HAWKS COME UP SHORT TO ALGONQUIN IN SEMI’S
Despite hopes of going for gold, the Humber Hawks Men's Basketball team could not tarnish the unblemished record of the Algonquin Thunder and fell 75-48 in the OCAA Semi-Final at Sheridan College on Friday night.
Algonquin's Njuguna Waiganjo finished with a game-high 23 points in the victory, while fellow First Team All-Star and player of the game Tyrelle Samuels chipped in 18.
The game opened up with strong defence and minimal scoring from both squads until the final minutes of the quarter when Algonquin nailed back to back three balls to finish the frame ahead 16-13. The second quarter saw a jostling for control as both teams battled back and forth for the lead. Greg Edelsward (Scarbourough, Ont.) hit a huge three to tie the score at 18, but Algonquin regained the lead shortly after and continued to match the Hawks point for point. Humber coach Shawn Collins was demonstrating the depth of the Hawks lineup by utilizing a number of players off the bench, while Algonquin continued to ride their starting five. A last second bucket by power forward Chad Bewley (Scarbourough, Ont.) gave the Hawks a 36-34 advantage heading into halftime.
In the second half the Thunder jumped out to an early lead, as three consecutive turnovers were converted for seven points in just the first two minutes of the quarter. Coach Collins called a timeout to regroup, but it became clear that the Hawk's game plan was beginning to unravel and their frustration was beginning to show. The Hawks could not seem to get the ball to find the mesh, and with shooting just 20.8% from the floor and recording only four points in the frame, the Thunder started pulling away. After 30 minutes of play, the Hawks trailed the Ottawa squad 53-40.
The fourth saw much of the same as Humber continued to struggle with shooting percentage and turnovers, recording a startling 23 on the night, nearly double that of Algonquin. The Hawks continued to battle but the Thunder kept pressing and when the final buzzer sounded it was Algonquin that emerged with the 75-48 victory.
Humber's player of the game Gibson Eduful lead the offensive charge for the Hawks, finishing with 10 points on the night, while teammate Edelsward collected a team high 10 boards.
"Coach gave us a game plan and we executed it in the first half but in the second half we rushed, we rushed our shots and we didn't follow the game plan. They went on a run and we weren't able to catch them," stated Eduful.
The loss eliminates Humber from the hunt for OCAA Gold, but they will return to the court tomorrow in the bronze semi-final to take on the George Brown Huskies. Tip-off is scheduled for 10am at the Sheridan Davis Campus.
