By: Severn Zieman

A high scoring second half sealed the deal for the No. 5 nationally ranked Mohawk Mountaineers in a 97-85 victory over the Niagara Knights.

Both of Mohawk's starting guards Daniel Graham (Hamilton, ON) and Rommel Calura (Hamilton, ON) each hit five threes and combined for 51 points in the win. Calura led the Mountaineers with a game-high 26, while Graham scored 18 of his 25 in the second half.

Jerry Jr. Mercury (Scarborough, ON) had his sixth double-double in the last seven games and eighth overall this season with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Despite the win, head coach Brian Jonker saw one area his team will need to improve moving forward.

"I thought we turned the ball over way too much tonight," said coach Jonker.

As a team Mohawk knocked down 16 threes and shot 54.7 per cent from the field. Although the Mountaineers had a strong shooting performance, Jonker acknowledged that they may not shoot this well every game, while adding that strong shooting is a big part of the team's identity.

"We do have a good shooting team … we might not shoot 50 per cent every game but we're probably going to shoot close to 40 per cent and we just have so many guys who can make threes," said Jonker.

First-year guard Stefan Anisko (Haldimand County, ON) also finished in double digit scoring with 15 on six-of-seven shooting.

Mohawk is currently leading the OCAA West Division with a 9-1 record, but the coaching staff is not downplaying how tough its division is and is taking the season one game at a time.  

Next up for the Mountaineers are the defending OCAA champion Humber Hawks on January 18 at 8 p.m.

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