The Humber Hawks men’s basketball team defeated its counterpart the Canadore Panthers by 95 to 57 looking to finish off the regular season unbeaten.
The Hawks came from defeating the Redeemer Royals on Jan. 31 in its last away game of the regular season by a 102-72 score in its continuing march towards an undefeated season in the Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA).
The game started around 1 p.m. and saw the Hawks showing good defence and effectiveness to end the first quarter with a 15-point advantage.
The second quarter was tied, with the Panthers improving their effectiveness while Humber began to be more imprecise, although this didn’t prevent the Hawks from comfortably leading 46 to 35 at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Hawks’ best version and gave the Panthers no chance of keeping close in the score, finishing 71-49 as they entered the last quarter.
The last 12 minutes continued to see an even more unstoppable team, especially when on the defensive, allowing the Panthers to just eight points throughout the entire quarter to end up with a 95-57 win.
Humber’s point guard Kameron David, who scored 18 points, along with four rebounds and assists said in a post-game interview the team must keep consistent, especially ahead of the playoffs.
“Keep working hard every day in practice and keep doing what the coaches are telling us to do and applying that to the game,” David said.
He congratulated his teammates for all the hard work shown throughout the season since it’s been key for him to play at his best.
“We work really well as a team and ... my teammates believed in me today,” David said.
Humber’s shooting guard Dwayne Burke said after the game that while the team is already qualified, the respect and concentration are still the same.
“We take every game, same respect, same confidence, same mentality,” he said.
Burke said the last regular season’s game against Sheridan will have the 2015 champions on the stands watching the team, a plus for the team to finish off the season at its highest.
“We’re definitely going to show up for them (2015 champions) and show the respect heritage to them,” Burke said.
He ended up saying the team is ready for the playoffs and for what’s to come after the end of the regular season.
Humber men’s basketball team head coach Omar Miles highlighted his team’s performance during today’s game, especially for substitute players.
“You give everybody opportunities in a game like this,” Miles said. “I think everybody felt good after leaving this game.”
Miles said that while being ranked the best team in the country is a privilege, that doesn’t change the way each game is prepared.
“The game you get shared in is just like another playoff game,” he said referring to last regular season’s game against Sheridan, an important game even if the team is already qualified.
Humber’s point guard Isaiah Brady-Clarke said the team is ready to keep the undefeated record intact.
“Going into Wednesday trying to get that one too,” he said. “We can go to the playoff undefeated and keep that morale going.”
Brady-Clarke, who scored 23 points and got six rebounds coming from the bench during the game said the team feels good for what remains of the season.
“We’re coming for that gold, we’re trying to get that golden going straight to Montreal,” he said.
Humber’s record at the OCAA 2024 championship is now 17-0 with one more game left, and it’s ranked No.1 in the country.
The next and last regular season game will be against the Sheridan Bruins on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at The Nest.
