The Humber Hawks men’s basketball team found itself victorious once again. The eighth-seeded Hawks did a number on George Brown, defeating them by 32 points in the OCAA final to capture gold on March 3.
And the team’s quest for national gold began Wednesday in New Brunswick with an explosive 104-57 whooping against Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics. The Hawks play the Keyano Huskies on Thursday.
The provincial gold medal is the 16th provincial championship in Humber men’s basketball history. The game was a dominant performance from start to finish, with the Hawks gaining a lead in the first quarter that they never relinquished.
Head coach Omar Miles said a large part of the win was carried by the team’s defensive play.
“I just thought we rebounded the ball really well, we covered for each other’s mistakes, and we took lots of charges,” he said.
The moment when the final buzzer went off, signifying the Hawks as OCAA champions. Photo credit: Diego Guillen/ Humber Hawks
Miles said the team’s stifling defence has been integral to every playoff win so far.
He said it became apparent that by the final games of the regular season, the team had the best defence in the province and could match up against anyone.
The team was led by Jalen Menzies, who put up 19 points and was awarded the MVP.
Menzies took plenty of shots all night, leading the team in three-point and field goal attempts.
Miles said this came as no surprise to him, given how Menzies has always risen to the occasion.
“His leadership and his ability to rally the troops when needed was very apparent when we were getting into the crunch of every tough game,” he said.
Miles said this quiet style of leadership came from Menzies’ previous experience playing at the national level with his former team, Holland College.
He said this has rubbed off on the current squad, and they are better off for it.
Kameron David, a fourth-year point guard, said the team’s bond off the court has been the catalyst for great success on it.
“We hang out all the time outside of school, so when it comes to communicating, whether we’re talking or not, we tend to have great chemistry,” he said.
David said the sky is the limit for the team given the talent they possess and how tight-knit they are.
He said if they stay disciplined in their play and remain consistent with that, no team should be able to beat them.
“The only way that we could really lose is by beating ourselves and going off of what we’re doing. That got us here in the first place,” he said.
The team is currently on a 10-day layoff between games.
While this may derail momentum for some teams, Miles said he is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen by keeping things light.
“We’re beginning to practice by doing less five-on-five drills and more five-on-0s,” he said.
Miles said it is key to stay loose and have fun during this downtime in the schedule and to save the intensity for their opponents.
Isaiah Brady-Clarke, a first-year point guard, said the preparation process for the game wasn’t any different than at any other time of the year.
“We just stayed mentally focused and applied all of the knowledge that our coaches gave us,” he said.
Brady-Clarke said staying in a good mental headspace and blocking out all negative thoughts was a key to their success in the game.