Algonquin College hosted a great weekend of Men's Basketball as the Humber Hawks soared to their 18th straight winas the defeated the host Algonquin Thunder 85-78 to capture gold.

Gold Medal Game
Humber defeated Algonquin 85-78

Players of the Game
Humber College - #23 Daviau Rodney
Algonquin College - #13 Jordan Rose

Scoring:
Algonquin – Charly Spurr 24, Jordan Rose 16
Humber - Daviau Rodney 29, Michael Acheampong 21

The Humber Hawks ran their unbeaten streak to 18 games winning the OCAA Provincial Championship in the process as the defeated the host Algonquin Thunder 85-78.

The game started out even, but the Thunder battled strong and took a solid 43-36 lead into the dressing room at half. Humber came out for the second half on fire and were able to build a 79-71 late in the game. Algonquin stormed back and cut the Hawks lead to just three points late. Michael Acheampong of the Hawks went to the line and knocked down two key free throws. On the next Thunder possession the Hawks came up huge on the defensive end with a steal to solidified the win for Humber.

Hawk’s Daviau Rodney, the Player of the Game and Championship MVP took his game to another level as he scored a game high 29 points, with 21 of those coming on his spectacular 7-11 shooting from beyond the 3 point line. Michael Acheampong looked like no rookie as he poured in 21 points to support the cause. OCAA Player of the Year Charly Spurr of Algonquin scored 24 points in a losing cause, while teammate Jordan Rose took home the Player of the Game honours as he chipped in 16 points.

This was Humber's OCAA Men's Basketball leading eleventh title, and tenth in the last eighteen years. The Hawks will now move onto the CCAA National Championship Tournament which will be held at the University of Northern British Columbia in two weeks.

Bronze Medal Game
Niagara defeated Algoma 76-62

Players of the Game
Algoma - #11 Vyron Phillips
Niagara - #9 Jeremy Settimi

Scoring:
Niagara – Nick Fadayel 19, Jeremy Settimi 16, Arny N'Kindu 10.
Algoma – Vyron Phillips 15, Dele Oworu 11, Pat Murray 11.

The Niagara Knights Men’s basketball team equaled their best finish in school history with a 76-62 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds in the bronze medal game at the OCAA Championships on Saturday.

The Knights got off to a slow start against the Thunderbirds, turning the ball over 10 times in a sloppy opening half. Luckily, the Knights found themselves tied 36-36 at the break.
The Knights defence would come to life in the second half, creating five consecutive steals that would result in a 12-0 run in the opening five minutes. From then on, Niagara would not let Algoma get within nine points. They would extend the lead to 18 with five minutes left in the game before capping off the 14 point victory.

Niagara’s Nick Fadayel (Ancaster, Ont.) netted a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Jeremy Settimi (Hamilton, Ont.) scored 16 points and also had seven boards earning Player of the Game honours for the Knights. Vyron Phillips led the Thunderbirds with 15 points, while Dele Oworu and Pat Murray, a tournament all-star, scored 11 each.
Knights head coach Mike Beccaria said of his team’s first medal since 2003. “I think it’s something all of us can be proud of and something we can use to take the program to the next level.”

For the second-straight season, the Thunderbirds went on a thrilling second-half run to make the playoffs, winning post-season games against favoured Durham and Fanshawe to make the Final Four in Ottawa.

“In the end, it didn’t come out the way we wanted, but to be the only team from last year to get back there, I think we’ve been very successful,” said Algoma’s head coach Thomas Cory. “We have a very successful program.”

Semi-Final # 1
Humber defeated Niagara 79-62

Players of the Game
Niagara College - Arny N'Kindu
Humber College - Jadwey Hemmings

Scoring:
Niagara - Jeremy Settimi 15, Vaughn Williams 12, Arny N'Kindu 10
Humber - Daviau Rodney 22, Michael Acheampong 21

This game between Niagara Knights and the Humber Hawks was a back and forth battle for much of the first half with several lead changes. The Hawks posted a 5 point lead at the half after a few tough rebounds put backs near the buzzer. It was free throws in the second half that really separated the two teams. Humber went 17 for 22 in the second half of the game from the line and slowly pulled away from Niagara posting a 79-62 victory.


Semi-Final # 2
Algonquin defeated Algoma 79-64

Players of the Game
Algoma University - #14 Ryan Vetrie
Algonquin College - #21 Charly Spurr

Scoring:
Algonquin - Charly Spurr 36, Anthony Hinds 15, Jordan Rose 12
Algoma - Ryan Vetrie 15, Vyron Phillips 13, O'Brian Wallace 11

Charly Spurr for the Algonquin Thunder was the story of this game showing us all why he was selected as the OCAA Player of the Year. Charly came out of the locker room and quickly claimed the first 9 points of the game and Algonquin was out to a surprising lead only minutes into the game and at one were up 20. Things got sloppy for the Thunder which allowed Algoma to rally back and finish the half down 43-31. Algoma continued to chip away at the lead and at one point within 7 of Algonquin. Anthony Hinds and Charly Spurr quickly responded to the Algoma push with a couple more three-pointers to restore a double digit lead on way to a 79-64 victory and a date with Humber College in the Gold Medal Game.

Championship MVP
Daviau Rodney - Humber College

Championship All-Stars
Jordan Rose - Algonquin
Charly Spurr - Algonquin
Jadwey Hemmings - Humber
Nick Fadayal - Niagara
Patrick Murray - Algoma