OCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP DAY 1 RECAP

WINDSOR, Ont. – Day 1 at the OCAA Men's Basketball Championship hosted by St. Clair College at their campus SportsPlex in Windsor saw Humber Polytechnic (Etobicoke) collect an easy 112-60 win over Loyalist College (Belleville) in the first semi-final before the host Saints were upset 82-80 by Mohawk College (Hamilton) in the second semi-final.

In the opener, Humber made quick work of Loyalist taking a 26-19 lead after the first quarter and extended their advantage to 64-35 by halftime. Fifth-year forward Malik Grant (Brampton) scored 19 points in the second quarter alone in a 38-point frame for the Hawks.

Loyalist could not cut into the deficit in the second half as Humber turned up the defence, which forced 25 turnovers overall in the game. The Lancers were badly beaten on the boards by a count of 54-26 and were outscored 56-24 in the paint.

Fourth-year forward Adrian Aluyi (Toronto) was named Player of the Game for Humber who scored a game-high 29 points including 10-of-10 shooting at the foul line while adding nine rebounds and three steals. Loyalist's rookie forward Demetrius Empey (Oshawa) won Player of the Game honours after pulling down eight rebounds and adding eight points in the loss.

In the evening semi-final, Mohawk overcame a raucous capacity home crowd in a contest that saw seven ties and 10 lead changes. Mohawk led 27-23 after the first quarter and then took a 44-36 halftime cushion into the locker room. The Saints turned things around in the third quarter, outpacing the visitors 26-17 for a 62-61 lead on a late triple by fourth-year guard Kyle Brown-Fazekas (Windsor).

Although Mohawk failed to strengthen their position at the free throw line late in the game, they managed to hold on for a tight victory. St. Clair outshot (49.2 per cent) Mohawk (40.3 per cent) overall from the field, but the Mountaineers made two more triples (12) than the Saints. Mohawk also had more shot attempts (72-59) from the field after St. Clair turned the ball over 19 times and missed some key open looks down the stretch.

Second-year guard Troy Nekkers (Windsor) had 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists to earn the Player of the Game Award for the Saints while fourth-year forward Jerry Jr Mercury (Scarborough) recorded a double-double that included a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds to collect Player of the Game honours for Mohawk.

St. Clair will face Loyalist at 2:30 p.m. in the bronze game to start medal play on Saturday while Mohawk and Humber will decide the OCAA championship in the gold game at 5 p.m.

All Championship games will be live-streamed by WE-Digital productions and can be accessed via the OCAA Live link at www.ocaa.com/live/index.

Source: St. Clair Saints

Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/mbkb/2025-26/index

Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/live

Friday, March 6
Semi-Finals
Semi-Final #1: Humber def. Loyalist 112-60
Semi-Final #2: Mohawk def. St. Clair 82-80

Saturday, March 7
Bronze Medal Game
Loyalist vs. St. Clair - 2:30 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of game

Gold Medal Game
Mohawk vs. Humber - 5 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of game

- OCAA -

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