GEORGE BROWN CLINCHES BERTH AT NATIONALS WITH WIN OVER NIAGARA

SCARBOROUGH, ONT. - Day 2 of the 2017 belairdirect OCAA Men's Basketball Championships wrapped up with the final semi-final game between the second seeded Niagara Knights from the OCAA West and the top seeded George Brown Huskies from the OCAA East. Both teams were fighting to determine who would head to nationals.

The Huskies were not to be denied as they beat the Knights, 85-74, in front of a crowd that was mostly George Brown fans. After being shut out last year, a team from the OCAA East will now be fighting for a provincial medal this year.

With the win, George Brown not only advances to the gold medal match against the Sheridan Bruins but also clinches a berth in the CCAA Championships. It also guarantees the Huskies a provincial medal, something they have not accomplished since winning silver at the 1990 OCAA Championships, ironically in which they lost to Sheridan. George Brown has also not won a provincial title since 1976.

Niagara will face the Humber Hawks for a shot at the bronze medal tomorrow at 3:30 pm.

Although the Knights outscored the Huskies, 27-15, from three point range, free throw shooting and turnovers proved to be crucial in this game. George Brown outscored Niagara, 16-7, from the charity stripe and took care of the ball, committing just nine turnovers, compared to Niagara's 18.

The Huskies also moved the ball well with 19 assists on their 32 field goals made.

George Brown started off well, racing to an early 9-5 lead but Niagara fought back to tie the game up at 11. However, the Huskies pulled off seven straight points after that and took an 18-14 lead after one.

Niagara cut George Brown's lead to two early before the Huskies went on a 6-0 run, capped off by guard Ted Johnson's (#5) four point play. After Niagara called a timeout with 7:25 remaining, the Knights went on a 12-2 run to take a 28-26 lead.

This is where the offense from both sides took over. Both the Huskies and Knights scored on nine straight possessions offensively as there were 10 lead changes and three ties in just the second quarter alone. It was the Huskies who had the last opportunity to score for the quarter and they did just that, taking a 39-38 lead at halftime.

Niagara guard Lequan Hylton (#7) played out of his mind, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the second quarter alone while guard DJ Morrison (#6) had six points at the break, all in the second quarter. For George Brown, Johnson paced them in scoring with nine points at the half.

In the third quarter, Niagara went on an 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the game (five) at 46-41. However, the game began to turn in the Huskies' favour as they went on a 19-5 run, to take a 60-51 lead. Huskies guard Dejazmatch (DJ) James (#8) came alive in that run, scoring eight points in the quarter, including back to back three point plays.

George Brown eventually took a 61-54 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Huskies pulled away early in the fourth quarter, going on a 13-5 run to go up 15 (74-59), which was the largest lead of the game. The feisty and never-say-die Knights tried to come back into the game but the double digit deficit was too much to overcome.

Five players scored in double digits for George Brown, in what was a balanced attack. James led the Huskies with 19 points and nine rebounds and also had a game high two steals. Guard Kevon Mascoe (#8) scored eight points in the final quarter and finished with 16 points and eight rebounds while the all-time OCAA leading scorer and CCAA All-Canadian Ajahmo Clarke (#22) stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds, and a game high eight assists.

Johnson had 13 points while forward Matthew Bukovec (#6) had 11 points to cap off the Huskies' double digit scorers.

Hylton led all scorers with 23 points and also led Niagara with six assists in the loss. Guard Oluwafemi (Femi) Akindele (#3) was the only other Knight that scored in double figures with 13 points while forward Jordan Wilson (#8) had a game high in rebounds (10) and blocks (two).   

James was named Player of the Game for the Huskies while Hylton was named Player of the Game for the Knights. 

The gold medal match is tomorrow evening between Sheridan and George Brown at 6:00 pm.