SENECA WINS CCAA NATIONAL MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Gold Medal Game: Seneca Sting 86, Douglas Royals 73

For the first time in its history, the Seneca Sting are National Champions in CCAA Men's Basketball.

The 2018 CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship gold medal game featured New Westminster's Douglas Royals and Toronto's Seneca Sting. In a fast, hard-fought first quarter, both teams put together strong offensive runs, with Douglas taking the lead 22-19 after the first quarter. 

In the second, the Douglas Royals resisted the Sting's repeated attacks led by Isaiah Ankra to take a 35-34 half-time lead.

Seneca had a 20-point third quarter to take the lead 64-57 heading into the fourth, led by Yusuf Ali's 11 points.

The fourth quarter saw some fast breaks and high-quality plays as both teams were hungry for the win. Midway through the quarter, the gap was down to two points, 71-69 for Seneca. Seneca kept the pressure on in the second half of the quarter to open up the gap and secure the win 86-73. 

Ali ended the game with 25 points and five rebounds and was named player of the game for the Sting. Reese Morris earned the award for the Douglas Royals with 20 points and 7 rebounds. 

Player of the Game: Yusuf Ali, Seneca
Player of the Game: Reese Morris, Douglas

Placement Game: Humber Hawks 100, Lakeland Rustlers 79

The Rustlers took the lead in the first minutes of the game, but the Hawks quickly made their presence felt to bring down the gap. The score was 16-13 Rustlers at the end of the opening quarter. 

In the second frame, the Hawks destabilized the Vermillon players with repeated attacks and built up a significant lead (48-29) by half-time. 

The Rustlers counter-attacked to temporarily bring down the gap in the third, but the Hawks held on to the lead.

The Hawks started the final quarter with a 12-point lead. Despite the gap, the players from Etobicoke didn't let up and kept increasing their lead until the final score of 100-79. 

The Hawks player of the game was DeQuon Cascart with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Akeem Phillip earned the award for the Rustlers with eight points and three rebounds. 

Player of the Game: DeQuon Cascart, Humber
Player of the Game: Akeem Phillip, Lakeland

CCAA Semi-Final: Seneca Sting 90, Holland Hurricanes 86

The winners of the first games of Day 1 faced off in an intense, high-scoring battle where neither team ever got much of a lead. The Hurricanes ended the first quarter with a slight advantage (28-25). 

A fast and physical third quarter left Holland leading 66-67 into the fourth, after both teams traded the lead back and forth. With a spot in the gold medal game at stake, both teams stepped up their game in the final quarter.

The Sting tightened up their defence and took the lead a few minutes later. The players from PEI didn't let up and came back to within a point a few minutes from the end.

The Sting ultimately prevailed with a final score of 90-86.

Players of the Game were Khalil Miller for the Sting (20 points, 11 rebounds), and Chase Bowden for the Hurricanes (26 points and eight rebounds).

Player of the Game: Khalil Miller, Seneca
Player of the Game: Chase Bowden, Holland

CCAA Bronze Quarter-Final: SAIT Trojans 86, Humber Hawks 83

The second game of the day featured Calgary's SAIT Trojans and Toronto's Humber Hawks. The teams were tied 23-23 after a tightly contested first quarter, which featured a nine-point run by Trojans' Charlie Conner. 

The Trojans took the lead 52-46 in the second, thanks in part to a few three-pointers at the end of the quarter by Charlie Conner.

The third quarter was hard-fought, with lots of scoring on both sides, but the Trojans held on to their lead 73-67 despite solid offensive runs by the Hawks. 

In the final quarter, the Hawks came back within one point with less than a minute to go, but the Trojans closed the door 86-83.  

Murphy Beya finished the game with 24 points and six rebounds, and was named player of the game for the Trojans. Kenny Ejim had 22 points and two rebounds to earn the award for the Hawks.

Player of the Game: Murphy Beya, SAIT
Player of the Game: Kenny Ejim, Humber

CCAA Quarter-Final: Seneca Sting 77, Lakeland Rustlers 69

Close to 300 spectators came to watch the opening game of the CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship at Collège Montmorency in Laval, Que. Toronto's Seneca College Sting beat Vermillion's Lakeland College Rustlers 77-69. 

A first quarter with several turnovers and little scoring (10-8 Seneca) gave way to a second quarter featuring spectacular plays, with Seneca taking the lead 27-26 into the second half. Seneca came out of the gate quick in the third, scoring 24 points. Trailing by up to 20 points at times, the Rustlers brought the gap down to seven points by the buzzer. 

Trevor Hutton finished the game with 15 points and five rebounds, and was named player of the game for Seneca. Artavis Holiday had 19 points and 13 rebounds to earn the award for Lakeland. 

Player of the Game: Trevor Hutton, Seneca
Player of the Game: Artavis Holiday, Lakeland

CCAA Quarter-Final: Nomades de Montmorency 92, Humber Hawks 89

CCAA Men's Basketball National Championship host Montmorency Nomades started the tournament with a 92-89 win against the Humber Hawks.

The game was a hard-fought back-and-forth affair from the start, with the Nomades taking an early lead off several three-pointers, including three from Blondeau Tchoukuiegno.

The Hawks stayed within range, and even overcame the home team in the second. In the third, the Hawks stepped it up as the Nomades struggled to find the net on several occasions against their strong defensive play. 

The Hawks continued to make inroads in the fourth, but with the home crowd cheering them on, the Nomades battled back at the end of the quarter to take the lead in the last minute. Two successful free throws by Alix Lochard sealed the deal for the Nomades, who took the win 92-89. Blondeau Tchoukuiegno was named player of the game for the Nomades with 24 points and six rebounds, while Mohamoud Fowzi took the honours for the Hawks with 22 points and one rebound.

Player of the Game: Blondeau Tchoukuiegno, Montmorency
Player of the Game: Fowzi Mohamoud, Humber

Source: Collège Montmorency/CCAA Communications