Hawks eye CCAA’s bronze bounty after manhandling Mystics in qualifier

The Humber College Hawks still have something to play for, and they acted that way Saturday morning.

The Etobicoke, Ont.-based Hawks had opened this 2010 Canadian Colleges Athletic Association men’s basketball national championship, hosted by Calgary’s SAIT Polytechnic, with a 75-68 first-round loss to the host Trojans.

But Humber has now won two in a row, including Saturday’s 70-58 decision over the Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics of Halifax in a bronze-medal semifinal, and will now play for that bronze bauble later today, with tip-off at 6 p.m. MT.

“We still have the drive. We came here for a reason, and our goal right now is to get the bronze medal. We’re determined to win it,” said Humber’s Kern Lewis (4th-year guard, Toronto), who sank 14 points in a winning cause.

“It’s very special. A lot of teams in this country, right now, wish they could be playing at this level,” added Lewis. “To come away with something to remember it by? That’d be awesome. Very special. It shows we put a lot of hard work into the season.”

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association champion Hawks will play for CCAA bronze against the winner of Saturday’s other bronze semi, between the Fanshawe College Falcons of London, Ont., and the Champlain College Cavaliers of St-Lambert, Que., which began at 12 p.m. MT.

Quinlan Veira (1st-year guard, Toronto) led the way offensively with 16 points, while fellow Hawks Mike Dvorak (3rd-year guard, Barrie, Ont.) and J.R. Bailey (5th-year post, Toronto) drained 10 apiece.

The Mystics, meanwhile, have lost two straight games for the first time this season. The Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association champs, who entered this CCAA championship tournament with a 22-1 record in regular-season and playoff action, had dropped a national semifinal to the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Northern Timberwolves on Friday night. MSVU was making its fifth straight appearance at the CCAA tournament.

“All tournament long, we just haven’t been able to find the basket. I don’t know what the problem was,” said longtime MSVU head coach Rick Plato. “We just lacked the ability to execute offensively. Our shot selection probably wasn’t the best.

“Defensively, we had our moments, but even defensively, sometimes we had mental lapses. At this level, when you get down to the final eight, every team here is an excellent team,” added Plato. “As I tell the guys, every weakness you have becomes magnified when you play at the highest level.”

Stephen Morris (5th-year guard, Sackville, N.B.) chalked up 12 points for MSVU, while Carl Wickstrom (5th-year forward, Oakfield, N.S.) contributed eight points and five rebounds. Also posting eight for the Mystics were Adam Jewkes (5th-year forward, Truro, N.S.) and Anthony Zinn (4th-year forward, Dartmouth, N.S.).

“Our guys played their hearts out. I’m so proud of them. For some of these guys, especially Stevie Morris, Carl Wickstrom and Adam Jewkes, for five years they’ve got here,” said Plato. “They got to five semifinals in a row, and they’ve got one silver medal (from 2008), but I know they’re very disappointed that they didn’t finish it off on a more positive note.”

For live game webcasts, real-time stats, photo galleries, and recaps, visit the official CCAA national tournament website at http://www.sait2010.ca/