No. 1 Men's Basketball rolls Canadore Saturday

By: Nina Kersnik
Humber Athletics Communications

ETOBICOKE - No. 1 Humber men's basketball (5-0, 2nd West) obliterated the Canadore Panthers (0-4, 10th West) on Saturday night at the Humber Athletic Centre, 118-59. Benni Kazadi dominated on the court, racking up a career-high 31 points against the Panthers.

Game recap

Remaining undefeated with a 5-0 record, the Hawks hoped to wrap this one up quickly, going up against the team ranked last in the division, the Canadore Panthers. 

Right from tip-off, Humber did just that as Dwayne Burke secured four points for his squad right out the gate. From there, the Hawks continued to rack up eight more with the help of Isaiah Brady-Clarke, Kwabena Antwi and Jayar Harewood. 

On the other side of the court, play started awfully slowly for the Panthers, forcing their head coach to call a timeout just five minutes into the game. That timeout wouldn't do much though, as Benni Kazadi absolutely dominated Canadore's defensive end, contributing 12 points by the end of the quarter. Kazadi leads Humber in points this season with 66, one more than Malik Grant with 67. After ten, Humber took a 32-14 lead over the Panthers, outscoring them by 18 points. 

Into the next frame, Canadore came back with a couple of chances of their own, closing the deficit to 14 points. Luckily, their little progress didn't deter the home team, who came back with Isaiah Brady-Clarke and Dwayne Burke bucketing a three-pointer each with five minutes remaining. Brady-Clarke led the Hawks with 11 points in this quarter and collected 13 by halftime. Then Humber continued that momentum to collect six more before Kazadi came in clutch once again, bucketing two three's of his own, increasing Humber's lead to 33 points. With 1:21 left on the clock, the Hawks gave up only four baskets to the Panthers, heading into the half with a comfortable lead of 62-28. 

After the break, Canadore created a few more chances to close the gap slowly. But no amount of effort would stop the unstoppable as Humber worked together to accumulate ten more from where they started. Minutes later, head coach Omar Miles called a timeout with 3:23 left on the clock to regroup, giving the Hawks a chance to score another 16 points by the end of the quarter. With 30 minutes gone, the Humber would head into the last ten up 87-38. 

In the final quarter, the Hawks continued to dominate on the court, getting four points within a minute. On the other end the Panthers who got most of their points through free-throws, looked almost unrecognizable. Halfway through the quarter, Humber took a 102-49 lead, surpassing the century mark, thanks to Nathan Waithe, Benni Kazadi and Amare Anderson. The three of them worked for 20 of Humber's 31 points in the quarter. 

Then in the final minute, Canadore's Zuriel Mhlongo scored the last chance for his side with 11 seconds remaining, but his effort in the dying moments would be nowhere near enough to put his team ahead. 

The Hawks were able to pull away with a 118-59 victory at the buzzer, outscoring the Panthers 31-21 in the fourth quarter. 

Benni Kazadi earned Player of the Game for his numerous contributions in helping the Hawks win the match. 

Humber Highlights 

• Humber improves to 24-0 all-time record against Canadore.
• The Hawks improve to 101-0 when scoring 100-plus in a game.
• Kazadi is the first Humber player to record 30-plus points in a game this season.
• Humber tops the conference in offensive rebounding with 12 offensive rebounds and 32.4 defensive rebounds per game. 
• The Hawks have now score 100-plus points against Canadore three times since 2023.
• The Hawks have won 28 consecutive regular-season games.

What's Next? 

The Hawks depart from The Nest and travel to Ancaster to face off against the Redeemer Royals (1-3, 6th West). Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m in Redeemer Athletic Centre Gymnasium.