Stephanie Mcpherson
LANCE WRITER


Despite a poor shooting night, the Lancers Men’s Basketball team proved there is such thing as a home court advantage when they defeated Eureka College 82-76 Sunday at the St. Denis Centre.

The Lancers started off the first quarter on a strong foot with a 24-18 lead. By the second half, the boys kept a strong defence up, leading the way 44-40.

Eureka came back in the third quarter, giving the Lancers a fight for points that ended in a tie 55-55. In the final quarter, the Lancers came out on top, overpowering their opponent’s defensive efforts and shutting down the game with a six-point victory.

Forward Lien Phillip led all scorers with 18 points, 14 rebounds and one assist, while guard Josh Collins added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Guard Rotimi Osuntola added 13 points and six rebounds, and first-year forward Ismar Serferagic chipped in 11 points and four rebounds.

The efforts of newcomer Michael Petrella did not go unnoticed, with Lancers head coach Chris Oliver naming him the top rookie of the game.

“Playing against that type of team who executes exactly what we can get hurt by, their strength is the weakness of our defence,” said Oliver, referring to the Lancers times of poor shooting and weak defence.

“We did a pretty good job taking them out of it, so they didn’t get a chance to run it. That was the key to the game,” Oliver added. “We definitely didn’t shoot the ball well.”

Oliver said the Lancers has some improvements and adjustments to make in their shooting, defensive and offensive plays in order to become a stronger competitor in future games.

The Lancers will get a chance to redeem themselves when they play Ashland College in exhibition action Tuesday, 7 p.m. at St. Clair College’s Chatham campus. The Lancers currently uphold a pre-season record of 7-2.