CCAA

Rob Gagliardi Shines as Durham Lords Defeat the Seneca Sting

November 12, 2011

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NPH Top Performers

Seneca

#4 Jamal Boyce- 27 pts, 2 stls

Durham

#44 Rob Gagliardi- 28 pts, 6 rbs, 4 ast

TORONTO,ON– Seneca was looking to bounce back after a tough loss to the Centennial Colts earlier in the week. Unfortunately for them the Durham Lords came prepared and escaped with a 76-71 win.

Both teams came out flying with solid defense at each end of the court. The Sting went with their long ball early on, and were able to grab a lead thanks in part to two three pointers from guard Jamal Boyce.

The early lead did not last though as Durham guard and former Pickering High star Rob Gagliardi brought his Lords back with a strong statement, scoring ten first quarter points, and giving his team a ten point lead heading into the second quarter.

With Gagliardi on the bench the majority of the second, the rest of his team picked up the pace. Strong defensive play by guard Christoff Pierre and the Lords bench maintained the lead going into the second half, as they fought off a Seneca 8-0 run late in the quarter. Overall, Durham shot the ball better in the first half, shooting almost 60 percent.

The Lords built on their five-point lead immediately with Gagliardi knocking down a couple of three pointers, and dishing the ball to find open teammates for three. Gagliardi was doing it at both ends of the court, coming up rebounds, and an important block to dent the spirits of the Sting offense.

Heading into the final quarter with a 12-point lead Durham didn’t show any signs of slowing down. Gagliardi continued to score while getting additional scoring support from Byron Wabano. That is not to say that Seneca wasn’t in the game, as David Dejesus, Jamal Boyce, and Curtis Banee all provided scoring to cur down on the deficit.

With only two minutes to play the Sting were able to get into a bonus situation and bring the deficit within six points. But it was not enough as the Durham Lords squeaked out the win with a 76-71 final.

Once again, Durham just simply shot the ball better last night. Both inside and outside the arc, the Lords shot almost 50 percent.

After the game, Durham head coach, Desmond Rowley was asked by NPH on his thoughts of the play of top performer, Rob Gagliardi.

“Rob’s a special player, and as he goes, we go. He is our leader offensively, and we need him to have good games all the time for us to do well, and he had a good game tonight. There were some ill-advised shots, but he was in a rhythm and was feeling it, so I don’t mind to much.”