FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - Defending CCAA men's basketball champion Humber Hawks (OCAA) met up with a team that was destined to win in the form of the NAIT Ooks (ACAC) Saturday night.
Destined because a 25-year-old rookie by the name of Jackson Jacob had waited his entire life for such a moment.
When the final buzzer sounded and the score board read 79-74 in favour of the Ooks, the diminutive quicksilver guard fell to the court, exhausted, tears soon to be streaming down his face.
A native of the Bahamas, his dream was to come to North America to play basketball and get an education.
"When I graduated from high school (C.B. Walker High School, Nassau/Paradise Island) I did not have a passport because both of my parents were born in Hatti," recalled Jacob. "It was a long process to get one (passport) to come to Canada."
"So, for a few years I worked as a mechanic at my stepfather's garage and played in the local men's league. It was frustrating, because my dream was to come to North America and play basketball and get an education."
Currently enrolled in academic upgrading with a goal to enroll in a heavy equipment technician course, Jacob finally arrived to Canada in 2014 and had to redshirt his first year with the Ooks.
"Yes it was frustrating, watching and not being able to play," said Jacob. "But I was happy just to be on a team. I had to focus on my schooling, stay and shape and improve my game."
"I may be a bit older than most rookies, but this was my dream to play and go to school. It's a dream come true. It is finally here. All the hard work paid off. Coach had us prepared for every game like he always does."
Well thanks to his dream, another dream was answered as Ooks head coach Mike Connolly, one of Canada's most well respected coaches with a long tenure, earned his first CCAA gold medal.
Jackson Jacob was named Most Valuable Player of the National Championship. Humber's Player of the Game was Ancil Martin with 20 points. Teammates Tyrone Dickson scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Kenny Ejim contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
Seventh/Eighth Place Game: Mohawk Mountaineers 82, Camsoun Chargers 65
Having hosted last year's CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship the Mohawk Mountaineers (OCAA) know what it takes to put on a good showing on and off the hardwood.
This time though they could focus just on the game itself as they beat the Camosun Chargers (PacWest) 82-65. With the Chargers taking a 19-14 first quarter lead the Mountaineers picked up their defence with a full court press to slow down the Chargers half-court game outscoring them 26-15 and 23-9 in the second and third quarters.
"Getting here takes a lot of work," said Mountaineers head coach Brian Jonker. "There is no guarantee that you are going to win three games against tough opponents but I am proud of the way we finished today."
Mountaineers Player of the Game was O.J. Watson with 16 points. Teammates Kojo Afari scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Patrick Lavarone contributed 14 points.
"It is an unbelievable experiment," said Watson. "Last year I was coming off the bench and this year I was a starter and felt more confident in my role as a leader."
CCAA Semi-Final: Humber Hawks 79, Holland Hurricanes 78
In the first semi-final of the 2016 CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship, the defending CCAA champion Humber Hawks (OCAA) edged the Holland Hurricanes (ACAA) 79-78.
The Hurricanes had opened the tournament with a 95-78 win against RSEQ champion Nomades de Montmorency. Were the Hurricanes ready to make history as the first Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association team to win a gold medal in men's basketball?
Well despite a brilliant effort they will have to wait another year as the Hawks won 79-78 to advance to the gold medal round where they hope to defend their title against the NAIT Ooks.
Hawks Player of the Game was C.J. Bennett with 17 points. Teammates Ancil Martin scored 15 points while Tyrone Dickson contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocked shots.
Bronze Quarter-Final: Keyano Huskies 102, Mohawk Mountaineers 91
For the second day in a row the OCAA No. 5-seed Mohawk Mountaineers tipped off against an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference team at the 2016 CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship.
Yesterday it was the NAIT Ooks with the ACAC side winning 85-84. This time their opponent was the host Keyano Huskies who were coming off a disheartening 90-77 loss to the No. 1-ranked Vancouver Island University Mariners of the Pacific Western Athletic Association.
The afternoon crowd was much smaller than the 700 plus the previous evening that came out to cheer on the Huskies but still for what was lacked in quantity they came up big in quality, with close to 300 faithful supporting the Huskies as they regained focus to come away as a 102-91 victor.
The Mountaineers shot a dismal 4-of-36 from three point territory but head coach Brian Jonker kept the Hamilton, Ont., team focused and instead of giving up when they were down 75-53 after three quarters had his team close the gap outscoring the Huskies 38-27 in the final 10 minutes.
The Mountaineers Player of the Game was Kareem Collins with 15 points and five assists. Teammate Jeff Hunt scored 16 points while adding 11 rebounds.
CCAA Quarter-Final: Humber Hawks 83, Camosun Chargers 51
The Cinderella team of the 2016 CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship, the Camosun Chargers, lost their glass sneaker as the No. 2-seeded Humber Hawks of the OCAA came away with a 83-51 in Game 2 of opening day action.
Chargers, seeded No. 7, had made it to Fort McMurray, Alta., despite a regular season performance of only eight wins against 13 defeats in the PacWest. They had upset Quest Kermodes 84-64 on March 4 behind the hot shooting Evan Woodson who dropped in a game-high 26 points which included six three-pointers.
This time around Woodson's hot shooting hand was cooled off as he was held to eight points.
Hawks, defending CCAA champions, led after the first quarter 16-11 with a 37-24 edge at the half.
In the third period the Hawks started to use their size down in the post to outscore the Chargers 21-10.
Humber's Player of the Game was Baljyot Judge who scored 11 points. Teammate Tyrone Jackson scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
CCAA Quarter-Final: NAIT Ooks 85, Mohawk Mountaineers 84
On paper the most exciting and closest games in seeded eight-team tournaments is when No. 4 tips off against No. 5
Such was the case at the 2016 CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship when the NAIT Ooks (No. 4) of the ACAC met up with the OCAA No. 5-seed Mohawk Mountaineers.
Of the eight teams participating in the three-day, 13-game event, it was easy to see that these were the closest matched teams. It was anybody's ball game.
One of the key elements that changed the game was when the Mountaineers went away from feeding the ball to their hot shooter Jeff Hunt. When the final buzzer sounded it was the Ooks 85, Mountaineers 84.
Hunt was named Mohawk Player of the Game with 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Teammate Ryan Doornick scored 15 points.
Source: Keyano College/CCAA Communications