The Holland Hurricanes men’s and women’s basketball teams saw mixed results over the weekend in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) regular season play.  The ‘Canes hosted the University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils on Saturday at the Holland College Centre for Community Engagement (CCE) before travelling to Fredericton, New Brunswick on Sunday to challenge the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies.

The women’s Hurricanes dropped both games over the weekend with the men earning two victories.

In the women’s game on Saturday, the Hurricanes held a slim lead of 19-17 after the first quarter before the Blue Devils overtook the ‘Canes in the second quarter, leading 43-28 at the half.

With an impressive third quarter, the ‘Canes cut into the lead, trailing 58-54 entering the fourth. In the end the UKC Blue Devils held on to earn the 78-67 win.

Aki Kobayashi led the ‘Canes with 20 points to go along with three rebounds, five assists, and four steals.

Sophie Atkinson came off the bench to score 16 points and nine rebounds, while Courtney Cain-Nordin had eight points, eight rebounds, and eight steals.

Ashley Plaggenhoef chipped in with nine points, four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

With the win on Saturday, the UKC Blue Devils improved to 10-7, before defeating the Crandall University Chargers on Sunday to finish the weekend in fourth place at 11-7.

On Sunday versus the Tommies, the Hurricanes held the 18-15 lead after one, and at the end of a close half, the ‘Canes trailed 36-30.

Through three quarters, the ‘Canes trailed 58-51, before ultimately losing to the Tommies, 81-67.

Kobayashi again led the ‘Canes in scoring with 19 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Kassandra Little recorded a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Atkinson and Plaggenhoef added 11 and ten points respectively.

With the two weekend losses, the Hurricanes will finish in third place in the ACAA standings with a 12-5 record; the Tommies lead the conference at 14-3.

With one game remaining on the regular season schedule, the stage is set for the ACAA Championships where the Hurricanes will challenge the University of New Brunswick-Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves (sixth seed) in quarter-final action on Friday, March 6 in Halifax.

In the men’s game on Saturday versus the Blue Devils, the ‘Canes scored the first 14 points and didn’t look back en route to a 116-62 win over UKC. The ‘Canes led 35-13 after one, 63-33 at the half, and 102-45 after three.

Bryce Corless led all Hurricanes scorers with 21 points with Jordan Holness adding 18 points, 12 assists, six steals, and four rebounds, while Adrian Thompson came off the bench with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

John Alex Vos, Jayden McMullen, and Javares McIntosh all reached double figures in scoring with 12 points each.

The Blue Devils drop to 2-16 after the weekend.

On Sunday, the ‘Canes fell behind 18-14 after one before a strong second quarter saw them take a 43-26 lead at the half.

The Tommies would answer with a strong third quarter to put the ‘Canes behind 56-55 heading to the fourth. Holness and Thompson combined for 21 of the team’s 26 fourth quarter points to give the ‘Canes an 81-71 win.

Thompson finished the game with 24 points and 13 rebounds while Holness had 22 points, three rebounds, four assists, and five steals.

McMullen added 14 points and two assists in the win.

With the two wins over the weekend, the ‘Canes clinch first place in the conference and take a 14-3 record into their final game of the regular season; the Tommies are now tied for third alongside the Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics with an 11-6 record.

The Hurricanes men will receive a bye to the semi-finals at the ACAA Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia, hosted by the MSVU Mystics.  They will face the lowest advancing team from the quarter-finals on Saturday, March 7.

The men’s and women’s Hurricanes will complete their 2019-20 regular seasons on Saturday, February 29 in Saint John, NB when they challenge the UNBSJ Seawolves at 2 and 4pm (w/m).

For more information on ACAA basketball, visit www.acaa.ca.

Connect with the basketball Hurricanes by visiting www.twitter.com/caneswbball, www.twitter.com/canesmbball and www.instagram.com/hurricanesbball.

For more information on the Holland Hurricanes, please visit www.hollandhurricanes.com, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.twitter.com/hc_hurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.

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