EAST LOGJAM

With Algonquin, George Brown and St. Lawrence-Kingston picking up victories last week, eight teams in the east region now have winning records. Unfortunately for this group, only six teams get an invite to the OCAA post-season.

This shouldn't come as a surprise as six teams finished tied for third place with 10-10 records last season. Two of these teams were eliminated after OCAA tiebreakers came into play.

Four teams (Algonquin, George Brown, Seneca and St. Lawrence-Kingston) are tied for the final two playoff spots with 6-5 records. These teams are one half game begin third place Loyalist (7-5) and two games behind second place Centennial and Georgian.

It has the makings to be a wild, wild six weeks of basketball in the eastern half of the province.

ADVANTAGE HUMBER

The Humber Hawks avenged their only loss of the regular season with a convincing 78-58 win over the Fanshawe Falcons on Friday.

Both teams emptied the bench, with a total of 21 different players getting on the scoresheet. Humber teammates Chad Bewley (Newmarket, Ont.) and Junior Davis (Scarborough, Ont.) were the game's co-leaders in scoring with 11 points.

First-place Humber (9-1) now leads Fanshawe and Mohawk by one game in the west standings. With the top two teams in the west region earning byes into the OCAA championship, a showdown between Fanshawe at Mohawk on Feb. 7 looms large.

WELCOME BACK

Eric Smith (Ajax, Ont.), the 2010-11 OCAA male athlete of the year, returned from injury last week and scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Durham Lords to a 93-62 win over Seneca.

Smith also contributed seven rebounds, six assists and one steal to the cause.

The fifth-year forward led the OCAA in scoring in 2010-11 averaging 21.6 points per game. Paired with fourth-year guard Ajahmo Clarke (Ajax, Ont.) and his 24.1 points per game average this season, the Lords feature a pair of dynamic options on offence that should cause the opposition fits.

Durham is currently on top of the east standings with a 9-2 record, one game ahead of Centennial and Georgian (8-3). The Lords play host to the OCAA championship tournament in early March.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT

The Redeemer Royals have been known for their strong men's volleyball programs (three OCAA medals the past five seasons) but not so much for their basketball prowess. It's safe to say there is a culture change happening on campus.

The Royals men's basketball program is making waves, completing a home-and-home sweep of two-time defending OCAA champion Sheridan. It marked Redeemer's first two wins over Sheridan in its history.

Redeemer is now set to complete another first - a playoff berth. Having never played an OCAA post-season game, the Royals are currently in fourth place in the west standings at 6-4. The top six teams advance from the region.

Fifth-year forward Calvin Turnbull (Burlington, Ont.) is averaging a double-double this season at 19.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. Third-year forward Josh De Schiffert (Strathroy, Ont.) scored a season-best 26 points in his last game, a 79-68 win over Sheridan.

RECENT RESULTS

UPCOMING GAMES

Source: OCAA Communications