Humber claims OCAA basketball title

The Humber Hawks claimed the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men's basketball championship on Saturday at Durham College.

Shane Dennie scored 12 points to lead the Hawks, from Etobicoke, past Toronto's Centennial Colts 53-44 on Saturday in the championship game of the league's final eight playoff tournament.

The Hawks entered the game as the tournament's number two seed while the Colts entered as the eighth seed.

The Colts began their run through the tournament by shocking the number one ranked Sault College Cougars in the tournament opener on Thursday night.

The 88-68 loss to the Colts eliminated the Cougars from the tournament. Jean Louis Ouattara led the Cougars in that game with 23 points while Brady Bolan added 14 and James Tusingwire 11.

At the league awards banquet before the tournament, Ouattara was named the OCAA Rookie of the Year. The forward's 24.2 points per game also earned him the league scoring champion title.

Ouattara, who shot 83 per cent from the free throw line this season, was also named to the west division's first all-star team while Sean Seivwright captured second team honours.

Cougars head coach Tom Cory, a former OCAA and national champion at Durham, earned OCAA West Coach of the Year honours. Cory guided the Cougars squad to a 10-2 record on the season, earning them the west region title and a spot in the provincial championships.

Algoma University's Matt Chaimbrone was named to the west division's second all-star team.

The fourth seeded Sheridan Bruins captured the bronze medal with a 116-73 win over the third seeded Loyalist Lancers.

Meanwhile in Toronto, Humber completed the basketball sweep as the lady Hawks captured the OCAA women's basketball championship with a 59-49 win over the Algonquin Thunder.