The Humber Hawks men’s basketball squad maintained its perfect record of 10-0 when it wrapped up the first half of its regular season, which included a statement victory over the St. Clair Saints on Saturday.
The team beat the Saints on Nov. 30 and scored another win on Dec. 1 against Lambton.
The meeting with the Saints was a highly anticipated match between the two top teams in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), with the Hawks ranked fifth in the nation and the Saints ranked first coming into Saturday’s match-up.
The subtext heading into the game between the two powerhouses was which team would prevail in the battle between St. Clair’s effective offence and Humber’s stubborn defence.
In the end, it was the Hawks’ reliably steady defence that would prevail by the slimmest of margins, winning the game 89-88, despite a rocky first quarter against the Saints.
“[St. Clair] started the game pretty hot,” said guard Kwabena Antwi, who earned player of the game honours against St. Clair, scoring a season-high 17 points.
“But second quarter we shut them down, found their shooters, that was about it. Once we turned up on defence, the offence got to us," Antwi said.
Post-game against the Saints, Hawks head coach Omar Miles praised Antwi’s offensive improvement which culminated in his performance on Saturday.
“[Antwi]’s been working on his game and his shooting, and we’re trying to throw our enthusiasm behind his confidence,” Miles said, “and I think today he showed that he can knock those things down.”
Antwi’s season-high 17 points on Saturday highlighted the Hawks’ continuously improving offensive game, with shooting being a highlight of those improvements.
Coming into the game against St. Clair on Saturday, the Hawks ranked 16th in three-point shot percentage in the OCAA, sitting at 26.9 per cent.
And much like the rest of their offensive game, Humber rose to the occasion, shooting 38.5 per cent from beyond the arch.
“A lot of times it’s where you’re shooting the basketball from, how open you are, and I think guys are just shooting the ball with more rhythm now and finding the right spots to shoot,” said Miles, “I think as we play better defence, I hope we could play better offence as well.”
Antwi, who was responsible for two of Humber’s 10 three-pointers, emphasized the team’s ability to shoot efficiently from anywhere on the floor.
“We score a lot in the paint, we probably lead the league in points scored in the paint,” Antwi said, “once you get those up in the paint, everything will open up for the three, and once you hit the three, it’s going to be a long day for the other team.”
With the offence now catching up after a slow start, the Hawks now look as balanced as ever, along with depth on their bench, which Miles says is the key to their team’s success so far.
“Balance, I think, is being able to go to 12 guys in big games, and if guys pick up fouls, we have a guy that can come in and replace, and we don't lose much,” Miles said.
“When our guys go out, we have other guys to step up, and that’s what we did today, so that’s our balance, our depth.”
With back-to-back wins over St. Clair and Lambton over the weekend, the Hawks now head into the holiday break as the second-best team in the country, and the best team in the OCAA, boasting an undefeated 10-0 record.
The Hawks will look to continue their momentum, as the team will be back in action on Jan. 12 against Lambton in Sarnia, Ont., followed by another meeting with St. Clair in Windsor, Ont., on Jan. 13.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
