HUGE COMEBACK RESULTS IN 72-68 WIN AT HOME OVER FANSHAWE

HUGE COMEBACK RESULTS IN 72-68 WIN AT HOME OVER FANSHAWE

By: Mohammad Khososhahi

ETOBICOKE, Ont. — The Humber Hawks men's basketball team bounced back in a thrilling come from behind victory at home against Fanshawe (5-4), ending the Falcons 4 game winning streak, on Sunday afternoon at the Humber Athletic Centre.

The Hawks got off to a good start, with C.J. Bennett scoring first to open up the game, followed by Jordan Rose hitting a 3-pointer on the next possession. This sparked an early run for Humber, as they were up 11-2, forcing Fanshawe head coach Tony Marcotullio to take a time-out. The Falcons responded to the wake-up call by outscoring the Hawks 17-4 to end the quarter. Fanshawe's two leading scorers of Chris Parker (22.6 PPG) and Sean Clendinning (19.3 PPG) led the offensive surge, as they shot for a combined 15 points, on 7-10 shooting in the quarter. This allowed the Falcons to storm back and take a 19-15 lead after ten minutes of play.

Fanshawe's momentum continued in the 2nd quarter as they outscored Humber 24-10. This time, it was the third year player Filip Pejic who led the way for the Falcons by scoring 8 points. The Falcons adjustments on defence continued to cause trouble for the Hawks, forcing Humber to only making 23% of their shots, on 4-17 shooting from the field. DeQuon Cascart gave the team a much-needed boost off the bench, contributing half of Humber's points in the quarter. More importantly, Cascart's points came at a critical time for Humber, as the Falcons were in the midst of 13-2 run. At the end of the first half, Fanshawe was in command with a 43-25 lead.

Humber showed their resilience in the 3rd quarter by going on a 9-2 to start the second half of the game. The Hawk's starters shot 7-16 from the field and poured in all of Humber's points in the quarter. It was a balanced effort with each starter scoring, including C.J. Bennett and Curwin Elvis who each scored 6 points. Humber's comeback was fueled by their defensive intensity, pressuring the Falcons to only shoot at a 20 percent clip. Suddenly, momentum began shifting in favour of the Hawks, as Humber cut the deficit down to 54-46 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

To begin the 4th quarter, Curwin Elvis scored a layup to carry on his strong performance. Chris Parker rebounded from a tough quarter (the Hawks held him to 2-9 shooting in the 3rd quarter) and had 8 points, while shooting 3-8 from the field, including a big 3-pointer that put the Falcons up 57-48.  After having a quiet game, Humber's leading scorer Kenny Ejim (21.2 PPG) exploded in the 4th quarter. Ejim shot 5-6 in the quarter and a perfect 3-3 from downtown. DeQuon Cascart continued to play a factor at a critical time in the game, as he nailed another 3-pointer on an assist by C.J. Bennett, allowing the Hawks to cut Fanshawe's lead down to 4. The two teammates connected again, but with Cascart returning the favour by giving a nice feed to Bennett for the layup. With both teams continuing to battle it out, the Falcons found themselves up 63-57 with four minutes left in regulation. Kenny Ejim stepped up down the stretch and hit back to back 3-pointers for Humber to tie the game at 63.

DeQuon Cascart once again came through in crunch time, giving the Hawks their first lead since the 1st quarter, and Humber did not look back from there. Now holding a one-point advantage, Ejim hit another 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game (69-65). After Jordan Rose went one for two at the free throw line, Sean Clendinning converted an "and-1" to bring the Falcons within 2, but C.J. Bennett sealed the game by making a pair of free throws with only 14 seconds remaining.

The Humber Hawks won the game 72-68 in memorable fashion.

DeQuon Cascart was named the Hawk Nation Player of the Game.

The Hawks will look to continue their winning ways back at home against the UTM Eagles on November 29th.