OSHAWA, Ont. – The Humber Hawks and George Brown Huskies clinch their spots in the gold medal game at the 2024 OCAA Men's Basketball Championship, and book their ticket to the national championship, with semi-final wins in front of a sold-out crowd at Durham College on Saturday.
In the first semi-final between Humber and the Durham Lords, Durham was incredibly dominant to start the game, jumping out to a 7-0 lead early. Humber only scored its first basket four and a half minutes into the game. The Lords jumped back out to a 15-5 lead with less than three minutes left in the quarter.
By the end of the first quarter the hosts led by seven points. Jasean Elliott (Toronto, Ont.) went 5-of-6 in the opening frame, scoring 11 points in nine minutes of action.
Humber powered back in the second quarter, outscoring the Lords by seven to tie the game 29- 29 going into halftime following a low-scoring first half.
Both teams had their highest offensive output of the game in the third quarter, with Humber outscoring Durham 21-20. The Hawks led by as many as 10 points halfway through the third quarter, but the Lords got hot with a 19-10 run in the latter half of the third to bring the game back within one.
Durham continued to ride the momentum of the home crowd, taking the lead once again with 6:25 left and again with just under four minutes to go.
Tied at 64, Jalen Menzies (Malton, Ont.) made a layup for the Hawks with 1:42 to go and that would be the final score of the game as the Hawks upset the No. 1 seed Lords in Oshawa by a 66-64 score.
Menzies was ultimately the Player of the Game for the Hawks, leading the team with 24 points, three rebounds and a steal.
O'Shane Taylor-Douglas (Scarborough, Ont.) went 11-of-18 shooting for the Lords, recording 28 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks for the Lords en route to earning Player of the Game honours for Durham.
The game saw four lead changes, with both teams holding double-digit leads at some point in the game before it came down to the final basket.
The fun continued into semi-final two as the St. Clair Saints and the George Brown Huskies squared off.
It was a back-and-forth affair through the majority of the first quarter before the Huskies went on a 7-2 run to end the first quarter with a 23-16 lead.
George Brown put up a game-high 30 points in the second quarter with eight different scorers in the frame. Going into the halftime break, the Huskies held a large 53-33 lead.
St. Clair began to chip away at their deficit in the third quarter, holding George Brown to only 12 points while scoring 16 of their own. That is before things exploded in the fourth quarter and the Saints were suddenly back within single digits.
Jesiah Deerr (Whitby, Ont.) had nine of St. Clair's 26 points in the final quarter as the green and gold rallied. The hill was too steep to climb as time ran out with the Huskies defeating the Saints 83-75.
Deerr was the Player of the Game for the Saints, finishing with a double-double as he had 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Jeremiah Brown (Scarborough, Ont.) had 22 points on the night for the Huskies, shooting 7-of-11 and was named the Player of the Game for George Brown.
Durham and St. Clair will battle it out in the latest edition of the Sledgehammer Series at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday with a bronze medal on the line. George Brown and Humber will then play in the gold medal at 5 p.m. before both teams make the trip to New Brunswick for the 2024 CCAA Men's Basketball Championship.
Source: Durham Lords
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/mbb
Live Webcast: www.ocaalive.com
Saturday, March 2
Semi-Finals
S-F #1: Humber def. Durham 66-64
S-F #2: George Brown def. St. Clair 83-75
Sunday, March 3
Bronze Medal Game
St. Clair vs. Durham - 2:30 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of game
Gold Medal Game
Humber vs. George Brown - 5 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of game
- OCAA -
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