OSHAWA, Ont. - Mohawk College has ascended the belairdirect OCAA Men's Basketball Championship mountain.
The Mountaineers never trailed at any point in the gold medal game, defeating the Humber Hawks 84-74 at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre for their first OCAA championship since 2012, when they also went on to win national gold.
Both the Mountaineers and the Hawks will compete at the CCAA Men's Basketball Championship in Hamilton, Ont., in two weeks time.
OCAA player of the year Matt Fennell (London, Ont.) turned in a performance worthy of being named the tournament's most valuable player with 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
Fifth-year guard Matt Savel (Hamilton, Ont.) added 21 points and six assists, while Andrew Cicuttini (Dundas, Ont.) contributed 14 points and eight boards while also being named to the championship all-star team.
Rookie Lamar Barr (Hamilton, Ont.) turned in a 10 point, nine rebound performance that had the Mountaineers and their fans alike calling for him to be named player of the game despite the honour going to Fennell.
On the other side, Kenny Ejim (Brampton, Ont.) paced the Hawks with 22 points and four rebounds, while Junior Davis (Scarborough, Ont.) was once again a spark off the bench with 20 points en route to being named a championship all-star.
Tyrone Dickson (Scarborough, Ont.) was his usual dominant self on the glass with 14 rebounds, as the OCAA west defensive player of the year was also named a championship all-star.
Humber won both regular season meetings between the two teams, but Mohawk came out flying, putting on a clinic worthy of the CCAA's best offence. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the opening 2:25 of the game, and they eventually extended their edge to 15-4 with 4:24 to play in the frame. Savel was the offensive catalyst for the Mountaineers with nine points in the opening frame, while Fennell added four points and six rebounds.
However, the Hawks showed why they're also one of Canada's best teams, as they came back to cut Mohawk's edge to 19-14 through 10 minutes, and it was captain Chad Bewley (Newmarket, Ont.) who led them back, scoring six of his 11 points in the frame.
Humber carried that momentum through to the early part of the second quarter, as they cut Mohawk's lead to one early in the frame. However, shortly after a timeout from head coach Brian Jonker, the Mountaineers got hot, closing on a 13-3 run to take a 44-31 lead through 20 minutes.
Once again, Savel provided the spark Mohawk needed, connecting on consecutive attempts to finish the first half with 14 points and four assists.
The second half started out very evenly on both sides, as the Hawks and Mountaineers traded baskets. However, Humber couldn't get a long run going without Mohawk having an answer to keep the gap at double digits. The Mountaineers got hot late in the quarter, in particular Fennell, who put up a pair of threes in the last 1:42 to help stretch Mohawk's lead to 65-46.
With a comeback win over Lambton under their belts already in the tournament, the Hawks couldn't be counted out, and they responded in the fourth quarter with a 16-2 run spanning to close the gap to 70-62 with 3:46 remaining.
However, the Mountaineers withstood Humber's late pressure, and if this game is any indication, both sides are in serious contention in Hamilton in a fortnight.
It's not often a team gets the chance to avenge a tournament loss in the same weekend. The Durham Lords got that chance at the belairdirect OCAA Men's Basketball Championship, and they didn't waste it as they defeated the St. Lawrence Vikings 66-51 to win the bronze medal in front of their home fans at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre.
It is Durham's first medal in OCAA men's basketball competition since winning gold in 1997, and the Lords also avenged a 69-65 loss to the Vikings on the opening night of the tournament.
In his final game as a Lord, fifth-year forward Eric Smith (Ajax, Ont.) was named Durham's player of the game with 16 points and five rebounds. Rookie Aaron Hayles (Pickering, Ont.) led Durham with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Darian Rowe (Maple, Ont.) added 13 points and seven boards.
OCAA east first-team all-star Ajahmo Clarke (Ajax, Ont.) had six points, seven assists and 13 rebounds, while Dylan Pelissero (Oshawa, Ont.), who earned a championship all-star selection, also had 13 points and seven rebounds.
OCAA Rookie of the Year Jaz Bains (London, England) led St. Lawrence with 18 points and seven rebounds, good for the Vikings player of the game honours and a championship all-star nod.
Donald Gibson (Freeport, Bahamas) produced a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Andrew Dawkins (Brampton, Ont.) added 14 for St. Lawrence, whose run with just eight players at the tournament came to an end without a medal.
From the opening tip-off, it was evident that, no matter how resilient the Vikings were, a repeat of Friday's quarter-final wasn't in the cards.
Durham, possibly riding the wave of support from its home fans, came out flying as they scored the game's first eight points in a 2:18 stretch. The Lords also played tough defence to open the game, holding the Vikings off the scoreboard for the first 4:05 before Dawkins connected on a three-pointer.
From there, both teams tightened up defensively and traded baskets for the rest of the quarter, after which the Lords led 14-9. It was a cold quarter for the Vikings from the field, as they made just three of 17 shots.
The defensive battle continued in the second quarter, with neither team allowing the other to get into much of a rhythm offensively. The Vikings looked like they wanted to rally on a couple of occasions as they had in the quarter-final. In each instance, a three-pointer from Hayles restored Durham's momentum and reenergized the crowd.
The Lords had a strong finish to the opening half, closing on an 8-2 run in the final three minutes to take a 30-20 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The Vikings came out firing in the second half, quickly putting together a 9-2 run to draw back within three points. However, as was the case in the first half, it was Hayles who brought momentum back to the host Lords from beyond the arc with a pair of three-pointers.
Durham also made Pelissero a focal point of the offence, as they used the inside matchup to build a 14-4 run to close the quarter up 51-37.
The Lords kept the momentum going through the fourth quarter, as they finally wore the thin Vikings roster down before closing out the game with a 9-0 run.
Championship Website: durhamlords.com/news/2015/3/6/MBB_0306151716.aspx
Championship Webcast: durhamlords.com/sports/2015/3/3/MBB_0303152337.aspx
Friday, March 6
Quarter-Finals
Game 1 - Humber 83, Lambton 82 (OT) - Recap
Game 2 - Fanshawe 76, Georgian 73 - Recap
Game 3 - Mohawk 102, Seneca 81 - Recap
Game 4 - St. Lawrence-Kingston 69, Durham 65 - Recap
Saturday, March 7
Bronze Quarter-Finals
Game 5 - Lambton 82, Georgian 71 - Recap
Game 6 - Durham 82, Seneca 74 - Recap
Semi-Finals
Game 7 - Humber 80, Fanshawe 62 - Recap
Game 8 - Mohawk 87, St. Lawrence-Kingston 72 - Recap
Sunday, March 8
Bronze Semi-Finals
Game 9 - Durham 77, Fanshawe 66 - Recap
Game 10 - St. Lawrence-Kingston 74, Lambton 73 - Recap
Bronze Medal Game
Game 11 - Durham 66, St. Lawrence-Kingston 51 - Recap
Gold Medal Game
Game 12 - Mohawk 84, Humber 74 - Recap
Source: Durham College
- OCAA -
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