OSHAWA, Ont. - The Humber Hawks are OCAA men's basketball champions for the second time in the last three years after defeating the George Brown Huskies 77-45 in the gold medal game on Sunday evening.
The Huskies struggled to make their shots fall in the opening quarter, shooting 3-of-18 through the first 10 minutes of play and being held to only eight points while Humber nearly doubled its offensive output with 15.
The Hawks continued to add to their lead in the second quarter on the back of Kwabena Antwi (Rexdale, Ont.) who scored five points in four minutes of action. Going into halftime, the Hawks led 30-20 in the low-scoring affair.
Humber's offence absolutely exploded in the third quarter, scoring 26 points between six different players. Jalen Menzies (Malton, Ont.) got hot with 10 points in the frame as time ticked down on the season.
The game was finally put away in the fourth quarter as the Hawks won by a commanding 32 points.
Jacob Masters (Toronto, Ont.) was named the Player of the Game for the Huskies, scoring eight points and grabbing three boards. Romeo Osas Joshua (Toronto, Ont.) won the award for the Hawks, tallying eight points two rebounds.
George Brown celebrated two Championship All-Stars as Masters and Christian Tabiri (Toronto, Ont.) were named to the team while Humber contributed Malik Grant (Brampton, Ont.) and Kameron David (Brampton, Ont.) to the Championship All-Star team.
Menzies earned Championship MVP honours for the weekend.
Humber and George Brown will both travel to New Brunswick, where Mount Allison University is hosting the 2024 CCAA Men's Basketball Championship from March 13-16.
BRONZE MEDAL GAME
Durham College is back on the podium in men's basketball as the Lords won their first OCAA championship medal since 2015. Durham defeated the St. Clair Saints 82-69 on Sunday afternoon to win the bronze medal.
The Lords had an unbelievable opening quarter, scoring 32 points in the 10 minute frame while holding St. Clair to only 18.
Jasean Elliott (Toronto, Ont.) and Kevin Hamlet (Scarborough, Ont.) found themselves with double-digit points in the frame as they scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Durham continued to add to its lead through the second quarter and would go into the break at halftime with a 53-31 lead.
The Saints seemed to find a solution to cool off Durham's offence after halftime, forcing the Lords to shoot only 29.4 per cent in the third quarter.
St. Clair continued to chip away at its deficit through the fourth, but couldn't piece together enough of a comeback to finish on the podium. Ultimately, the Lords would win by 13 points.
Elliott was the Player of the Game for the Lords, putting up 25 points, seven rebounds, five steals and a pair of assists. Andrew Loyuk (Windsor, Ont.) was the Player of the Game for the Saints, registering a team-leading 24 points with seven assists and a trio of rebounds.
O'Shane Taylor-Douglas (Scarborough, Ont.) was named to the Championship All-Star team. After his Player of the Game performance in the semi-final, Taylor-Douglas added 12 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals in the bronze medal game.
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
Durham def. St. Clair 82-69
Gold Medal Game
Humber def. George Brown 77-45
- OCAA -
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