ETOBICOKE, Ont. – The No. 7 nationally ranked Mohawk Mountaineers men's basketball team cut the deficit to five points late in the fourth quarter but couldn't complete the comeback, falling 95-85 to the No. 1 Humber Hawks on Wednesday night.

The loss drops Mohawk to 7-1 on the season.

The Mountaineers opened strong with back-to-back threes, but after trailing 10-6, they answered with an 8-0 run to lead 14-10. Humber countered and held a 22-16 advantage after the first quarter.

Mohawk trimmed the deficit to two late in the second after falling behind by as many as nine, but the Hawks responded with a layup and a three-pointer to take a 43-37 lead into halftime.

Humber built its largest lead of the game of 16 points midway through the third. Mohawk replied with an 11-2 run to get back within nine, but each push was met with a Hawks answer. The Mountaineers trailed 65-53 heading into the fourth.

Early in the final frame, Mohawk again closed the gap to five, only for Humber to restore its lead. A three-point play from Kazim Raza (Markham, Ont.) made it 81-76 with 2:59 to go, but that was as close as the Mountaineers would get.

Turnovers proved costly, with Mohawk giving the ball up 23 times compared to Humber's 12. The Hawks also held a significant advantage at the free-throw line, shooting 23-of-31, while Mohawk finished 12-of-15. Both teams shot efficiently from the field, with the Mountaineers at 44.1 per cent and the Hawks at 44.9 per cent.

Raza posted a career-high 28 points. Second-year guard Eltom Adam added 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including four threes, while Scott Jenkins also hit four from long range and finished with 16 points.

Mohawk closes the first half of the season on Nov. 27 when it visits the Conestoga Condors. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.

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Satbir Singh 
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satbir.sing6@mohawkcollege.ca