Varsity Update - January 23, 2012
Men's Basketball
The Mohawk men's basketball team became the first squad to top 1,000 points this OCAA season with an emphatic 109-65 win over the visiting Lambton Lions of Sarnia at the Fennell Gym Wednesday (Jan. 18).
The Mountaineers came out on fire, taking a 15-0 lead.
Aminu Bello led Mohawk with 22 points. Manny Campbell had 16 and Tanner Lane added 15.
"They hung around for about 15 minutes and then we went on a large run to end the half," said Mountaineers' head coach Brian Jonker. "The pressure created some turnovers and easy scoring chances. It was nice to get everyone some minutes. Our defense really led to alot of easy baskets on the offensive end."
The news was not as good three nights later as Mohawk lost 80-74 at Sheridan. The Mountaineers led for most of the game and at one point were in front by 14 points.
"Sheridan's second half defense picked up and we struggled offensively finding ways to score," said coach Jonker. "I was proud of our effort and the fact we competed all night, but we need to find ways to close out games like this on the road. We played well enough to win, but didn't finish the job."
Campbell led the attack with 17 points. Bello scored 15, Andrew Cicuttini had 14 and Jeff Hunt came off the bench to collect 13.
Mohawk saw its record fall to 8-4.
Women's Basketball
The Mountaineer women dropped a 73-69 overtime decision to Lambton in OCAA hoops (Jan. 18). The Lions led by six points with time running down but newcomer Taylor Shaw sent the game to extra time with a pair of clutch 3-point buckets. However, the Mountaineers ended up on the losing end after the OT period.
Shaw led Mohawk with 14 points, Rachelle Abella and Lindsay Bokor had 10 each and Cynthia Mosca added nine for the Mountaineers, who fell to 5-6.
"It was a very frustrating game for all of us," said Mohawk head coach Kevin Duffy. "I really think we deserved a better fate. We played hard, executed our sets, but just couldn't finish at the end. When we did have a defensive breakdown, they made us pay with great 3-point shooting. We won't quit, we still can control our own destiny as far as making the playoffs, so we will keep that as our focus as we move forward."
However, the very next game (Jan. 21) the Mountaineers were beaten by Sheridan, 72-60. Abella scored 24 points, Cynthia Mosca and Shaw each tallied 11.
"We had the lead by three at the half," noted coach Duffy. "We were quite active on defense and our shot selection was fantastic as we were 14 for 20 from the field. In the third quarter, we missed some easy shots and lost our momentum. We were outscored by 15 in that quarter and that was really the turning point of the game." Still, Duffy said he was really proud of the way his ladies competed. "They made Sheridan earn everything they got. We deserved better and if we can maintain this effort and focus the rest of the way, we will definitely have success."
Men's Volleyball
Mohawk rallied from an 0-2 deficit for a 22-25, 24-26, 27-25, 28-26, 15-12 verdict over the Niagara Knights in OCAA men's volleyball in Welland January 18.
Phil Youngblut led Mohawk with 13 kills, two service aces and five stuff blocks. Justin Scapinello had 12 kills, three aces and four blocks. Ian Cameron collected 15 kills and one block and added 19 digs and Steve Pawelczyk had 11 kills and five blocks.
"Niagara was a team desperate for a quality win and needed the match to compete for a playoff position, which made them dangerous," said Mohawk head coach Matt Schnarr. "They gave us their best game but we did just enough to pull out a win. On a night when we didn't have our best, we pulled together, fought through our struggles and came up with a big team win headed into our tough stretch with four matches in nine days." Schnarr said learning to win on nights when you are not at your best speaks volumes for the character of his team. "Our play was led by middle Phil Youngblut as he was exceptional offensively and defensively on the block. He was unstoppable and a man on a mission all night. It was nice to see another attacker lead our team."
The Mountaineers continued their winning ways, sweeping Sheridan 25-17, 25-21, 25-14, January 21. Mohawk came out strong against the Bruins, who had a small roster, due to some injuries.
"The control of the ball on our side of the net allowed us to run an efficient offense in which Mark Kaveckas picked on mismatches the whole night," said coach Schnarr. The evening was led by Kaveckas as he ran an efficient offense and had great bench support as Justin DesRoche had three kills and one ace in two sets and Mike Douglas who had three kills and two blocks to finish Sheridan off in the third set. It was a good night to find rhythm in our offense heading into Redeemer on Tuesday (Jan. 24)."
With the win, Mohawk moved into sole possession of third place in the West Region, with a 9-3 record.
Women's Volleyball
Like their male counterparts, the Mohawk women's volleyball team had to storm back from two sets down to surprise Niagara 18-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-10 Jan. 18.
"The team realized late in the third set that their season was in the balance, said Mohawk head coach Andrew Nicholson. "We decided that we wanted to play some meaningful games for the remainder of this season"
Jenna Gignac had 10 kills, two service aces, one stuff block and 16 digs. Mackenzie Lawrence recorded seven kills, two aces and 18 digs, while Julie Gagnon had 23 digs.
However, in what coach Nicholson termed the hardest loss of the season the Mountaineers dropped a 24-26, 25-15, 25-16, 19-25, 12-15 decision to visiting Sheridan January 21.
Mackenzie Lawrence had eight kills and six service aces for 14 points. Chi Chi Chuks-Mady had 10 kills, one ace and two blocks. "The second and third sets of this match were our best of the season," said Nicholson. "Unfortunately the same inconsistency that has plagued us all season raised its ugly head in the 4th and 5th" We are definitely much better than our record (3-9) shows."
