HAMILTON, Ont. – The No. 10 nationally ranked Mohawk Mountaineers men's basketball team fell 80-67 to the No. 7 Humber Hawks in the OCAA Championship Saturday.

Despite the loss, Mohawk qualified for the CCAA National Championship tournament, with the top two OCAA teams advancing. The Mountaineers will travel to Vancouver Island University for the tournament March 18-21.

Mohawk opened the conference final with an 11-5 lead. The six-point advantage was the Mountaineers' largest of the game, which they matched later in the quarter when they led 13-7. Humber responded to close the frame and take a 22-20 lead after the first quarter.

The Mountaineers trailed by as many as five points in the second quarter but closed the half on a push to take a 39-38 lead into halftime.

A 9-0 Humber run midway through the third quarter proved to be the difference, as the Hawks took a 54-45 lead with 1:56 remaining in the frame. Mohawk entered the fourth quarter trailing by eight.

The Mountaineers cut the deficit to three with 6:37 remaining but were unable to sustain momentum to complete the comeback.

The game featured 13 lead changes between the West Division rivals. Mohawk shot 40.3 per cent from the field, while Humber finished at 43.5 per cent. Neither team shot well from three-point range, with the Mountaineers going 6-for-28 and the Hawks 3-for-18. The teams were even on the glass at 35-35, but Mohawk committed five more turnovers.

Marko Dosen (Hamilton, Ont.) led the Mountaineers with 20 points. Jerry Jr. Mercury (Scarborough, Ont.) added 12, while Iverson Chong (Oakville, Ont.) finished with 11.

Dosen and Mercury were both named OCAA championship all-stars.

The silver medal marks the first OCAA medal for Mohawk under head coach Jamie Girolametto, now in his third season with the Mountaineers. Mohawk's last silver medal came in 2015-16, the last time the program qualified for the CCAA National Championship.