Hurricanes men's basketball face tough test in Halifax

Leo Morris, Men's Basketball

Halifax, NS - The Holland Hurricanes men's and women's basketball teams will be in Halifax this weekend for a pair of games against the MSVU Mystics and King's College Blue Devils. Saturday, the teams will face MSVU with games at 4 p.m. (women) and 6 p.m. (men). Sunday, they will take-on King's with the women playing a 12 p.m. and the men following at 4 p.m.

The men's basketball team will face two very tough opponents this weekend. The team enters the weekend with a 9-3 record, good for third in the ACAA. The Hurricanes lost to MSVU in two home games in November while they beat King's in two tight home games in January. The Hurricanes are coming off two road-wins over NSAC and MTA. Currently, the team is two points behind second-place STU.  The first and second -place finishers receive byes into the ACAA Semifinals. The Hurricanes still have their eyes on one of two byes.

Head Coach George Morrison explains, "We're not looking too far ahead, but at the same time getting a road win over MSVU and/or King's would be huge for us in terms of our chances of getting a bye."

A key to any success the Hurricanes will have this weekend will be their ability to defend and rebound against bigger teams.

"King's has J.D. Howlett and MSVU has Luke Reynolds. Those are two tough match-ups for us as we're just not very big. We're going to need to play great team defense, have everybody rebounding the ball and we're going to have to shoot the ball well to win," said Coach Morrison.

Hurricanes Guard Matt Morrison also knows the team needs to be ready for the size of their opponents this weekend. "They both have some size so we'll have to be ready for that. At the same time, they have to guard as too and we are going to have to use our quickness and shoot the ball well. These are two winnable games for us. We'll have to play well, but they're both very winnable," said Morrison.  

Hurricanes Men's Basketball on the road taking on STU, UNBSJ

Leo Morris, Men's Basketball

The Holland Hurricanes men's and women's basketball teams will be in Fredericton Saturday evening to take on the STU Tommies. Games times are 6 and 8 p.m. Sunday, the teams will be in Saint John facing the UNBSJ Seawolves with games at 2 and 4 p.m. 

The Hurricane men enter the weekend coming off a home-sweep of King's College. They now have a 6-2 record and are in a tie for second with the Tommies. The 'Canes also have two games in hand over STU. The two teams met in Fredericton in November with the Hurricanes getting a hard-fought 72-69 victory.

"STU is very good this year. We trailed most of the game against them last time and needed a great fourth quarter to get the win," said Coach George Morrison.

He added, "It's a big game for us. This really could be a game that plays a big part in determining where we finish in the standings. There are lots of tough games ahead, but I'm guessing will be tight with STU coming down the stretch. If we can get a second win on their home-court, that's really going to help us."

Forward Leo Morris exploded for two huge games against King's last weekend. His team will be counting on him for another big performance this weekend. Morris feels the team is playing with confidence and is ready for the weekend.

"Last weekend was great for us. We played well together, moved the ball and we got out on the break pretty good. We're not a huge team, so we need that," said Morris.

Morris, from Nassau, Bahamas also talked about the challenge that STU presents.

"They have a bunch of good guards and some size. Their gym is small and they play well in there. We're going to have to play well to win, but we are just concentrating on our game. We're confident and looking forward to the challenge.

Sunday, the men will face a 0-9 UNBSJ team. While results would indicate this should be a definite win for the 'Canes, Coach Morrison never likes to count anyone out.

"I'll be very disappointed if we don't get the win Sunday. With that being said, we cannot take anyone lightly. Doing that is a recipe for trouble. We'll have to be ready for a hungry team looking for a win," explained Morrison.

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For more information contact:

Jeff Walker
Student Services & Athletics
Holland College
Tourism and Culinary Centre
4 Sydney Street
Charlottetown, PE C1A 1E9
902-894-6870
jgwalker@hollandcollege.com
www.hollandcollege.com
Home of the Holland Hurricanes