MORGAN'S 25-POINT HOME DEBUT LIFTS No. 9 HUMBER OVER LAMBTON, 102-96

By: Ronny Musikitele
Humber Athletics Sports Information

ETOBICOKE, Ont -- No. 9 Humber men's basketball continued to roll to start their 2018-2019 season with an impressive 4-0 record. Saturday's game marked their first home game of the season. Jaylan Morgan finished with a team-high 25 points and nine rebounds to help the Hawks secure a 102-96 victory over the Lambton Lions (1-2, 7th West).

Kevin Otoo got the crowd going from the very beginning after a two-handed dunk to start the game. The Hawks fed off the crowd's energy early and jumped out to an 18-7 run in the first four minutes of the game. But that would be the biggest lead the Hawks would have the entire game. The Lions battled back to bring the game within two points, 20-18 with 2:00 left in the first quarter. Jaylan Morgan was on fire all game long and hit timely shots when needed. To end the first quarter, Morgan converted on a tough and-one, boosting the Hawks energy and stretching the lead 25-20 with 1:00 left. Despite the big lead to start the game, the Hawks finished the first quarter with a 25-22 lead.

Similar to the first quarter, Kevin Otoo once again began the quarter with a nice finish coming off a steal. The game went back and forth early in the second quarter, as both teams struggled to find an edge over the other. The Lions managed to take their first lead of the game, 32-31 with 6:00 left. Fowzi Mohamoud then responded with back-to-back threes quickly shutting down the Lions run. The team's captain, DeQuon Cascart has been in his share of big games and proved it. He hit a big three to push the Hawks lead to four, going into halftime with a 49-45 lead.

Jaylan Morgan continued his hot shooting in the third quarter. However, Tyvell Peters - who finished with a game-high 32 points - began to get hot as well. With 6:00 left in the third, the Lions got their first lead of the second half stealing the ball from the inbound and finishing. Morgan responded with a three-pointer to retake a two-point lead.

The Lions took their biggest lead of the game, 74-71 with 2:00 left in the third. A three-pointer by Zach Marcelline and a two-handed slam by Dequon Cascart helped the Hawks close out the third and regain the lead, ending the quarter, 78-75.

In the fourth quarter, the Lions took a one-point lead with 9:00 remaining in the game and that would be their last. The Hawks responded with a 10-0 run propelled by Curwin Elvis, Cy Samuels and Jaylan Morgan. However, the Lions refused to give up, as they managed to bring the game back within 1 point with 2:00 left. The sensational rookie, Kevin Otoo hit a big three to give the Hawks a four-point lead with 51 seconds left. Otoo then stole the ball and put the game away with a big layup to give the Hawks a 99-93 lead with 35 seconds left. The Hawks ended the game winning 102-96 in a hard fought battle.

"I was just feeding off my teammates," said Morgan, a JUCO/U SPORT transfer. "They believed in me and as a team, I think we played great, collectively. We had a couple of mistakes but we stuck with the coaching plan and came out with the W. 4-0 feels good, but we still gotta keep going. We have a big game on Wednesday against Sheridan, hopefully we go 5-0."

What's Next?
No. 9 Humber (4-0, 1st West) will conclude its two-game homestand on Nov. 7 against No. 1 Sheridan (3-1, 2nd West). Tipoff for the 103rd regular-season edition of The Game is set for 8 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hawks Sports Network.