By Geordie Carragher
March 3, 2013
For the first time ever, an ACAA basketball championship banner is crossing the Confederation Bridge.
The Holland College men’s basketball Hurricanes withstood a late rally from the host St. Thomas Tommies to capture the first ACAA championship in the school’s history, beating St. Thomas 70-61 in the final on Sunday in Fredericton.
Chase Bowden had another monster game for Holland College, scoring 16 points and pulling down 15 rebounds to lead the Hurricanes.
Meanwhile, Summerside native Steve Hardy, who hit the game winning three-pointer against Mount St. Vincent on Saturday, came up big once again, scoring 15 points and adding five rebounds to take home player of the game honours.
The Hurricanes knew it wasn’t going to come easy, Hardy said.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We got off to a good start, but we knew they were going to come back. We were just waiting for it, and sure enough, they started hitting big shots. We just didn’t let it get to us.”
Holland College’s victory capped off a fine season of ACAA conference play, going 20-3 counting this weekend to take the championship.
The Hurricanes started the championship game out strong, with Leo Morris scoring the first six points of the game en route to an early 24-13 first quarter lead.
The Tommies started out the second quarter strong, but the Hurricanes clawed back to take a 37-22 lead into halftime.
St. Thomas came out firing early in the third quarter, bringing the deficit to within single digits.
However, Holland College was able to find more critical shooting when they needed it, including a big three-pointer from Steve Hardy to stretch the lead to 13 midway through the third.
Hardy was happy to start making shots after Saturday’s heroics.
“I knew I would get them going after missing 10 yesterday,” he joked.`
Nathan Mazurkiewicz and Jason Daniels put the Tommies on their backs shortly thereafter, scoring critical baskets to keep the game within reach, as the Hurricanes led 53-40 after three quarters.
Mazurkiewicz finished with 20 points and four rebounds to be named player of the game for St. Thomas, who saw their 11-game winning streak dating back to the regular season snapped.
While Holland College never trailed throughout the game, the defending champion Tommies wouldn’t give up the banner without a fight.
In front of a fierce home crowd, St. Thomas brought the game back to within three points with 1:51 to go.
It brought back shades of the 2012 ACAA final in Charlottetown, where the Tommies came back to force overtime and eventually beat Mount St. Vincent.
Holland College fully expected the pushback from St. Thomas, Hardy said.
“Mazurkiewicz, what can you say about him? Him and Daniels, they’re both great shooters. We knew they were going to come and bring it right to the last buzzer.”
However, the Hurricanes fan base willed Holland College forward, and they responded by hitting eight free throws in the final 90 seconds, with five of Jake Kendrick’s eight points coming in that stretch.
Overall, free throws have been a weakness for the Hurricanes, and they only made 16 of 31 in the championship game.
“That’s been our Achilles heel all season, but we made them when it counted,” Hardy said.
As time expired, the Hurricanes rushed the court as they celebrated their first championship.
The Hurricanes will travel to Sainte Anne de Bellevue, Qc. for the CCAA basketball championships from Mar. 14-16.
Despite Sunday’s championship win, Hardy knows there’s more basketball to be played.
“It feels good, but the job’s not done. We’ve got three more games to play, so we’re going to try and win those, too.”
Filed under: Geordie Carragher
Source:
http://surveyoronline.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/holland-college-mens-team-brings-home-first-acaa-basketball-championship-banner/
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