HAMILTON, Ont. - The Mohawk men's basketball team will be the top West Divison seed at the upcoming OCAA Men's Basketball Championship.
The Mountaineers earned their position with a 97-73 win over visiting Fanshawe, combined with Sheridan's 86-84 loss at Humber Wednesday (Feb. 19). Mohawk finished the regular campaign with a 15-3 record. Fanshawe was 11-7.
Andrew Cicuttini led Mohawk with 23 points and five rebounds. Matt Fennell had 19 points, Xzennis Brereton scored 18 and fifth-year player Alex Reis, appearing in his final home game, had eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Mohawk was 14-0 in all home games this season and has gone 41-4 over the last three seasons.
"It's the first time in my nine years we have finished the season as the No. 1 seed," said Mountaineer head coach Brian Jonker. "We played very efficient basketball tonight. I really like the way we are heading into the tournament. Offensively we have been very efficient and defensively we believe in what we are doing and have held teams to less than 34 percent shooting in each of the last eight games."
Meanwhile, the Mohawk women, who are already assured a spot in the OCAA championship as tourney host, completed their regular season with a 13-5 mark after downing Fanshawe 67-46. The Falcons wound up with the same 13-5 record.
Stef Hrymak led the Mountaineers with 15 points. Careena Browne scored 13 and Jen Abella added nine. Mohawk was up by seven points after three quarters and went on a 10-0 run to start the fourth.
Mountaineers head coach Kevin Duffy described it as a hard fought victory. "I have such respect for Fanshawe," said Duffy. "They are extremely well coached and very hard working. They make you earn everything because they never quit."
Source: Mohawk College
HAMILTON, Ont. - The Fanshawe women's basketball team finished the regular season in fourth place in the OCAA West Division after losing to the Mohawk Mountaineers last week. Fanshawe followed up with a win over the Seneca Sting in a cross-over playoff game, sending the Falcons to the OCAA provincial championship.
On Wednesday, the Falcons were on the road versus the Mohawk Mountaineers (13-5) for their final regular season game of the year. Fanshawe fell behind early, but after three quarters, found itself still in the game and only down by seven points.
A run by the Mountaineers to start the fourth quarter put the game out of reach as Mohawk won by a final score of 67-46. Ali Vlasman scored 15 points for the Falcons.
On Saturday, Fanshawe hosted the Seneca Sting (7-9) in a crossover playoff game at Fanshawe College. Both teams struggled to score in the first quarter but Fanshawe had a two-point lead heading into the second.
Seneca's offence picked up and the Sting led by four at the half. Some fantastic defence in the third quarter saw only one made field goal by both teams combined but the Sting went into the final quarter with the lead 27-20.
In the fourth, Fanshawe's offence exploded, pouring in 27 points and coming back to win the game by a final score of 47-40.
With the win over Seneca, Fanshawe will head to the OCAA provincial championship at Mohawk College starting next Thursday. In the first round, Fanshawe will face the undefeated CCAA No. 4-ranked Algonquin Thunder (16-0) at 3 p.m.
Source: Fanshawe College