Francis Commey, Sports Reporter
The transformed Humber Hawks men’s basketball team reeled off its 10th straight victory by defeating the Mohawk Mountaineers on Jan. 22 at the North campus gym.
And they topped that with the 11th win over Fanshawe last Saturday, making them the hottest team in the Western Division of the OCAA.
The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association noticed the spree and plunked Humber in the 11th spot in the national rankings. Last week, the men’s team wasn’t ranked.
The Hawks, who have found their stride after starting the season with four consecutive losses, got a career-high 40 points along with six rebounds and four assists from forward Jaylan Morgan — who was awarded male athlete of the week Jan. 27 — to take the game 114-100 over the Mountaineers.
Guard Jordan Francis had three three-pointers and 22 points.
First-year forward Shae Phillips said it felt like a special night from the minute the ball tipped off.
“(Morgan) was killing it in the first and second half, I don’t even remember him missing a single shot,” Phillips said. “It was unbelievable watching Jaylan play and the rest of my teammates, our team was shooting and scoring.
“We have very high expectations for the rest of the year and nationals,” he said. “I think we’ll achieve all of our goals.”
The final game of the season series between the two teams was over when the Hawks began pulling away in the fourth quarter.
“We’re playing really well after starting (the season) off poorly,” said team manager Andy Nguyen, who has been watching the Hawks continuously grow after a 0-4 start to the year.
“We’re going to continue our success by working hard and integrating our new players into the team,” he said.
Assistant coach Chad Bewley said he always knew the Hawks always had it in themselves to reboot, using the poor start as a motivator, and it’s no surprise to him they’ve been this good of late.
“We have the utmost belief in our roster and coaching staff,” he said. “I’m not too surprised that we’ve been this hot, we’re a really good team that can get even better, we just have to work even harder.
“It’s time to keep continuing our success in games and bringing intensity in our practices,” Bewley said.
The Hawks beat Fanshawe Falcons 93-80 on Jan. 25. Their next game is against the Niagara Knights on Thursday.