WINDSOR, Ont. - The top eight teams are set to battle for the provincial crown at the 2023 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Basketball Championship. The event is being hosted by St. Clair College in Windsor, Ont., from Friday through Sunday.
The host St. Clair Saints will be joined by seven fellow West Division teams that have advanced to the championship. St. Clair finished the regular season as West Division champions and will put its 8-1 home record on the line for a chance to return to nationals and improve on its OCAA silver medal one season ago.
It won't be an easy path for the Saints, as all three teams they lost to during the regular season are at the championship, including their quarter-final opponent Conestoga Condors, the reigning provincial and national champion Humber Hawks, and West Division runner-up Mohawk Mountaineers. Those losses took place in the fall semester; since then St. Clair has previously avenged each of these losses, building a nine-game winning streak.
Other West Division teams punching their tickets to the championship are the Sheridan Bruins, Niagara Knights and Lambton Lions.
The lone East Division team headed to provincials should not be taken lightly. The George Brown Huskies enter the competition with the OCAA's longest winning streak of 17 games.
A total of eight games will be played in a span of three days. The OCAA quarter-finals will take place on Friday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. Winning teams will advance to the OCAA semi-finals on Saturday, followed by the bronze and gold medal matches on Sunday.
The OCAA champion and runner-up will advance to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Basketball National Championship, taking place later this month in Calgary, Alta. Of note, last year's OCAA gold medal match-up between Humber and St. Clair was also the CCAA's gold medal match-up.
All games will be webcasted on OCAA Live. Here is a closer look at the match-ups.
| Humber Hawks (9-9, 6th West) vs. Mohawk Mountaineers (14-4, 2nd West) |
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| Friday, Mar. 3 - 1 p.m. | ||
| Humber | Mohawk | |
| Won 1 | Streak | Won 1 |
| 4-6 | Last 10 | 7-3 |
| 82.9/game | Points For | 98.9/game |
| 80.6/game | Points Against | 88.9/game |
| Dwayne Lambert-Cadore (15.8/game) | Points Leader | Daniel Graham (20.1/game) |
| Raheem Dennis (5.8/game) | Rebounds Leader | Jerry Jr. Mercury (10.6/game) |
| Dwayne Lambert-Cadore (5.0/game) | Assists Leader | Daniel Graham (3.9/game) |
| Jayar Harewood (0.8/game) | Blocks Leader | Mackenzie Hart (1.5/game) |
| Dwayne Lambert-Cadore (2.2/game) | Steals Leader | Jerry Jr. Mercury (1.8/game) |
| Niagara Knights (11-7, 4th West) vs. George Brown Huskies (17-1, 1st East) |
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| Friday, Mar. 3 - 3 p.m. |
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| Niagara | George Brown | |
| Won 1 | Streak | Won 17 |
| 7-3 | Last 10 | 10-0 |
| 81.7/game | Points For | 95.7/game |
| 78.2/game | Points Against | 70.4/game |
| Delroy Grandison (15.3/game) | Points Leader | Jeremiah Brown (12.2/game) |
| Delroy Grandison (9.6/game) | Rebounds Leader | Derrick Taylor (7.0/game) |
| Ethan Alino-DelaCruz (2.7/game) | Assists Leader | Caldre Campbell (3.2/game) |
| Delroy Grandison (1.1/game) | Blocks Leader | Jeremiah Brown (0.7/game) |
| Khayden Stewart (1.8/game) | Steals Leader | Chris Fields (3.1/game) |
| Lambton Lions (9-9, 7th West) vs. Sheridan Bruins (12-6, 3rd West) |
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| Friday, Mar. 3 - 6 p.m. |
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| Lambton | Sheridan | |
| Won 1 | Streak | Won 3 |
| 7-3 | Last 10 | 7-3 |
| 87.0/game | Points For | 94.6/game |
| 87.6/game | Points Against | 91.1/game |
| Journee Joseph (25.1/game) | Points Leader | Mohamud Qasim (23.7/game) |
| Samuel Babatunde Sowunmi (10.4/game) | Rebounds Leader | Mohamud Qasim (9.4/game) |
| Tyrelle Miller (6.2/game) | Assists Leader | Mahad Siad (5.4/game) |
| Samuel Babatunde Sowunmi (1.1/game) | Blocks Leader | Jaidyn Dorman (0.5/game) |
| Tyrelle Miller (1.9/game) | Steals Leader | Jordan Grant (2.1/game) |
| Conestoga Condors (11-7, 5th West) vs. St. Clair Saints (15-3, 1st East) |
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| Friday, Mar. 3 - 8 p.m. |
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| Conestoga | St. Clair | |
| Won 3 | Streak | Won 9 |
| 6-4 | Last 10 | 9-1 |
| 91.1/game | Points For | 98.4/game |
| 85.7/game | Points Against | 81.1/game |
| Terell Lloyd (25.1/game) | Points Leader | Shakael Pryce (20.0/game) |
| Frank Gyamfi (7.8/game) | Rebounds Leader | Hanani Ujullu (6.8/game) |
| Ladera Ujullu-Obang (5.6/game) | Assists Leader | Shakael Pryce (5.9/game) |
| Ladera Ujullu-Obang (0.7/game) | Blocks Leader | Hanani Ujullu (1.2/game) |
| Ladera Ujullu-Obang (2.0/game) | Steals Leader | Shakael Pryce (2.3/game) |
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/mbb
Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Friday, March 3
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Humber vs. Mohawk - 1pm
Game #2: Niagara vs. George Brown - 3pm
Game #3: Lambton vs. Sheridan - 6pm
Game #4: Conestoga vs. St. Clair - 8pm
Saturday, March 4
Semi-Finals
Game #5: Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 - 4pm
Game #6: Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 6:30pm
Sunday, March 5
Bronze Medal Game
Loser Game #5 vs. Loser Game #6 - 1pm
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of game
Gold Medal Game
Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 3:30pm
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of game
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
For over 50 years, the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association has been a dedicated leader in amateur athletics through the provision of quality varsity and recreational athletic opportunities at the collegiate level.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com
