By: Tyler Follett

Thunder forward Garnet Blais defends against a teammate in practice.

 

It was a successful weekend for the men’s basketball team as the Thunder swept the weekend set with games against Loyalist and St. Lawrence.

The team braved the weather for the weekend games, heading to Belleville Friday for their evening matchup against the Lancers, before travelling to Kingston the next day.

After trailing 26-23 after the first quarter, then Thunder took control of the game in the second, leading by six at the half and never looking back.

The game finished by a score of 93-77 for the Thunder as they strolled to a 16 point victory, thanks in part to a fourth quarter in which they scored 31 points to put the game away.

The Thunder won a home matchup against Loyalist 79-58 in November in the only other meeting between the schools this year.

In Saturday’s game visiting men took on the St. Lawrence College Viking in a game pitting the second place Thunder against the sixth place hosts.

After a closely contested first half, which saw nine lead changes, the Thunder found themselves ahead 40-32, after the Vikings were limited to 10 points in the second quarter by the Thunder defense.

The game was put out of reach in the fourth quarter, as the visitors headed home with a 76-65 victory, after outscoring the hosts 22-11 in the fourth quarter.

Coaches will be pleased with the team’s hustle and effort after they out-rebounded the Vikings 52-35 in the game.

The victory also sealed a season’s sweep for the Thunder as they won their home matchup against the Vikings in November 75-56.

The team will be happy with themselves after scoring the weekend sweep, as well as for the way they finished strong in each game, putting them away each time with strong fourth quarters.

“Friday’s trip was absolutely crazy with the snowstorm, the game was decided in the last 3 minutes, we just killed them on the boards,” coach Trevor Costello said.

With a 14-3 record, the Thunder will be looking to finish the season strong as they conclude the year with 3 home games, starting with a pair of weekend games February 15 and 16 against Centennial College and Seneca College.