Recent scores may have the Huskies passing up on the playoffs
Brandon Goin-Bailey and his teammates play hard, but
can they play hard enough to make it to the playoffs?
Photo: Thomas Chung/GBC Athletics
Over the Christmas break, athletes had many opportunities to regain focus and get a firm hold on their mentality coming into the winter season. While for some teams the hiatus was much needed, for others spending time on the court could have been useful.
The George Brown College (GBC) Huskies men’s basketball team played in the Fanshawe Tournament on Dec. 29-30, and who by the skin of their teeth managed to win 85-84 against Humber College.
The two remaining games ended in a loss against Fanshawe, 81-57, and to Sheridan, 78-56.
At the George Brown Holiday Tournament on Jan. 2-3, GBC was able to start fresh with a 2-1 lead on the court.
While facing Durham College, GBC won the game by three points, 75-72 and kept that winning state-of-mind throughout the game against the Sault College Cougars, beating them 74-62.
That was the end of any winning streak the Huskies had in the tournament.
When facing the Mohawk College, the men’s team kept their scores at the low-seventies mark but were trampled when Mohawk’s Mountaineers scored over 100 points, ending the game 101-72.
The Huskies volleyball teams played in two separate tournaments over the break.
The women’s team attended the Durham College Tournament and left empty-handed.
For a total of five games, the women tied two matches, 1-1, with both Durham and Sheridan College and lost three matches, 2-0, against St. Clair, Algonquin and Conestoga.
The men’s volleyball team left the Niagara Falls Tournament with higher spirits, winning two matches against St. Clair, 3-2, and Trent University, 3-1. Unfortunately the remaining two matches resulted in a 3-0 loss against Fanshawe and Durham College.
The regular season for all Huskies athletes began around mid-January, with the basketball teams starting off the new year.
On Jan. 7, the men’s and women’s basketball teams travelled to Centennial College to begin the year on a better, faster foot.
It didn’t work out as well for the women’s team, who suffered a 65-35 loss. The men worked for every point, proving their hard-working mindset with a 74-71 win against Centennial.
That mentality comes and goes for the basketball teams as seen in their games against Georgian on Jan. 14 losing 76-65, and Durham College on Jan. 20, where they lost 99-90 to a team they had recently beaten in the tournament.
On a better note, the men’s basketball team were able to pride themselves on a tremendous win, 93-77, against the Canadore College Panthers.
Despite the roller-coaster of wins and losses, GBC’s men’s basketball team was crowned Ontario College Athletic Association’s (OCAA) team of the week, while their point guard Akai Nettey placed 14th on the OCAA leaderboards for averaging 18.4 points per game (PPG), along with women’s basketball player Jessica Ramkeesoon, a 6-foot tall forward, placing 27th on the leaderboards for a mean of 10.9 PPG.
Although the Huskies are facing more losses than wins, the OCAA leaderboards are focusing on players that have earned their spots.
Brittney Gee, a left-side hitter for the women’s volleyball team managed an astounding 115 digs this season placing 14th on the leaderboards and Stephen Duong, an outside hitter for the men’s volleyball team, placed 10th with 98 total digs and 20th for averaging 2.62 kills per set.
While being noticed for an individuals’ hard work is important, the teams have been less capable of winning, as both the men’s and the women’s teams lost all but one game in the three games against Canadore, Fleming and Trent University; the men broke the pattern of a duplicate season against Fleming College winning a five-set game, 3-2.
Looking into the Huskies’ future, there may be less hope for a chance in the playoffs or championships, but there is always room to improve on the individual skill sets within the team.
