MEN'S BASKETBALL END FIRST HALF WITH THREE-GAME WIN STREAK
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Redeemer | 18 | 20 | 10 | 23 | 71 |
|
Humber | 22 | 29 | 17 | 21 | 89 |
By: Natalie Stoberman
The Hawks improve to 6-3 after a solid 89-71 win over the Redeemer Royals to cap their first half of the regular season. Team captain Gibson Eduful racked up a double-double with 16 points and 12 assists to go along with five rebounds and steals in 36 minutes of play.
Humber didn't get the start they needed even though they shot 50 per cent from the field and 40 per cent from three-point land but the Hawks leaned on forward Brayden Gohn and guard C.J. Bennett who drained five points each to lead the Hawks to a 25-18 lead. Though Humber's intensity was flat, the tides were already changing for the second quarter.
The next 12 minutes were a long range shooting clinic from both squads, but Humber was the team who turned on the heat. After a seven point run from the Royals off of four clutch three-pointers, forward Matthew Bukovec went to work with a timely three from the top of the arc that had everyone in the Nest on their feet to kill Redeemer's momentum. Then forward Ancil Martin nailed the coffin shut with three hard-nosed drives in the paint that sent Humber on a high with a 54-38 lead into the half.
Humber's defence shut down the Royals and kept them to only 10 points in the third frame. Bukovec had the hot hand and scored nine of the Hawks' 17 points with three trey's to add to Humbers lead. Though it was a low scoring quarter from both sides to get to a 71-48 lead at the buzzer, Humber was paving the way for a phenomenal fourth quarter finish.
Bukovec was the catalyst of taking away any doubt that the Royals could come back and win. His 11 points in a back-and-forth quarter gave the Hawks their momentum to close out the game 89-71 despite Redeemer giving the Hawks a scare by outscoring the home team 23-18. Bukovec was named the "Hawks Nation" Player of the Game with a career-high 29 points, 21 of those points from 3-point range, in almost 24 minutes of work.
On the win, Bukovec said, "the team has come a long way from the beginning of the season and it showed that the way we won tonight is because we've grown as a team."
The Hawks will be back in action on Jan. 13 with a home game against the Mohawk Mountaineers at 8 p.m.
