All eight teams that will be competing for the 2006 OCAA Men’s Basketball Championships have officially been determined. The Championships are slated for March 2-4 at Centennial College in Scarborough, Ont.

The three teams winning their respective regions and the second place team from the central region secured berths to the Championships earlier this week at the end of the regular season. Sheridan (C1), Humber (C2), Algonquin (E1) and Fanshawe (W2) received automatic byes to the championships.

This past weekend played host to four crossover playoff games with the winning teams advancing to the Championships.

On Friday night the Central region’s George Browns Huskies (Toronto) made the long trek to Sault Ste. Marie to faceoff against the West Region’s Sault Cougars. It was a close game as the two teams traded baskets till the last quarter and in the end the Huskies walked away with the 71-68 win. George Brown’s offensive weapon was Elvin Etubanez as he netted 20-points in the win. For the Cougars it was the West region scoring champion Jean Louis Ouattara scoring 18-points to lead his team.

The St. Clair Saints (Windsor) earned their trip to the Provincial Championships on Friday night after a convincing 86-62 win over the Loyalist Lancers (Belleville). The Saints took control early and held the advantage all game as Rohan Burrell of St.Clair led all scorers at halftime with 11 points. St. Clair led 37-24 at the break. In the second half Saints guard Leng Yeang hit five 3-pointers en route to 19 points in the period. St. Clair leading scorers included Rohan Burrell (22) and Leng Yeang (21). Loyalist’s Andrew DaCosta had 25 points in the loss to lead all scorers.

The Georgian Grizzlies (Barrie) ensured their trip to the provincials after an 82-73 victory over the Durham Lords (Oshawa) on Saturday evening. OCAA Scoring Champion, Tab Donaldson (24.6 PPG) of Georgian proved too much for the Lords as he led all scorers with 23-points. Durham’s Anthony Batchelor led his team with 16-points.

On Saturday night the Niagara Knights (Welland) earned their spot at the Championships after defeating the St. Lawrence Vikings (Kingston) 70-61. Four Knights players reached double figures in the victory. Michael Muir of Niagara poured in 18 points to lead all scorers. For the Vikings, Ross Carter led his team with 17-points.

The following teams are competing this weekend at the Men’s OCAA Basketball Championship:
Sheridan (Central 1) 13-2
Humber (Central 2) 13-2
George Brown (Central 3) 6-9
Georgian (Central 4) 5-10
Algonquin (East 1) 16-2
Fanshawe (West 1) 11-3
St. Clair (West 2) 10-4
Niagara (West 4) 9-5

Here is the schedule for the OCAA Championships:

Thursday, March 2, 2006
Game #1: (1) Sheridan vs. (8) Niagara - 2:00 pm
Game #2: (4) St. Clair vs. (5) George Brown - 4:00 pm
Game #3: (2) Algonquin vs. (7) Georgian - 6:00 pm
Game #4: (3) Fanshawe vs. (6) Humber 8:00 pm

Friday, March 3, 2006
Semi Final: Winner #1 vs. Winner #2 - 6:00 pm
Semi Final: Winner #3 vs. Winner #4 - 8:00 pm

Saturday, March 4, 2006
Bronze Medal: Losers of Semi-Finals - 6:00 pm
Gold Medal: Winners of Semi-Finals - 8:00 pm