cut the lead to 20-14 after 10 minutes of play, Fanshawe struggled from the field, converting just four of 17 shot attempts and committing 10 turnovers.
 
Durham and Fanshawe traded baskets back and forth to start the second quarter, with the Falcons cutting the deficit to one with 6:56 left in the opening half. However, the Lords opened things up late in the frame, closing on a short 9-3 run in the final 2:28 to take a 40-32 lead into halftime.
 
Clarke led the charge for the Lords in the first half with 13 points and five boards.
 
The Falcons came out firing in the second half, starting the third quarter on an 8-2 run to cut Durham's lead to 42-40. However, just as it did against Humber on Saturday night, Fanshawe's perimeter offence went cold as the Falcons didn't make a three-point shot for the final 17:29 of the game.
 
Fanshawe was able to hang around, though the Lords still held a 54-48 lead through three quarters, and despite a brief rally early in the fourth quarter, the Falcons would get no closer as Coutou made his presence felt, scoring nine of his 13 points in the second half.
 
The Lords effectively sealed the game midway through the third quarter, as they went on an 18-6 run spanning 4:05 to push the advantage to 76-61 with 1:22 to play.