The Huskies basketball teams head west to take part in the OCAA Provincial Championships between March 6th-8th. George Brown is looking to make a deep run and possibly book their tickets to Nationals. The journey for both squads begins on Friday night when they battle the host teams in quarter-final action.
The women are off to Windsor, Ont., for Provincials this week. They will battle the host St. Clair Saints in the quarter-finals. The Huskies are coming off an impressive 79-62 victory over Mohawk College on Saturday afternoon. Veteran point guard Zae Sellers led the way for George Brown posting a game-high 29 points, while the defence chipped in recording 25 points off 27 turnovers. The effort the team displayed on Saturday needs to translate this week.
The Saints ended the season winning six of their last seven games. They are a team that shoots quick and often as they ranked second in field goals attempted (78.9), and third in three-pointers attempted (29.3) per game, which translated into the third-most points (1251) in the province. The Huskies defence will need to be ready to slow down the Saints and the Kucera twins. Jana and Logan Kucera both averaged over 15 points per game this season and can be a handful to defend.
St. Clair College is also committed on the defensive end. They ranked third provincially in points allowed (56.8), steals (13.9) and opponent's three-point percentage (21.8%). Similar to the Huskies, the Saints are long, athletic and very smart. Expect the gym to be packed and rowdy, especially in front of their home crowd. St. Clair College enjoyed home court as they went 7-2 during the regular season. Tipoff is set for 6:00pm.
The winner of this game will play either Sheridan College or Humber College in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The men, on the other hand, are in Sarnia, Ont., for their matchup with Lambton College. George Brown defeated Niagara College 90-81 at home to earn a spot in the Elite Eight. Led by rookie forward Naseem Barry, five different players recorded double-digit points in the win.
The team needs to be ready for anything, especially with what happened last year. The Huskies, who were the number two seed, fell to the Lions 78-71 at home in the first round of the playoffs.
What makes the Huskies so dangerous is their ability to impact a game in numerous ways. They ranked first in the province in field goals made (35.5) and field goal percentage (48.5), which equalled to the third-most points per game (92.7). A reason why the team is putting up these offensive numbers is ball movement. They averaged the second-most assists (21.9) per game during the regular season. The next phase is the Huskies defence. They ranked first in the OCCA in steals (16.2) and points allowed (71.8) per game.
Lambton College ended the season on a complete tear winning seven straight games. Offensively they can keep up with anyone as they ranked fourth in the province in field goals made (34.4) and attempted (79.0) per game. During their seven game-winning, the team averaged over 94 points, while shooting 47.5% from the field. The Lions are very balanced offensively as well, with six players averaging double-digit points during the season.
George Brown and Lambton have faced off already this season. The two sides meant in the final of the 42nd Annual George Brown Invitational in January, and the Huskies completely dominated winning 113-62. Expect it to be completely different this time around, especially in front of Lambton's home crowd. Over 95% of the tickets at the event are already sold. All the action starts at 8:00pm.
Whoever advances on Friday night will play the winner between Redeemer College and Sheridan College.
You can stream both games by clicking here.
