SHERIDAN MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM OPENS 2012 WITH PAIR OF WINS

BRAMPTON, Ont. - They had their share of good moments, bad moments and even a few ugly ones mixed in but the Sheridan Bruins men's basketball team (18-7, 6-3 OCAA) still managed to drop two of the top three teams in the East - third place George Brown and division leading Centennial - in their final non-conference games of the season.

"I thought we played sloppy, turned the ball over a lot against not very intense defence and [we had] some guys just not concentrating," assistant coach Leroy Cassanova said after the game against Centennial. "We missed a lot of shots that could have been easy makes early in the game and we had a lot of missed free throws which is a good indicator of our concentration level. We did play fairly intense defence and caused some turnovers and we took control of the game that way, but overall we just needed a better effort in a lot of areas."

Against George Brown the Bruins pushed their lead to 10 late in the first quarter, only to see their opponents trim it just two early in the second.

The home side would respond with a 20-4 run that gave them a 47-29 lead at the break.

In the second half, the double-blue slowly began to pull away and didn't allow George Brown to get any closer than 16 on their way to an 83-53 triumph.

Five Sheridan players were in double-figures - Khalid Abdel-Gabar (21), Denmark McDonald (16), Matt Cosby (11), Orlando Palmer (11) and Allan Anderson (11).

In the final game of the day, both Sheridan and Centennial started slow with the Bruins holding a 13-6 lead after the first quarter.

A 14-5 run midway through the second frame helped the double-blue to secure a 38-19 halftime edge.

The Bruins once again began pulling away slowly in the second half and ended up with a 90-68 win, their third of the season against Centennial.

Abdel-Gabar led the way once again with 27 points and he's now scored at least 20 in his last five non-conference games.

McDonald chipped in with 20 while Palmer (13) and Cosby (10) were also in double-figures.

The club now has more than two weeks to prepare for their next game against Mohawk on January 21 and Cassanova says he's expecting the team's performance to improve as they get back into the routine of practice and knock off some New Years rust.

"We just have to pick up our intensity and be excited to play," he said. "It looks like we were dragging coming off the break - that does play a role in it as well, guys trying to get back into a groove - but we've had a few practices and played in a tournament already so we shouldn't have been as behind the eight-ball as we were tonight. Hopefully once league play starts again we'll be able to pick up our level in intensity and concentration and just put a better product on the floor."

Blue notes: The games were a part of the Belair Direct Holiday Series, which had been played in late December the last few years.

Source: Sheridan I.T.