Mohawk College Newsroom

Michelle Abella named 2015-16 Female Apprentice Coach for Mohawk Women’s basketball team

Fri, 17 Jul 2015 08:48:45 -0400

Apprentice Coach Michelle Abella joins Mohawk Women's Basketball Coach Kevin Duffy for the 2015-16 season.

Michelle Abella is ready to take the next step in her evolving coaching career. Already a certified Level 2 coach, Abella returns to Mohawk College this season as an apprentice coach under the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association's (CCAA) Female Apprentice Coach Program. The former Mountaineer Rookie of the Year also played varsity basketball for the Sheridan Bruins in the OCAA.

The CCAA's Female Apprentice Coach Program allows young female coaches to gain experience and be mentored by seasoned coaches. The goal is to develop and grow a rich source of potential coaches within the ranks of graduating student athletes with the hopes that they will go on to work with college athletics teams.

“Michelle was a tenacious player,” said Michelle Ball, Director Engagement and Athletics at Mohawk. “During the last few years she has transferred her on-court attributes towards sharing her love of the game through coaching.”

Abella was recently the head coach for the St. Jean de Brebeuf Junior Girls team. She’s also worked with U13, U14, U15 and U16 teams.

“An opportunity such as this will serve as a key stepping-stone into another role,” said Abella. “Coaching at a high level will allow me to improve on my current skill set and will help me to learn new ones.”

Abella expects to work with the student-athletes by monitoring their skills through error detection and correction, individual workouts and identifying player personnel.

“I will provide feedback to the coaching staff and athletes with regards to new and effective ideas to improve in-game strategies, player rotations and team concepts,” she said.

Abella also plans to act as a positive role model on and off the court, helping to build character, self-esteem, and confidence to maximize the efforts of the student-athletes.

“We feel that the numerous responsibilities and roles that she will experience with our team this year, will help bring her coaching to another level,” said mentor coach Kevin Duffy.

“I’m excited about Michelle’s interest in giving back to the College game and developing as a female apprentice coach at the CCAA level,” said Ball.

Mohawk Mountaineers head coach Kevin Duffy has more than 25 years of coaching experience at the elementary, high school, club, college and university levels.

And he’s recently built a successful program at Mohawk College, where the Mountaineers are coming off back-to-back OCAA silver medals.

“Coach Duffy has built the Mountaineers program during the last six years from a team that was not a playoff contender to provincial silver medalists the last two years,” said Ball.

“His interest in developing players and young coaches, along with his experience as a coach, teacher and role model will make him an exceptional mentor coach.”

Duffy relishes the opportunity to be a mentor coach in the CCAA’s Female Apprentice Coach Program and is looking forward to having a former player back in the fold.

“We feel that the winning culture we have developed would serve as a great environment for Michelle to learn and grow in both personally and professionally,” said Duffy, a certified Level 2 coach.

“The role-modelling she will receive from my outstanding assistant coaches will also be for her betterment and provide support and guidance for her into one day becoming a head coach herself at the post-secondary level,” he said.

Mohawk loses to Lethbridge in bronze medal game at CCAA Men's Basketball Championship

Sat, 21 Mar 2015 20:18:14 -0400

The Lethbridge College Kodiaks won the bronze medal at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship in Hamilton Ontario Saturday (March 21). The Alberta team defeated the host Mohawk Mountaineers 106-92 at the David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre.

Kodiaks' Player of the game Travis Butt scored 31 points and had five assists to lead the attack. Chaz Johnson scored 31 and added 10 assists for Lethbridge, which trailed 28-24 after the first quarter and were even at 46 at the break. Mohawk, playing its third game in less than 24 hours seemed to run out of steam from that point on. But Lethbridge, with not much more time to rest, kept coming and outscored their hosts by 20 points in the third quarter for a 79-59 lead. Mohawk managed to close the gap slightly in the final period but were too far back.

Matt Fennell, the top player in Canada and one of four Mountaineers playing their final game for Mohawk, was his team's Player of the Game with 41 points, including 33 in the first half when he sank seven 3-point shots in nine attempts.

Kojo Afari had 14 points.

MBB March 19

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 22:42:58 -0400

The semi finalists have been determined at the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship at Mohawk College in Hamilton.

The top ranked team in the CCAA, the Holland Hurricanes from Charlottetown Prince Edward Island, will meet the fourth ranked Humber Hawks from Etobicoke Ontario and the championship hosts, the Mohawk Mountaineers, seeded third, will play number two Vancouver Island University Mariners of Victoria in the other semi.

In quarter final action Thursday (March 19), Holland College scored an 80-63 decision over the eighth seeded Medicine Hat Rattlers from Alberta. D.J. Wright had 19 points to lead the Island squad. Michael Farion had 16 for the Rattlers.

Humber beat number five Langara Falcons from BC 77-71, as Gibson Eduful scored 18 for the Hawks and Jitinder Lohcham notched 18 for the Falcons.

VIU topped number seven Lethbridge of Alberta 66-62. Justin King scored 26 points for the Mariners and Travis Butt notched 15 for the Kodiaks.

Mohawk, of Hamilton, just got by sixth seeded Champlain Saint-Lambert Cavaliers of Quebec 79-77 as Matt Fennell scored 28 points. J.J. Hamel-Carey delivered 21 points for Champlain.

Friday, the action picks up at 1:00 pm as Medicine Hat plays Langara, while at 3:00 pm Lethbridge meets Champlain. Both of those games feature teams still in the hunt for a bronze medal. At 6:00 pm it's Holland College versus Humber followed at 8:30 pm by Mohawk and Vancouver Island University. The winners of the two semi finals will meet in the gold medal game Saturday night.

For more visit: www.ccaa.ca

CCAA Men's Basketball first-round matchups set

Tue, 10 Mar 2015 14:45:36 -0400

The following is a media release issued by the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association on March 10, 2015

Source: www.ccaa.ca

March 10, 2015 – The Mohawk Mountaineers punched their ticket to Nationals last year when they were awarded the 2015 CCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship.

Regardless, the Mountaineers earned their way into the tournament by capturing the OCAA Championship with a victory over the Humber Hawks. In doing so, Mohawk was rewarded with the No. 3 seed for the tournament, which will be held March 18-21 in Hamilton, ON.

Meanwhile, the defending champion Langara Falcons are back once again – this time as a wildcard team after being defeated in the PACWEST Championship final by the VIU Mariners.

All matches will be webcast on CCAA.tv. For the complete schedule, latest results, news and photos, visit the tournament’sofficial website. Updates will also be available on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

The Championship Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday, March 18 at the Sheraton Hotel, where the CCAA Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and All-Canadians will be honoured.

Here are the first-round matchups:

Holland Hurricanes (1) vs. Medicine Hat Rattlers (8)

Holland, led by All-Canadian D.J. Wright, needed overtime to defeat Crandall 96-91 for the ACAA Championship. The Hurricanes finished atop the ACAA with a perfect 18-0 record in the regular season. They’ll face the wildcard team from the ACAC, the Medicine Hat Rattlers and All-Canadian Guilherme Carabagiale Fuck. Medicine Hat, 16-8 in the regular season, were defeated by Lethbridge in the conference final.

VIU Mariners (2) vs. Lethbridge Kodiaks (7)

The VIU Mariners steamrolled through the PACWEST this season with a 20-1 record. All-Canadian Justin King and the Mariners outlasted the defending CCAA champion Langara 82-76 in the conference final. VIU will face Lethbridge, the ACAC champions. The Kodiaks finished second in the South Division with an 18-6 record and knocked off Medicine Hat in the conference final.

Mohawk Mountaineers (3) vs. Champlain Saint-Lambert Cavaliers (6)

All-Canadian Matthew Fennell and the not-your-average host Mountaineers earned the No. 3 seed by capturing the OCAA Championship. Mohawk, 15-3 in the regular season, defeated division rival Humber 84-74 in the conference final. They’ll face the Saint-Lambert Cavaliers, the RSEQ regular season (14-4) and playoff champions. Saint-Lambert, led by All-Canadian Kasheem Thomas, downed Vanier in the RSEQ final.

Humber Hawks (4) vs. Langara Falcons (5)

The Humber Hawks, defeated by Mohawk in the OCAA Championship final, will represent Ontario. Humber finished atop the OCAA’s West Division with a 17-1 record. They’ll face the defending National Champion Falcons, a wildcard team. Langara, defeated by VIU in the PACWEST Championship final, is led by All-Canadian Jitinder Lohcham. The Falcons were 18-3 in the regular season.

The Road to the Championship with Mountaineer's Guard Lamar Barr

Fri, 06 Mar 2015 10:03:53 -0500

Every week between now and the start of the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Men’s Basketball Championship on March 19, we’ll be featuring short interviews with the players and coaching staff for the Mohawk Mountaineers Men's Basketball Team.

This is a chance to meet the team members that will compete against 200 other elite college athletes at this year’s tournament, the first to be hosted at Mohawk in more than 40 years. The tournament is sponsored by Budds’ BMW Hamilton.

This week on the Road to the Championship series it’s Mountaineer’s Guard Lamar Barr

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INP-2Dqf1Is&w=560&h=315]

The Road to the Championship with Mountaineer's Forward Kojo Afari

Thu, 05 Mar 2015 15:30:21 -0500

Every week between now and the start of the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Men’s Basketball Championship on March 19, we’ll be featuring short interviews with the players and coaching staff for the Mohawk Mountaineers Men's Basketball Team.

This is a chance to meet the team members that will compete against 200 other elite college athletes at this year’s tournament, the first to be hosted at Mohawk in more than 40 years. The tournament is sponsored by Budds’ BMW Hamilton.

This week on the Road to the Championship series it’s Mountaineer’s Forward Kojo Afari

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQbQBClwvUE]

The Road to the Championship with Mountaineer's Forward Jerome Gayle

Thu, 05 Mar 2015 10:15:34 -0500

Every week between now and the start of the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Men’s Basketball Championship on March 19, we’ll be featuring short interviews with the players and coaching staff for the Mohawk Mountaineers Men's Basketball Team.

This is a chance to meet the team members that will compete against 200 other elite college athletes at this year’s tournament, the first to be hosted at Mohawk in more than 40 years. The tournament is sponsored by Budds’ BMW Hamilton.

This week on the Road to the Championship series it’s Mountaineer’s Forward Jerome Gayle

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHX2V76OFFI&w=560&h=315]

The Road to the Championship with Mountaineer's Team Manager Adam Njauw

Wed, 04 Mar 2015 15:30:39 -0500

Every week between now and the start of the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Men’s Basketball Championship on March 19, we’ll be featuring short interviews with the players and coaching staff for the Mohawk Mountaineers Men's Basketball Team.

This is a chance to meet the team members that will compete against 200 other elite college athletes at this year’s tournament, the first to be hosted at Mohawk in more than 40 years. The tournament is sponsored by Budds’ BMW Hamilton.

This week on the Road to the Championship series it’s Mountaineer’s Team Manager Adam Njauw

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgjgA3QRV0U]

Mohawk College gets ready to welcome Canada's best college basketball players

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 10:15:17 -0500

COLLEGE WILL HOST CCAA NATIONAL MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP STARTING MARCH 19

HAMILTON, ON (March 3, 2015) — More than 200 athletes from across Canada are gathering at Mohawk College Fennell Campus from March 19 to 21, to play for gold in the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Men’s Basketball Championship. The event is presented by Budds’ BMW of Hamilton.

The Mohawk Mountaineers are ready to shoot, score and compete for the championship title. The Mohawk Mountaineers won the CCAA Championship in 2012.

“It is a long process to get to the championships. To put a team together that can compete at this level has been about a five year process,” says Brian Jonker, head coach of the Mohawk Mountaineers men’s basketball team. “The team has played well this season and we’re feeling confident as we head into the tournament. We’re looking forward to seeing who the competition is and to welcoming them to Mohawk on the 19th.”

The National Basketball Championship is the highpoint of the season. All games lead to the championship. The athletes have spent many months competing against each other to play in this exclusive event.

Eight teams from all across Canada will be competing in this year’s tournament. The teams will be announced the week of March 9, 2015. 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.

Mohawk educates and serves more than 22,000 full-time, part-time, apprenticeship and international students at three campuses in Hamilton, Ontario. For the past four years, Mohawk has ranked number one in overall student satisfaction among all colleges in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

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For additional information, please contact:

Michelle Ball

905.575.2074

905.379.3921 (Cell)

michelle.ball@mohawkcollege.ca

Sean Coffey

905.575.2127

Sean.coffey@mohawkcollege.ca

The Road to the Championship with Mountaineer`s Forward Jeff Hunt

Fri, 20 Feb 2015 11:15:45 -0500

Every week between now and the start of the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Men’s Basketball Championship on March 19, we’ll be featuring short interviews with the players and coaching staff for the Mohawk Mountaineers Men's Basketball Team.

This is a chance to meet the team members that will compete against 200 other elite college athletes at this year’s tournament, the first to be hosted at Mohawk in more than 40 years. The tournament is sponsored by Budds’ BMW Hamilton.

This week on the Road to the Championship series it’s Mountaineer’s Forward Jeff Hunt.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYLmpuwdupk]

The Road to the Championship with Mountaineer's Head Coach Brian Jonker

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 11:30:33 -0500

Every week between now and the start of the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Men’s Basketball Championship on March 19, we’ll be featuring short interviews on the players and coaching staff for the Mohawk Mountainneers Men's Basketball Team.

This is a chance to meet the team members that will compete against 200 other elite college athletes at this year’s tournament, the first to be hosted at Mohawk in more than 40 years. The tournament is sponsored by Budds’ BMW Hamilton.

This week on the Road to the Championship series it’s Mountaineer’s Head Coach Brian Jonker.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShuGL6MJgF0&w=560&h=315]

The Road to the Championship with Mountaineer's Guard Matt Fennell

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 08:45:05 -0500

Every week between now and the start of the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Men’s Basketball Championship on March 19, we’ll be featuring short interviews on the players and coaching staff for the Mohawk Mountainneers Men's Basketball Team.

This is a chance to meet the team members that will compete against 200 other elite college athletes at this year’s tournament, the first to be hosted at Mohawk in more than 40 years. The tournament is sponsored by Budds’ BMW Hamilton.

This week on the Road to the Championship series it’s Mountaineer’s Guard Matt Fennell

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPFxPG29Txc]

Tickets on sale now for the 2015 CCAA Men's National Basketball Championship at Mohawk College

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 13:30:00 -0500

Mohawk is hosting the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Men’s Basketball Championship, March 19-21^st, 2015, presented by Budds’ BMW Hamilton.

Tournament passes, as well as single day tickets are available now.

An adult tournament pass is $30, student/senior is $20. Full and part time Mohawk day students are free with a One Card. Single day passes are $10 adult, $5 students/seniors.

The first 100 people to purchase a tournament pass will receive a free, grey Mountaineers t-shirt to wear on game day! Tickets can be purchased at the Athletics office, R105.

Come out and support the Mohawk Mountaineers as we play our first game on Thursday, March 19^th at 8:30 p.m.

Media Release: Mohawk College will host Canada’s best college basketball players in 2015

Fri, 12 Dec 2014 09:46:22 -0500

TOURNAMENT TO DRAW MORE THAN 200 ATHLETES FROM ACROSS CANADA

HAMILTON (December 12, 2014) — Mohawk’s award winning David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre is hosting the Budds’ BMW Hamilton Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Men’s Basketball Championship in March 2015.

The championship title will be decided over three days starting March 19 and is expected to draw more than 200 athletes from across Canada to Hamilton. Mohawk’s Mountaineers men’s basketball team will be among the eight teams completing at the tournament. The Mountaineers won the national title in 2012 and will be looking to reclaim the title on their home court.

This is the first national championship to be held at the David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre, and the first national men’s competition to be held at the College in more than 40 years.

Leading up to the tournament, event sponsor Budds’ BMW will holding a “Time Trial” competition at the start of every Mountaineers home game. Two contestants will race radio-controlled BMW cars around a course in the gymnasium. The drivers with the fastest times will be invited to compete during the tournament in March with the overall winner getting a full day at the BMW Driving School in London, Ontario, where they will learn safety and driving techniques.

WHAT: Mohawk College will host the Budds’ BMW Hamilton Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Men’s Basketball Championship.

WHO: Eight teams (more than 200 athletes) from across Canada who will compete for the national championship title

WHEN: March 19 – March 21, 2015

WHERE: Mohawk College Fennell Campus: David Braley Athletic & Recreation Centre

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For more information contact:

Michelle Ball, Director Student Engagement and Athletics

(905) 575-2074

Aminu Bello named Male Athlete of the Year by OCAA and CCAA

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:02:49 -0400

Mohawk's Aminu Bello (Centre) is the Ontario College Athletic Association and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Male Athlete of the Year. Aminu helped lead the Mohawk Mountaineers men's basketball team to its first OCAA championship in 40 years. Following the provincial championship, the team went on to win the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association national championship in Nova Scotia.

Both awards were presented to Aminu during a ceremony held at Mohawk College this afternoon. Presenting the awards were Michelle Ball, Director Student Engagement and Athletics at Mohawk College and Blair Webster, Executive Director of the OCAA.

Video: U. S. Steel Canada donates $500,000 to Mohawk College

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:46:56 -0400

Mohawk student and Mountaineer basketball star Aminu Bello has been named the best college athlete in Ontario and across Canada. Aminu is the 2012 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) male athlete of the year. Aminu is the fourth Mohawk varsity athlete to win OCAA honors and the first since 2008.

Canadian Idol winner to perform during Mohawk College's Spring Open House

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:26:02 -0400

Mohawk College has won its first Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship.

The Mountaineers, led by Aminu Bello's 32 point, player of the game performance, downed the Mount Royal University Cougars of Calgary 88-73 in the Gold Medal Final in Truro, N.S., Saturday night. Alex Reis scored 22 points and Tanner Lane added 12, on four, three-point shots.

Andrew Cicuttini, who was named Most Valuable Player of the Championship, had 15 rebounds for the Mountaineers.

Mohawk fell behind 12-4 but thanks to consecutive three pointers by Bello, Lane and Bello again, took the lead and were in front 21-18 after one quarter. In the second quarter, Mohawk went on a 15-1 run and led by 17 (36-19). Mount Royal got back to within seven points (44-37) but Lane's late three pointer gave the Mountaineers their 10 point margin at the half.

Mohawk led 64-55 in the third and continued their lead into the fourth quarter. Mohawk had a field goal percentage of 40.26 for the game, while Mount Royal shot 34.15 percent.

Mohawk's Manny Campbell was named to the championship's First All-Star Team. Taylor Dowhaniuk was named to the Second Team.

Mountaineers vs. University of Northern British Columbia tonight at 5 p.m. eastern

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:53:16 -0400

Andrew Cicuttini scored 34 points and added 11 rebounds to lead the 4th seeded Mohawk Mountaineers to a 101-96 victory over the 5th ranked Vanier Cheetahs in their opening game of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship in Truro, N.S. today.

Mohawk got off to a bright start against the reigning champions from Montreal and led 28-20 after the first quarter.

In the second period the Mountaineers led by 11 points a couple of times, but the Cheetahs would not go away. Montreal battled back and could have led at half time but missed a layup at the buzzer. Mohawk went to the dressing room ahead 54-53.

Very early in the third quarter, Vanier took their first and what turned out to be their only lead (57-56). But Mohawk responded with a 7-0 run and after some key turnovers late in the quarter, a 3-pointer by Jeff Hunt gave the Mountaineers a 76-66 lead at three quarter time.

Mohawk increased its margin to 13 points (87-74) with about seven minutes remaining and appeared to have the game in hand, but Vanier came charging back again.

Mohawk big man Taylor Dowhaniuk fouled out of the game with just under four minutes to go, but Vanier had three starters foul out and a couple of injuries which did not help them in the latter stages of the game.

Vanier narrowed the deficit to 98-96 in the final minute, but Mountaineer All-Canadian Amino Bello sank three free throws to complete the scoring.

Cicuttini, who was Mohawk's player of the game, told SportsCanada.TV that the Mountaineers find ways to win. "We just kept playing hard," said Cicuttini. "It's a do or die situation. We are all hungry to get the first national (men's basketball) championship in the school's history."

The Mountaineers will go up against the top seeded team from the University of Northern British Columbia on Friday at 6 p.m. UNBC downed Red Deer College of Alberta, 88-65 in the championship curtain-raiser.

All games in the championship tournament are streamed at:

http://ccaamensbasketball2012.ca/