By: Megan Daniels
Reporter 

Mountaineers men's basketball began their 2021/22 season on the road at Humber, losing the contest 113-79 to the Hawks.

The opening quarter was back and forth with Mohawk being led by Daniel Graham's (Hamilton, ON) 11 points. Humber would hold a 24-22 advantage after the first.   

Things began to unravel for the Mountaineers in the second quarter when they were outscored by 22 points and went into halftime trailing 65-41.

"Offensively we were just too stagnant this game," said Mountaineers head coach Brian Jonker. "The ball just wasn't moving enough and we weren't sharing enough on the court."

Mohawk struggled offensively in the third quarter as well, but found their footing in the fourth, winning the final frame 26-21.

"It felt we were playing a preseason game except this time it counted," Jonker said.

Graham led the Mountaineers with a team-high 18 points on 50 per cent shooting.

Mohawk also welcomed back 2018/19 OCAA Rookie of the Year Emanuel Otong (Cambridge, ON), who added 12 points and six rebounds.

Jonker says the team doesn't have time to feel sorry for themselves about the loss as they'll quickly have to prepare for a matchup versus Redeemer this weekend.

"We have a couple of days to rest and repair," Jonker said. "Redeemer will play really hard, so we definitely have some things to work on and prepare for."

The Mountaineers will host the Redeemer Royals on Feb. 12 at the David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre (DBARC) for their home opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the women's game beginning at 1 p.m.

Please note that no spectators are allowed inside the DBARC for Mountaineers home games. Every game will be streamed on the OCAA Live platform.