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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, March 18, 2016 | 34 Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports "Connected to your Community" er," Agada said. "You know you can count on him. He has your back. He has everyone's best interest at heart. He's one of the hardest working guys. He's selfless and he's able to do what's best for the team." L'Africain delivered some of his best performances when Agada, the team's second-leading scorer and Canadian defensive player of the year, was sidelined with an ankle injury. In a 76-60 win over Queen's in January he had 30 points, seven defensive rebounds, seven assists and five steals. The next night he had 31 points in win over York. · · · Ottawa entered the national tournament as an underdog after finishing third at the OUA championship. But a telling sign of the strength of the league, the GeeGees are the No. 3 seed. Even though it will be his last shot at the Canadian title, L'Africain doesn't mind the role. He's used to it. The country's best player this season had never been named an all-star in any of his first four seasons. "I like being the hunter," L'Africain said. "My whole career I've been the little skinny guy but I've always believed I was one of the best. You have to have that mentality when you're playing these athletic freaks of nature." L'Africain didn't lead the OUA in any statistical category but was in the top five in points per game (20.4), assists per game (5.3), three-pointers (51), three-point percentage (44.7) and free throw percentage (85.9). He was also sixth in steals with 1.9 per game. Yet L'Africain still feels he has something to prove after not living up to his own high standards in the OUA tournament. He'd love nothing more than to prove the doubters wrong by leading Ottawa to its first national title. "Our goal was to get to nationals, and now we're here," he said. "It's been a long time coming. There's only one thing left to do." ® By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff There were seven seconds left in the Ottawa Gee-Gees' season unless somebody did something about it. Seven seconds for Mike L 'Africain to extend his university basketball career and deliver on a promise he made to his coach. Trailing the Queen's Gaels by one point in the Ontario University Athletics quarterfinal, Ottawa did what everyone expected. L'Africain had a game-high 25 points, three of them on a buzzer beater at the end of the opening half. So with the game on the line, there was no doubt he was getting the ball. Double teamed as he took the inbound pass, L'Africain shook off one defender by faking a pass and then drove to his left. Queen's Sammy Ayisi stayed with him every step of the way, arms raised, blocking his path to the basket. L'Africain slipped through a narrow gap between Ayisi and another Queen's defender. As the fifth-year Gee-Gees point guard took off from the edge of the key he seemingly had no angle for a shot, but as he drew even with the basket he extended his right arm and let the ball roll off his fingertips. It rolled around the back of the rim, popped up in the air, bounced off the rim and dropped through the mesh with 1.1 seconds to play. Ottawa 73, Queen's 72. "We count on him and we all trust him," said teammate Caleb Agada. "We want him taking that shot." It wasn't the first time L'Africain had done it. In January, against the six-time defending national champion Carleton Ravens, he hit the game-winning shot in the final minute of a 75-73 Ottawa victory. "It's a statement win but to us it doesn't mean anything until we get to the last game," L'Africain said afterward. The last game, of course, is the national championship game, where Carleton has bested Ottawa each of the last two years. Both are in Vancouver again for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship tournament that started yesterday (Thursday). L'Africain, Gee-Gees seeking CIS title in B.C. Oakville's Mike L'Africain was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport basketball player of the year. He and his Ottawa Gee-Gees opened against Dalhousie Thursday night at the CIS championship tournament as the school looks to earn its first national title. | Richard A. Whittaker -- Special to the Beaver Of course, the CIS's player of the year knew that four years ago. · · · · In the days after the Ottawa Gee-Gees were eliminated by a last-second basket by Lakehead in the 2012 OUA semifinals, the players gathered to meet with the coaching staff. L'Africain was coming off a season in which he earned the OUA East Division rookie-ofthe-year award. But his focus as he met with coach James Derouin was on the team. "I promised him we would be at nationals every year," L'Africain said. One semifinal and two finals later, Ottawa is looking to take the last step. It's been a great run for Ottawa, but L'Africain didn't choose Ottawa just to compete for a national championship. He's had his fill of near misses after two OFSAA silver medals with Loyola. It doesn't matter that the second of those was to a Vaughan team led by Andrew Wiggins, just as it doesn't matter that Ottawa's two losses in the Canadian title game were against a team that has set the standard for university hoops north of the border. In Ottawa, L'Africain found a coach with a similar outlook. "Our coach has a passion that's unmatched. He understands how badly I want to win," he said. "I can't play for any coach. They have to want it as badly as I do. To me, this is my life. That's why I want to win so bad." L 'Africain's teammates also understand his desire, not just to be the best player he can be, but to help the team reach its full potential. "Mike is one of the guys I respect the most. 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