The Fanshawe men's basketball team is off to compete for a national championship after claiming a wildcard entry into the tournament.

The Falcons earned the invite to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championships after winning the silver medal at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association championships hosted by Fanshawe. The Falcons dropped the gold medal game to Humber 59-48, but the Falcons 1-2 record against Humber, the number two-ranked team in the country, was hard to ignore for CCAA tournament organizers.

The Falcons leave for Calgary on Tuesday, March 16 for their five-day journey with hopes of bringing home the gold. They enter the tournament as the eighth seed and match-up against the number one ranked UNBC Timberwolves. The Falcons will have to play giant killers if they are to earn a medal.

“We're going in with the mindset that we are there to win it,” said head coach Glenn Johnston. “You don't go in with the idea of doing anything less, then you may as well not go.”

If the Falcons plan on earning a medal they'll need to follow a simple formula that has earned them much success this season.

“You have to do the things you do very well,” said Johnston. “We have to take care of the ball, we have to rebound better than we have been and we have to take our shots and hit them.”

Part of the equation includes getting consistent contributions from everyone on the team and playing a full game of basketball. The team can ill afford to have stretches of spotty play.

“We don't have the superstar that's going to carry the load. We'll have to have everybody play well,” said Johnston. “These are really good teams. These aren't chump change teams. These are the best teams in the country.”

Notes: Fanshawe's Pat Wright and Manny Campbell were selected as OCAA championship tournament all-stars. Campbell was also selected as an OCAA first team all-star, while Will Bradbury was chosen to the all-rookie team.

The women's basketball team just missed out on a bronze medal at the OCAA's, losing their medal game to Seneca 60-41. But the team did take home some honours, including coach Matt White being named OCAA West coach-of-the-year. White is also nominated for CCAA coach-of-the-year. Alison Griffiths was named West defensive player of the year. Griffiths was also named to the OCAA second all-star team, while Larrisa McBean was named to the all-rookie team. Kaitlind Dutrizac was named an OCAA tournament all-star.