SCARBOROUGH, ONT. - The second quarterfinal game of the 2017 Belairdirect OCAA (Ontario Colleges Athletic Association) Men's Basketball Championship was a battle between the third seeded Humber Hawks from the West Division and the second seeded Seneca Sting from the East Division.
The Hawks are enjoying a great season so far, going 12-4 in the OCAA West and won their crossover match at home against the St. Lawrence (Kingston) Vikings, 100-75.
Humber is led by fifth year forward Tyrone Dickson (#10) (13.4 ppg), who is a First Team All Star and the Defensive Player of the Year for the OCAA's West Division. Fifth year forward Ancil Martin (#13) leads Humber in scoring with 14.3 ppg and is a Second Team All Star for the West Division.
For the Sting, they improved their record from last year (9-11) by an incredible eight games, going 17-3 in the OCAA East. Seneca won their crossover matchup at home against the St. Clair Saints, 80-76.
It has been an incredible rookie season for forward Khalil Miller (#14) as he leads the Sting in scoring (15.2 ppg), rebounding (11.0 rpg) and blocked shots (3.3 bpg). Miller was the OCAA Rookie of the Year, OCAA East Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All Star for the East Division, and part of the All-Rookie Team. Third year guard Yusuf Ali is second in scoring for Seneca with 15.1 ppg and is a First Team All Star in the East Division as well.
However, it was Humber who had the final say in this game as they beat Seneca, 82-61. The Hawks relied on a strong defensive effort after the first quarter to quiet the offensive prowess of the Sting.
Turnovers were the story in this game as Humber took care of the ball with only nine turnovers. The same could not be said for Seneca as they coughed up the ball 19 times.
Ball movement was also a key as the Hawks had twice as many assists (26-13) as the Sting and rebounding was a factor as well as Humber outrebounded Seneca 43-33. Humber also had 16 steals and hit seven more threes than Seneca (10-3)
The game could not have started any better for the Sting, who shot 81.8 per cent from the field (9-11) and were two for three from behind the arc. Miller had nine points in the opening frame.
However, Humber stayed in the game by forcing Seneca into seven turnovers in the quarter and were only down four (21-17).
The second quarter was a dominating one for the Hawks. Humber outscored the Sting 22-7 and forced Seneca into eight turnovers in the quarter alone and shot 50 per cent from the field. Dickson made his presence known on both ends, with 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals while Martin had 11 points at the half.
Seneca struggled immensely from the field, shooting only 23.1 per cent (3-13). Miller had 11 points, six rebounds and two steals at the half while Ali had nine points and five assists.
However, Ali (undisclosed) left the game after halftime and did not return.
Humber continued its dominance of Seneca from the second quarter, outscoring Seneca, 22-15, in the third quarter, on the strength of a 9-0 run.
The Hawks outscored the Sting, 9-0, from three point land and outrebounded them, 14-10, in the third quarter. Forward Baljyot Judge (#9) hit two threes and guard Trevor Mollison (#24) had six points in the quarter alone.
Guard Haroun Mohamed (#4) and Miller had five points each in the quarter for the Sting. Miller had four blocks in the third quarter alone.
At the end of the third, the Hawks were on cruise control, leading 61-43. In the fourth quarter, the game was all but finished as both sides played almost even, with Humber outscoring Seneca, 21-18, in the final frame.
Five players scored in double figures for Humber. Dickson led the Hawks with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Martin and Mollison had 15 apiece. Guard Gibson Eduful (#3) had 12 points while Judge had 10 to round out the scoring. Forward CJ Bennett (#8) had a game high four steals in the victory for the Hawks.
Miller was strong in defeat for Seneca with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocked shots, all of which were a game high. Mohamed was the only other Sting in double figures with 12 points and six assists.