OSHAWA, Ont. - On March 22, Durham College welcomed approximately 200 student-athletes as the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men's and women's volleyball and basketball all-star games were held at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre.

The all-star games pitted East and West regions against each other with the East basketball and West volleyball teams earning sweeps in their respective sports.

In the women's basketball match, the East mounted a fourth quarter comeback to top the West by a final score of 72-66. East region game MVP Lacey Knox of St. Lawrence College shined with 12 points while West region MVP Shannon Kennedy of St. Clair College was also outstanding collecting 11.

The men's basketball match-up became a highlight reel affair from the tip-off as both East and West looked to consistently one-up each other with incredible three-point shooting and alley-oop dunks. After trailing by two points at the half, it was the East region that finished on top, overwhelming the West in the final minutes with a 97-96 victory. Ajahmo Clarke, member of the host Durham Lords, earned game MVP for the East scoring all 12 of his points in spectacular fashion. For the West, three-point shootout champion Matt Fennell from Mohawk College was named game MVP earning 16 points, 12 of which came from behind the three-point line.

The women's volleyball all-star game was an even match as both teams traded sets back and forth for the duration. However, the West region came out on top winning by a final of 3-2. Set scores were 15-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-15, and 9-15. OCAA East region Rookie of the Year Jamie Fryer of Trent University was named the East region game MVP while Kaitlyn Kelly of Fanshawe College was named game MVP for the victorious West region

East and West battled hard in the men's volleyball match, however, the West region pulled away earning the 4-1 five-set victory. Set scores were 25-23, 21-25, 25-11, 25-17 and 15-12.  Both teams showcased explosive power at the net with devastating kills and crowd-pleasing blocks but it was setter Riley McAllister of the host Durham Lords who earned game MVP honours for his orchestrating of the all-star caliber offence while Josh Lynch of St. Clair College earned MVP honours for the West region. This was the second straight season McAllister took home the game MVP honour at the provincial event.

Event festivities began Friday night as the all-star athletes were greeted with both a co-ed four-on-four basketball and six-on-six co-ed volleyball tournament. This was followed Saturday morning by several skill competitions including the NBA skills challenge and three-point shootout for basketball all-stars; and passing accuracy, serving accuracy and a hardest spike challenge for volleyball all-stars. All event winners and game MVPs are listed below.

Helder the Husky took home bragging rights as he edged out Lord Durham in the OCAA best mascot competition.

EVENT PHOTOS

www.flickr.com/photos/durhamlords/collections/

SKILLS COMPETITION

NBA Skills Competition
MBB - Calvin Turnbull - Redeemer University College
WBB - Jesseca Brown - Redeemer University College

Three-Point Shootout
MBB - Matt Fennell - Mohawk College
WBB - Claire Abbott - Algonquin College

Passing Accuracy
WVB - Curtiss Straatsma - Redeemer University
MVB - Bailey Cochrane - Niagara College

Serving Accuracy
WVB - Patricia Niengue - George Brown College
MVB - Christian Zimmer - Trent University

Hardest Spike
WVB - Chi Chi Chuks-Mady - Mohawk College
MVB - Karson Stoker - Conestoga College

GAME MVPS

Women's Volleyball
West Region - Kaitlyn Kelly - Fanshawe College
East Region - Jamie Fryer - Trent University

Men's Volleyball
West Region - Josh Lynch - St. Clair College
East Region - Riley McAllister - Durham College

Women's Basketball
West Region - Shannon Kennedy - St. Clair College
East Region - Lacey Knox - St. Lawrence College

Men's Basketball
West Region - Matt Fennell - Mohawk College
East Region - Ajahmo Clarke - Durham College

Source: Durham College