EAST LOGJAM
With Algonquin, George Brown and St. Lawrence-Kingston picking up
victories last week, eight teams in the east region now have
winning records. Unfortunately for this group, only six teams get
an invite to the OCAA post-season.
This shouldn't come as a surprise as six teams finished tied for
third place with 10-10 records last season. Two of these teams were
eliminated after OCAA tiebreakers came into play.
Four teams (Algonquin, George Brown, Seneca and St.
Lawrence-Kingston) are tied for the final two playoff spots with
6-5 records. These teams are one half game begin third place
Loyalist (7-5) and two games behind second place Centennial and
Georgian.
It has the makings to be a wild, wild six weeks of basketball in
the eastern half of the province.
ADVANTAGE HUMBER
The Humber Hawks avenged their only loss of the regular season
with a convincing 78-58 win over the Fanshawe Falcons on
Friday.
Both teams emptied the bench, with a total of 21 different players
getting on the scoresheet. Humber teammates Chad
Bewley (Newmarket, Ont.) and Junior Davis
(Scarborough, Ont.) were the game's co-leaders in scoring with 11
points.
First-place Humber (9-1) now leads Fanshawe and Mohawk by one game
in the west standings. With the top two teams in the west region
earning byes into the OCAA championship, a showdown between
Fanshawe at Mohawk on Feb. 7 looms large.
WELCOME BACK
Eric Smith (Ajax, Ont.), the 2010-11 OCAA male
athlete of the year, returned from injury last week and scored a
game-high 24 points to lead the Durham Lords to a 93-62 win over
Seneca.
Smith also contributed seven rebounds, six assists and one steal
to the cause.
The fifth-year forward led the OCAA in scoring in 2010-11
averaging 21.6 points per game. Paired with fourth-year guard
Ajahmo Clarke (Ajax, Ont.) and his 24.1 points per
game average this season, the Lords feature a pair of dynamic
options on offence that should cause the opposition fits.
Durham is currently on top of the east standings with a 9-2
record, one game ahead of Centennial and Georgian (8-3). The Lords
play host to the OCAA championship tournament in early March.
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
The Redeemer Royals have been known for their strong men's
volleyball programs (three OCAA medals the past five seasons) but
not so much for their basketball prowess. It's safe to say there is
a culture change happening on campus.
The Royals men's basketball program is making waves, completing a
home-and-home sweep of two-time defending OCAA champion Sheridan.
It marked Redeemer's first two wins over Sheridan in its
history.
Redeemer is now set to complete another first - a playoff berth.
Having never played an OCAA post-season game, the Royals are
currently in fourth place in the west standings at 6-4. The top six
teams advance from the region.
Fifth-year forward Calvin Turnbull (Burlington,
Ont.) is averaging a double-double this season at 19.2 points and
11.6 rebounds per game. Third-year forward Josh De
Schiffert (Strathroy, Ont.) scored a season-best 26 points
in his last game, a 79-68 win over Sheridan.
RECENT RESULTS
Date | Away | Home | Time/Status | |||
|
||||||
Jan. 7 | Mohawk | 78 | Niagara | 73 | Final | |
George Brown | 74 | Centennial | 71 | Final | ||
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Jan. 9 | La Cite | 72 | Algonquin | 84 | Final | |
Fanshawe | 58 | Humber | 78 | Final | ||
Sheridan | 68 | Redeemer | 79 | Final | ||
Seneca | 62 | Durham | 93 | Final | ||
|
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Jan. 10 | Fleming | 54 | St. Lawrence (K) | 100 | Final | |
Loyalist | 81 | Canadore | 83 | Final | ||
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Jan. 11 | Loyalist | 80 | Georgian | 76 | Final |
UPCOMING GAMES
Date | Away | Home | Time/Status | |||
|
||||||
Jan. 14 | Durham | Fleming | 8:00 PM EST | |||
Georgian | George Brown | 8:00 PM EST | ||||
Seneca | Centennial | 8:00 PM EST | ||||
Fanshawe | Sheridan | 8:00 PM EST | ||||
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Jan. 15 | Niagara | Humber | 8:00 PM EST | |||
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Jan. 16 | St. Clair | Lambton | 8:00 PM EST | |||
Algonquin | Loyalist | 8:00 PM EST | ||||
La Cite | St. Lawrence (K) | 8:00 PM EST | ||||
Cambrian | Redeemer | 8:00 PM EST | ||||
Sault | Mohawk | 8:00 PM EST | ||||
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Jan. 17 | La Cite | Loyalist | 2:00 PM EST | |||
Cambrian | Redeemer | 3:00 PM EST | ||||
Sault | Mohawk | 3:00 PM EST | ||||
Algonquin | St. Lawrence (K) | 3:00 PM EST | ||||
Canadore | George Brown | 6:00 PM EST | ||||
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Jan. 18 | Lambton | Fanshawe | 12:30 PM EST | |||
Canadore | Georgian | 1:00 PM EST | ||||
|
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Jan. 20 | George Brown | Durham | 8:00 PM EST |
Source: OCAA Communications