TOP SPOT IN SIGHT FOR 15-1 HAWKS AS THEY PREPARE FOR HOME FINALE
With just two games remaining in the OCAA's regular season, the Men's Basketball Team will play their home finale on Wednesday night looking to sweep the season series with Redeemer and get one step closer to locking up the Division's first seed.
Undefeated since play resumed from the holiday break, the Hawks recent success has come largely thanks to their work on the interior. Over the past seven games, Humber has combined to outrebound opponents by 140, with much of that damage coming on the offensive end. This past weekend exemplified just how demoralizing the team's second chance opportunities have been; in the Hawks 93-84 road victory over arch-rival Sheridan, they had twenty offensive boards, eleven of which came from Ty Dickson and Chad Bewley. The team's ability to wear opponents down on the glass has been among the biggest reasons that they are now 15-1, boasting by far the provinces best rebounding margin at plus-18.8.
Humber also has Ontario's most well balanced scoring attack, with seven players averaging eight or more points a game and five currently shooting fifty percent or better from the field. Down low, it has been the combination of Dickson and Vule Grujic pacing the Hawks, as both are averaging more than eleven points while scoring in a variety of ways. In Friday's win over the Bruins, the two combined for an even 23 points and 23 rebounds, controlling play on both ends for forty minutes. On the wing, it has been the quartet of Chad Bewley, Brayden Gohn, Ancil Martin and Junior Davis providing versatile play. Gohn has shot better than sixty percent from the field, while Martin is shooting an even fifty percent from beyond the arc. Those four, along with Kenny Ejim, have provided the Hawks with the deepest roster of swingmen in the province.
Heading up the back-court is Gibson Eduful, the team's starting point guard and a handful on both ends of the court. Eduful has hounded opposing guards up and down the court, making life miserable for opponents getting into their sets, and has been a difference maker on the defensive end all season. Eduful has averaged over two steals a night, a big reason why the Hawks the provinces number one rated defense; he has also been Humber's lead distributor, averaging over four assists per game. Curwin Elivs and RJ Ramirez round out the backcourt; both excel pushing the ball up the court and are solid outside shooters.
A game up on Mohawk with just two to play, the Hawks can all but wrap up first in the Division with a win over Redeemer. Thanks to a twenty point win over Mohawk in the team's season opener, Humber would only lose grasp on the top seed with a loss greater than that twenty point margin.
For full season standings, statistics, schedules and more please visit http://ocaa.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/standings-include.
