TORONTO - Humber College welcomes the top teams from across Ontario this week at the 2016 belairdirect Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Basketball Championship.
Beginning on Friday, eight teams will compete for the OCAA title, including the host Humber Hawks and defending provincial champion Mohawk Mountaineers.
A total of 11 games will be played in a span of three days. Following the OCAA awards banquet at the Holiday Inn Toronto Airport East on Thursday evening, the OCAA quarter-finals will take place on Friday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. Winning teams will advance to the OCAA semi-finals on Saturday, followed by the bronze and gold medal matches on Sunday.
Unlike previous years, the "back-door bronze" format has been eliminated, meaning teams must win their quarter-final matches to remain in OCAA medal contention. Losing teams in the quarter-finals will compete in the consolation round Saturday, with the final taking place Sunday.
The OCAA champion and runner-up advance to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Basketball National Championship, taking place in Fort McMurray, Alta., later this month.
Here is a look at the OCAA quarter-finalists:
Algonquin Thunder (13-7, 3rd East)
After failing to qualify for the post-season in 2014-15, the Algonquin Thunder make their return to provincials.
Algonquin defeated St. Clair 74-71 in the OCAA qualifying round to earn a berth into the tournament. Third-year forward Murphy Beya (Ottawa) scored a team-high 17 points, grabbing 16 rebounds for a double-double in the victory. Beya led the Thunder in scoring during the regular season, averaging 15.5 points per game.
Algonquin advanced to the gold medal game two years ago, losing a heartbreaker to Sheridan. The Thunder have won three of their last four games.
Algonquin will take on defending champion Mohawk in the quarter-finals.
La Cité Coyotes (16-4, 1st East)
La Cité Coyotes won the east regional championship, and now has their sights set on winning their first-ever OCAA medal.
The Coyotes have the two highest scoring teammates in the OCAA this season. Second-year forward Hess Mayele (Montreal, Que.) and fifth-year player Daniel Gracia (Ottawa) averaged 19.7 and 19.5 points per game, respectively, during the regular season.
Following an eligibility snafu, La Cité has won six straight and look to take this momentum into the medal round. It was quite the turnaround for the Coyotes after winning just three games last season.
La Cité faces Lambton in the OCAA quarter-finals.
Humber Hawks (13-5, 3rd West)
The defending national champion Humber Hawks look to defend home court at provincials. Humber was 8-1 at home during the regular season.
Fourth-year point guard Gibson Eduful (Brampton) led Humber's offence during the regular season, averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game.
Humber lost the OCAA gold medal game to Mohawk 84-74 last year. Since winning three straight provincial titles from 2009 to 2011, Humber has medalled three times, including two silver and one bronze.
Humber takes on St. Lawrence-Kingston in the OCAA quarter-finals.
Lambton Lions (13-5, 4th West)
The Lambton Lions advance to provincials thanks to a 84-76 home victory over Georgian in the OCAA qualifying round, ending the month of February with a 6-0 record.
The Lions have four players that averaged 14 or more points per game during the regular season, including Branden Padgett (Detroit, Mich.) who led all OCAA players averaging 24.1. Fifth-year teammate Mike Lucier (Forest) led the OCAA averaging 12.6 rebounds per game while averaging 18.7 points.
Lambton took eventual national champion Humber to overtime in last year's quarter-finals, only to lose 83-82. No doubt that heartbreaker remains fresh in the minds of Lambton's returning players entering this year's tournament.
Lambton faces La Cité in the OCAA quarter-finals.
Mohawk Mountaineers (14-4, 2nd West)
Despite finishing with the second-best record in the west region, Mohawk needed a 90-71 win at home over Seneca in the OCAA qualifying round to earn the right to defend its title at provincials.
First-year guard Kareem Collins (Hamilton) led the Mountaineers in scoring during the regular season averaging 15.6 points per game, while second-year guard Lamar Barr (Hamilton) contributed 14.8.
Mohawk won its first nine games of the regular season, with all four of its losses coming in the second half. The Mountaineers averaged 91.1 points per game to lead all OCAA teams.
Mohawk has medalled in three of the past four provincials. The Mountaineers face Algonquin in the OCAA quarter-finals.
Niagara Knights (12-6, 5th West)
The Niagara Knights defeated George Brown 100-80 in the OCAA qualifying round to secure their spot at provincials.
Fourth-year player Marako Lundy (Bahamas) paced the Knights offence during the regular season averaging 19.1 points per game. Fittingly, he scored a team-high 19 points against George Brown.
The Knights have only three OCAA bronze medals in their collection, the last coming in 2009.
Niagara takes on division-rival Sheridan in the OCAA quarter-finals. Sheridan swept the regular season series 75-73 and 91-78, with the former going to overtime.
St. Lawrence Vikings (13-7, 2nd East)
The St. Lawrence Vikings return to provincials after advancing to the OCAA semi-finals last year.
Vikings second-year guard Jaz Bains (United Kingdom) led all east region players with a 23.7 points per game average.
St. Lawrence dropped its last two regular season games. Prior to this, the Vikings had won eight of nine.
St. Lawrence takes on Humber in the OCAA quarter-finals. Humber also lost its final two regular season games.
Sheridan Bruins (15-3, 1st West)
After winning back-to-back OCAA titles, the Sheridan Bruins missed out on the 2014-15 post-season. They came back with a vengeance this season, taking the west regional title.
Sheridan has three players that averaged 15 points per game or better during the regular season. Second-year player Brian Owusu (Mississauga) is the Bruins top scorer averaging 17.5 points per game.
Sheridan currently holds the longest win streak in OCAA at eight games. The Bruins are the only team to defeat Humber on its home court this season, 75-74 back on Feb. 11.
Sheridan faces division foe Niagara in the quarter-finals.
Championship Website: humberhawks.ca/information/2016_OCAA_Mens_Basketball/index
Championship Webcast: www.youtube.com/user/hawksrock121/live
Championship Schedule
Friday, March 4
Quarter-Finals
Game 1: Niagara vs. Sheridan - 1 p.m.
Game 2: St. Lawrence-Kingston vs. Humber - 3 p.m.
Game 3: Lambton vs. La Cité - 6 p.m.
Game 4: Algonquin vs. Mohawk - 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 5
Consolation Round
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 1 p.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 - 3 p.m.
Semi-Finals
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 6 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 6
Consolation Final
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 - 12 p.m.
Bronze Medal Game
Game 10: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 - 2:30 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of game
Gold Medal Game
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 5 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of game
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 30 members sponsoring 11 sports.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com