SAMSON DOWNEY ERA OPENS WITH 97-86 WIN OVER NAVY
ETOBICOKE, ON: Recently named Humber Hawks head coach Samson Downey captured his first win in his debut, as Humber knocked off a weary Navy (NCAA – D1) team by a score of 97-86 in an exhibition tilt on Thursday night at the Humber Athletic Centre.
The Hawks, which featured a number of current and former Hawks, were brought together just three days earlier in preparation of Thursday's battle with the Midshipmen from Annapolis, Maryland.
Humber trailed by six after the first, and by 9 (46-37) at the half. A solid third quarter 24-23 win vaulted Humber back into the conversation, but they still trailed by eight, heading into the final frame. The Hawks were down by a game high 15 points midway through the second quarter.
The fourth quarter was all Fowzi Mohamoud and Chris Thompson. Mohamoud wowed the crowd as he poured in three after three to end the night with a game best 28 points. Thompson ruled the defensive glass, grabbing six of his seven rebounds on the defensive end in the quarter. He ended the night with a game best nine boards.
The Hawks outscored Navy 36-17 in the frame on their way to the 11 point win.
To put the final result in perspective, it was the Midshipmen's fourth game in two days, and second in less than eight hours. The minds were willing, but the legs just seemed to hit the wall after three consecutive wins on Canadian soil.
As mentioned above, Mohamoud led all scorers with 28 points. DeQuon Cascart and C.J. Bennett checked in with double figures, contributing 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Navy saw four players in double digits, with C. Davis and D. Ogele scoring 16 each. M. Cullen had 13, while E. Wieck kicked in with 10. Weick led the Navy squad with nine rebounds.
"It has been a bit of a whirlwind the last week or so", said Hawks head man Downey. "Tonight was a great start and a lot of fun, but the real work begins now to recruit and prepare for the upcoming season".