Humber vs. Sheridan : The Game

Thursday, February 20th marked the biggest game on the Humber Hawks season. The Sheridan Bruins basketball teams were in Etobicoke for “The Game”, the biggest rivalry in Ontario college basketball, maybe Canadian college basketball. The rivalry goes back to the mid-80’s, as since then Humber and Sheridan own the most prestigious men’s college basketball programs in the province. The two teams even met in the 2001 CCAA National Championships, the last time Humber hosted the tournament. That’s not to say that there’s no rivalry on the women’s side. When you have two programs that are close geographically (about 20 km apart), there’s bound to be some competition for local bragging rights. There was not a spare seat at the gym, as security was forced to tell people waiting that there was no more room. It was seniors night as well, with 7 players being honoured while about to play their final regular season home game in the Hawks Nest. With that out of the way, let’s see how the night turned out.

The women’s game was first up, with Jahnae Gyles and Amber Bechard being honoured pre-game. After the ceremony, the game was underway and it quickly became apparent that the game would be a defensive affair. After a close 1st quarter, Humber turned up the jets in the 2nd, outscoring Sheridan 19-3 for a 37-18 lead. Sheridan came right back in the 3rd, taking that quarter 24-8 to make it a 3-point game going into the final quarter. The 4th would be a back-and-forth battle. Marquia Ennis gave the Bruins the 61-59 lead with just 13 seconds left. After a Humber timeout, Gyles came up clutch with a 3-point shot to give the Hawks a 1 point lead with 10 seconds to go. After a Sheridan timeout, Ivana Twumasi fouled Theresa Brown. Brown would make both of her free throws to give Sheridan a 1 point lead with 4 seconds left. Humber was out of timeouts and had to move the ball up quickly. The ball was inbounded to Gyles who found Bechard near the paint. Bechard spun around into the paint for the open layup to complete the victory just as the clock was running down. The Hawks Nest exploded as the Hawks beat Sheridan 64-63 on seniors night. How fitting it was that the two seniors closed out the game for Humber in clutch fashion.

The men were up shortly after. A lot was on the line for this game. If Sheridan won, they would go 2-0 against Humber this season, and would leapfrog them in the standings. Jaylan Morgan, Dequon Cascart, Cy Samuels, Micqueel Martin and Khalid Adam would all be honoured before the match. Sheridan jumped out to a 6-0 lead early, looking to play spoiler on a ceremony night. Humber would come right back and take the lead, but couldn’t get much of a lead, they would leave the 1st quarter with a 20-18 lead. Humber would have a stronger 2ndquarter, going into halftime with a 52-46 lead. The Hawks could not get comfortable however, as Sheridan had a strong 3rdquarter, off the back of Nick Campbell who put up 10 points in that period. It was now back to a 2 point game. In the 4th, Sheridan would start strong and would take a 83-81 lead with 4 minutes to go. The sleeping giant of Humber would finally awaken, and Humber would go on an 8-0 run to take a 6 point lead with just under 3 minutes left. Sheridan couldn’t put much of a run together after that, and the Hawks would come away with a 101-93 victory. Campbell would have a game-high 33 points for Sheridan, but Humber had Morgan who went off for 23 points as he states his case for All-Canadian honours.

Both teams still have one last hurdle in the way before they head to their respective provincial tournaments. On Saturday, February 29, both teams will be hosting their cross-over playoff match. Depending on how the final games play out the women will play either: Loyalist, Centennial or St. Lawrence. As for the men, they will be waiting for one of Centennial, La Cite, St. Lawrence or University of Toronto Mississauga. No matter how things play out for the men’s team, they will automatically make the CCAA National Championships as Humber will be hosting it from March 18thto the 21st. Go check out humberhawks.ca for all the news and stats about your Humber Hawks! Go Hawks, Go!!