MacEachern and Moss take Athlete of the Week honours

Basketball players Emily MacEachern and Donathan Moss have been named the Holland Hurricanes Athletes of the Week for the week ending March 7.

MacEachern takes the award after being selected as an ACAA second team all-star at the 2010 ACAA Basketball Championships hosted by NSAC. MacEachern had a great season for the Hurricanes, leading them in scoring and rebounding on the season.

On the court over the weekend, MacEachern and the ‘Canes struggled losing 55-23 to the Mount Allison Mounties in quarterfinal action. The loss marked Emily's last game in a Hurricanes uniform.

The Charlottetown native will graduate this spring from the Human Services program at Holland College.

Moss was spectacular for the men's basketball team, leading them to a silver medal, losing in the 2010 ACAA Championship game 72-55 to Mount Saint Vincent.

In Saturday's 80-76 overtime win over St. Thomas, Moss single-handedly changed the game for the Hurricanes erupting in the first half with big plays on both ends of the floor. The half was highlighted by an amazing alley-oop dunk of a lob pass from Aaron Brown. Donathan finished the semi-final game with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

George Morrison, Head Coach for the Hurricanes admitted he was impressed in Moss' performance.

"In over 30 years of coaching I have to say that was one of the first times I've ever seen a player totally shake a team. In the first-half against STU, he had them totally shook. They really didn't know how to handle them. They couldn't stop him and he was shutting down their best shooter. You could see it in their face, they didn't have an answer for him," said Morrison.

He came up big again in Sunday's title game, getting his team back in the game after falling behind early. Throughout the game he proved to be the only ‘Cane having much success scoring the ball. Donathan finished with 21 points, leading his team for the second consecutive day.

Moss, a first-year student in the Tourism and Travel management program is from Nassau, Bahamas.

Hurricanes fall 72-55 to Mystics in ACAA Championship game

Donathan Moss, Men's Basketball

Truro - The Holland Hurricanes, playing in their first-ever ACAA Men's Basketball Championship game were defeated 72-55 this afternoon by the MSVU Mystics on the campus of NSAC.

The Hurricanes put up a tremendous fight, but it wasn't to be on this day as the veteran Mystics team used aggressive defense, strong ball movement and clutch outside shooting to take the title.

The Hurricanes didn't get off to the start they were looking for as the Mystics took a 20-9 lead after the first quarter. In Similar fashion to Saturday night's semi-final, the 'Canes battled back in the second quarter winning it 18-16 to go into halftime trailing 36-27. Donathan Moss once again sparked the Hurricanes getting them going late in the first quarter and in the second frame.

Moss, a rookie, had a break-out weekend for his team, leading them in scoring in both games and wowing the crowd with his tremendous athletic ability. At many times in Sunday's first half, Moss was the only Hurricane who was having any success scoring the ball. Moss finished the game with 21 points on 8-11 shooting.

When Moss got hot, the Mystics keyed on him, at times sending double-teams at him when he touched the ball.

In the second half the Hurricanes made a few small runs, but each time they got close the Mystics would knock down a big shot from outside or get to the line and knock down two foul shots. MSVU went 23-30 from the stripe, while HC went 16-22.

The Hurricanes knew going in that the Mystics play great team defense. They knew they had to shoot the ball well from the perimeter for this reason. It didn't happen on this day as the normally strong shooting team went 5-21 from beyond the three-point arc. MSVU relied more on going to the basket and using their size, going 3-7 from deep.

The overall size of the Mystics proved to be a big advantage as they were able to get to the basket on the 'Canes and forced the Hurricanes into fairly severe foul trouble. The Hurricanes were forced to take much tougher shots than the Mystics and this was reflected in the two team's shooting percentages. MSVU shot 55 % from the floor, while the 'Canes shot 35 %.

MSVU was led by Sean Boulay with 16 points. Adam Jewkes scored 15 and Steve Morris added 12.

Moss' 21 led HC. Aaron Brown also played well, scoring 16 points on 5-9 shooting. Matt Flower added 10.

Despite the loss, it was a great effort by the Hurricanes. Though they couldn't close the gap on the Halifax team, they pushed them to the final horn and gave the crowd a great deal to cheer about. The game was without question a huge step forward for the Hurricanes Basketball program.

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For more information contact:

Jeff Walker
Student Services and Athletics
jgwalker@hollandcollege.com
894-6870

Hurricanes Men's Basketball to play for ACAA Championship live on Eastlink at 3:30 PM

Hurricanes Men's Basketball

The Holland Hurricanes Men's Basketball team will take on the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics for the ACAA Championship today at 3:30 PM live on Eastlink Television. 

The Hurricanes advanced to the final after defeating St. Thomas 80-76 in overtime last night. 

Check out the action live at 3:30 PM from the Langille Athletic Centre on the campus of NSAC! 

For more information contact: 

Jeff Walker
Student Services and Athletics
jgwalker@hollandcollege.com

Hurricanes prepared for the playoffs; Women hit the court Friday, Men play Saturday in semifinal

Joleesa Robinson, Women's Basketball

The Holland Hurricanes will be in Truro this weekend for the ACAA Championships, hosted by NSAC. The women's team, seeded sixth will face the MTA Mounties, the third seed, Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The men, who are the second seed, have a bye into the semifinal game, Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. They will face the highest remaining seed after quarter-final action.

Women's Preview

The women's team enters the playoffs on a major high. They won two road games last weekend against Crandall and NSAC. Hurricanes Head Coach Kathy Murray was quite pleased with how her team finished the regular season.

"The second half against NSAC last weekend was the best half of basketball we've played all year. I think the girls have started to understand what we need to do to be a good team. Hopefully we can play like that again Friday," said Murray.

The Hurricanes are 0-3 against the Mounties this season, but that doesn't have Murray worried.

"We haven't had great results against them this season, but none of that matters now. I really believe that we're just as good as they are and that if we play the way we're capable of, we'll have a very good chance to win. The girls believe we can beat them too."

The keys for the Hurricanes to beat the Mounties will be focus and decision making. With such a young team, these are the areas that have stung the 'Canes at times this season. Murray is well aware and commented on what her team needs to do.

"We've talked all week about what needs to happen for us to win. The key now will be going out and executing the plan. That's focus. We need to be able to maintain composure under the higher intensity of the playoffs. When we take care of the ball, make good cuts, smart passes and generally do what some would consider the little things well, we're a pretty good team," said Murray.

The Hurricanes will be looking to use a balanced attack to knock-off MTA.  The Hurricanes at times this season have had tremendous runs where they shared the ball, got easy looks and were able to have a great deal of success. Second-year Hurricanes guard Joleesa Robinson knows that's when her team plays their best.

"We're not a team of stars. We play our best when we all work together and it doesn't matter who gets the shot and who scores. Last weekend that's how we played and it made us a much better team. It felt great," said Robinson.

Joleesa also added, "We're so ready to play this weekend. Everyone has really gelled and I think we're going to play great Friday. Last year for those of us that were here, we were a little overwhelmed by the playoff atmosphere with it being our first time there. This year we're better prepared and I'm so excited."

If the Hurricanes defeat MTA, they will face the top-seed Mount Saint Vincent Mystics in semifinal action Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

Men's Preview

In men's action the Hurricanes are in unfamiliar territory when it comes to the ACAA Championships. The Hurricanes 16-5 in the regular season enter the playoffs for their third consecutive season. This is the first time the 'Canes have been one of the top two seeds and therefore the first time they've received a bye into the semifinals.

The Hurricanes also enter the playoffs on a positive note, winning their last four league games. The Hurricanes have used a balanced attack all-season and that will be crucial to their success again this weekend. Nine players have played significant minutes for the 'Canes all season, but they'll be without first-year guard Matt Morrison for the championship weekend as Morrison went down last weekend with a broken collar-bone. The loss of Matt will mean the Hurricanes will likely adjust their substitution patterns a little, but you can still expect Head Coach George Morrison to go deep into his bench.

"We'll be looking to do the same thing we've done all year which is play a lot of people. We want to play aggressive defensively and we do that best when we're getting fresh legs out there," said Morrison.

If the seeding holds up, the Hurricanes will face the STU Tommies in their semifinal game. That's certainly not a guarantee though. The Tommies will face the Crandall Blue Tide in quarter-final action on Friday. If the Tommies win, the Hurricanes await. If they were to lose to the Blue Tide, Crandall would play top-seeded Mount Saint Vincent, while the 'Canes would play the winner of the four-five match-up between UNBSJ and MTA.

Coach Morrison said the game-plan will be very similar no matter who they face.

"There's a good chance we will face STU Saturday. With that being said, I wouldn't be shocked if Crandall knocked them off. The key is to focus on what makes us a good team. It's not rocket science, we need to play at a high level of intensity, but not so high that we stop making good choices. We don't want to rush things on offence. It's all about execution," said Morrison.

"We've been a team of momentum all season. When we've been good, we've been quite good. We have struggled at times though and we need to focus on not getting too high or too low, just executing and getting the job done," said Morrison.

"If we do end up facing STU we know we'll have our hands full. They beat us 2-1 in the regular season and also beat us once in the pre-season. They are not a deep team, but they work hard, are well coached and have a very solid, veteran starting line-up. We'll need to play our best to beat them," added Morrison.

There has been a great deal of parity on the men's side of the ACAA this season. Mount Saint Vincent has still been dominant going 20-1, but the Hurricanes gave them their only loss and several teams have given them a scare. There's no guarantee that the Mystics will be in the final, but most would predict it. If the Hurricanes can get through their semifinal, a game against the Mystics with the championship on the line is likely what will lie ahead.

Aaron Brown, a third-year guard with the Hurricanes has been known to step-up in big games over the course of his career. His team will be counting on him for a big weekend when they hit the court in Truro.

"This is what we play for all season. You put in time all summer, all year long for a chance at winning a championship. We all know what's at stake and we're all focused on winning our first championship," said Brown.

"We know that to reach our goal, we need focus on one game at a time. Whoever we play Saturday night, we'll have a tough game on our hands. That's the focus for now. Win Saturday. Then we'll focus on Sunday," added Brown.

Both the men's and women's ACAA Championship games will be shown on Eastlink this Sunday. The women's final is at 1:00 p.m., the men's game starts at 3:30 p.m.

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For more information contact: 

Jeff Walker
Student Services and Athletics
894-6870
jgwalker@hollandcollege.com