For the second time this season, the Redeemer Royals Men's Basketball team has toppled one of the top teams in the Country. After defeating the CCAA #1 ranked Bruins on November 2nd, the Royals proved Saturday that they are a real Championship contender, putting together a dominating performance against the CCAA #2 ranked Humber Hawks.
The Hawks came into the match riding a perfect 17-0 season and ready to enter the OCAA Championships as the #1 seed.
The win for the Royals was impressive, but the way in which Redeemer won stands out. After a slow start to the first quarter, the Royals found themselves behind 17-9. However, a 16-5 run to close out the first 10 minutes, had Redeemer leading 25-24.
After exchanging points to start the 2nd quarter,
Justin Lenters hit two free-throws with 7:48 left in the quarter to give the Royals a 30-29 lead. Redeemer would never relinquish the lead again. Instead, the Royals began pulling away from the visiting Hawks and took a 49-41 lead into halftime.
The second half was all Redeemer as the home team outscored their opponent 28-17 in the 3rd and 29-16 in the 4th. All 5 starters for Redeemer had double-digit points, as Redeemer cruised to a 106-74 victory.
Foster Brown was unstoppable for the Royals, narrowly missing out on a triple-double. Brown finished with a game-high 19 points, shooting 6 of 9 from the field and making 7 of 8 free throws. Brown also had 11 assists, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals.
With their 11th win of the season, Redeemer now has a legitimate chance at hosting a playoff crossover match on February 23rd. Redeemer sits in 5th place in the OCAA West, 2 points behind the Fanshawe Falcons for 4th place. The top 4 teams in the West will host a playoff crossover match while teams 5-8 will travel. The remaining two games for Redeemer come against opponents with a total of 7 wins, while Fanshawe's two remaining matches are against teams with a combined 27 wins.
The Royals will look for their 12th win on Wednesday when they host the UTM Eagles in Redeemer's final home game of the season. Men's Basketball wraps up regular season play Saturday when they travel to Conestoga to face the Condors.
Men's Basketball - Royals vs Hawks
