On a night that honoured the past, the number 1 ranked Humber Hawks have written a new chapter in the history of the men’s basketball program after a win over the Sheridan Bruins on Wednesday night.
With the 90-72 win and their regular season complete, the 2024-25 iteration of the Humber Hawks has become the first team in program history to finish a full regular season undefeated.
Hawks head coach Omar Miles said the team's motivation for Wednesday’s game was wrapping up the regular season undefeated.
“Today was for our seniors, our three graduating seniors, and I’m super proud of what all our guys were able to do for our seniors,” Miles said.
As in other games this season, it was a team effort Wednesday with all but two players getting points, with senior players Jalen Menzies and Malik Grant leading the charge.
Miles gushed about the leadership provided by the seniors throughout the season.
“The coaches don’t play the game, it’s the players, and they lead the charge by coming to practice every single day and working their butts off and showing up in these games,” Miles said.
After a roaring start with a nine-point lead in the first quarter, the Hawks ran into foul trouble in the second quarter, narrowing the game to a five-point spread for Humber.
The Hawks made up for the fouls with a statement in the second half, powering themselves to an 18-point lead by the end of the game.
Menzies said the message was clear from the veterans of the squad.
“Weather the storm,” he said.
“We’ve done it before. In order to be a championship team, you have to be able to be level-headed, especially against good teams like Sheridan,” Menzies said. “Sheridan always plays us tough, and they’re a good test for us going right into the playoffs.”
Although going 18-0 is certainly an achievement for this year’s Hawks squad, they still have higher heights to reach and that starts in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) provincial playoffs.
“We don’t take it for granted. We appreciate everything we’ve been given and that we’ve earned, but we have bigger plans ahead of us,” Menzies said.
Miles said losing during last year's post-season was the best lesson and the experience set the team up for success in this year’s campaign.
“Getting all the way to the national semifinals and losing to Keanu, I think it really humbled us, and really gave us great motivation for this year,” Miles said.
For the Hawks, the playoffs are nothing new, and as Miles said post-game, the perfect regular season is just step one toward the squad’s ultimate goal.
“Forget the undefeated season and all that stuff, I just think it’s one step closer to our goal, which is winning a national championship,” Miles said.
Finishing first in the conference and sitting at the top of the national rankings, the Hawks have secured home court for the qualifying round, and potentially hosting the provincial playoffs.
“When playoff basketball comes, records go out the window, home-court advantage is there, but it doesn’t matter," Menzies said. “We’re taking our opponents very seriously, whoever that may be, and we’re excited.”
With their regular season wrapped up, the Hawks look forward to Feb. 15, where they await to host the eighth seed from the OCAA’s East Division in their first playoff qualifier of the postseason.
