The Humber Hawks men’s basketball team emerged victorious at home against the St. Lawrence Surge winning 97-70 in the opening round of the OCAA playoffs on Feb. 17.
The Hawks had earned the two seed and received the home-court advantage through the first two playoff rounds.
Head coach Omar Miles emphasized the importance of the defence strategy and said it paid off throughout the game.
“I asked them to be locked in on the defensive end and not turn the ball over,” Miles said. “Despite the challenges, we stayed focused, played physically, rebounded well, and executed on defence.”
The Surge, on the other hand, struggled to counter the Hawks’ defence. Miles highlighted the Hawks’ preparation and ability to disrupt the Surge’s offence as a key factor in their victory.
“We mimicked their offence throughout the week and found ways to exploit their weaknesses,” he said. “I don’t think they have met a team as physical as we were throughout the season.”
Miles said several players stood out to him, including power forward Malik Grant.
“I stuck with playing defence by staying in the middle, helped my team, made great passes, made great plays,” Grant said. “Our defence is our offence and that will get us to win.”
Grant said the Hawks faced some limitations though.
“We just complained a little too much,” he said. “The rest was good but a lot of us were complaining, even myself, so we just got to stay mentally strong.
“Our fouls weren’t that good, either,” Grant said.
Point guard Christian Desjardins said the strong bond among players has been a benefit.
“Our chemistry is great,” Desjardins said. “This is the closest team I’ve ever been on, you know, we’re all brothers, we all have a lot of love for each other so you know we’re going to take that to the end.
“The Surge was okay. It wasn’t too crazy, we worked hard and won and we’re ready for the next match with whoever we see,” he said.
Hawks guard Romeo Osas Joshua said there were key factors that led to the Surge’s loss.
“I think they were tired, we played fourteen guys, and they only played seven guys the whole game so I think fatigue was a problem,” he said.
“We’re moving on to the quarterfinals now and hopefully, we take care of business in the quarterfinals and then move to the semifinals,” said Miles.
“One game at a time for us, so we can’t even think about the semifinals until we take care of the quarterfinals,” he said.
Humber hosts Sheridan College in the OCAA quarterfinals on Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. at the North Campus Gymnasium.