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Mohawk's Lamar Barr (with ball) and Jeff Hunt. (Picture courtesy of Durham College Athletics)

OSHAWA, MARCH 8, 2015: For the first time since 2012, the Mohawk men's basketball team is the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association champion. The Mountaineers defeated the Humber Hawks 84-74 in the gold medal game at the 2015 belairdirect OCAA Men's Basketball Championship at Durham College in Oshawa Sunday.

Mohawk came storming out of the gate to take a 9-0 lead before Humber discovered their game, but still trailed 19-14 after the first quarter.

The Mountaineers, getting some timely three point shooting and strong work on the boards, increased their lead to 44-31 at the half. They led by 19 points (65-46) after three quarters and when Jeff Hunt sank a big three-pointer to start the final period to put his team up by 22, it really looked like they would coast to victory.

However, the Hawks would have none of that and with an 11-0 run and forcing the the Mountaineers into several turnovers and mental mistakes, Humber whittled their deficit down to seven points (77-70) and the game was suddenly up for grabs. But Mohawk finally recovered and kept their lead in double digits pretty well the rest of the way. This despite the fact the Hawks outscored them 28-19 in the final quarter.

Statistically, Championship MVP Matt Fennell had 26 points,11 rebounds and came up with five turnovers for the Mountaineers. Matt Savel had 21 points, six assists and three turnovers. Andrew Cicuttini scored 14, added eight boards and forced five turnovers. Lamar Barr scored 10 points, contributed nine rebounds, had three assists, five turnovers and three blocked shots.

For Humber, Kenny Ejim scored 22 points and Junior Davis had 20.

Both teams will represent the OCAA in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship at Mohawk College March 19-21.

Host Durham College won the bronze medal, defeating St. Lawrence-Kingston 66-51.

As an added bonus, the Mountaineers will compete for the national basketball title at the the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Men’s Basketball Championship, which is being held at Mohawk College's Fennell Campus next week.

Eight teams from all across Canada will be competing in this year’s tournament. The first game will be Thursday, Mar. 19, 2015 at 1 p.m. in the David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre at Mohawk College. The complete game schedule is available on the CCAA’s website. The tournament is open to the public. Tickets can be purchased at the Athletics office in R105 (David Braley Athletic and Recreation at Mohawk College’s Fennell Campus). Adult tournament passes are $30, student/senior passes are $20. Full and part time Mohawk day students are free with a One Card. Single day passes are $10 adult, $5 students/seniors. The event is presented by Budds’ BMW of Hamilton.


Fennell named Championship MVP. Andrew Cicuttini makes All-Star Team

Mohawk All Canadian Guard Matt Fennell was selected Championship MVP at the OCAA men's basketball Championship in Oshawa.

Mohawk's Andrew Cicuttini made the Championship All-Star Team.