There are some big expectations to live up to this season for the Mohawk Men’s basketball team since winning the CCAA Championship last year. The team is off to a hot start at 7-1, most recently earning a decisive 75-66 win over Canadore on Saturday night. Head coach Brian Jonker is aware how fast things can change though.

“We definitely feel comfortable with our chances,” said Jonker. “Now having said that, we were ranked number one in the country last Tuesday then immediately lost Friday night. When the new rankings are released won’t be ranked number one anymore, but we know we are capable.”

The Mountaineers took their first loss of the season over the past weekend with a loss to Fanshawe, a tough school in what coach Jonker says is one of the toughest divisons in the league.

“Six of us in particular with ourselves and Humber, Sheridan, Fanshawe, Niagara and Algoma, the six of us on any given day beat each other,” Jonker said. “I think it prepares you better for the end of the year but the reality is it also hurts us because we beat each other up so much we can’t stay high enough ranked cause we are constantly beating each other.”

Returning to the squad for a second year after helping the Mountaineers win a national title last year, Jeff Hunt was not modest when speaking about the team and their confidence level.

“I don’t really know if we have a whole lot of weakness our strength mostly comes from our defence,” says Hunt. “It just comes down to us working hard and if we work hard every night I don’t think anyone can touch us.”

The Mountaineers’ next home game is against St. Clair on December 1^st.