SHERIDAN 84, MOHAWK 75

BRAMPTON, Ont. - Entering the fourth quarter the Sheridan Bruins men's basketball team (14-7, 8-1 OCAA) held what seemed to be an impermeable 25-point lead on Mohawk.

They learned that no lead is truly safe until 40 minutes have expired though as a furious rally from the reigning conference and national champions forced the Bruins to up their level of execution through some white-knuckle moments, grinding out an 84-75 triumph.

"Taking out the issues we had early in the fourth quarter, I think how we played in the first three quarters and with some of the performances we got, we can be a pretty tough team to beat," assistant coach Dave Ferencina said. "There was some key work defensively, the energy was good and we got a good win out of this."

It was a good start for the Double-Blue as a 9-0 run in the later stages of the opening quarter gave them an early double-digit advantage, 18-8, and spurred them to a 20-6 lead after one.

Mohawk pulled level with a 6-0 run to start the second and held a brief 23-22 lead. That would prove to be the last time the Double-Blue would trail - as an 11-2 run helped them to a 38-31 halftime edge - but would not entirely curtail the game's drama.

A massive third quarter - where the Bruins out-scored Mohawk 27-9 - gave the homeside a 65-40 lead entering the game's final stage.

Good, experienced teams don't just fold up shop though and Mohawk started quick - with a 20-5 run doing the most significant damage - and were twice able to pull within five late.

The Double-Blue did what they needed to down the stretch - particularly at the free-throw line with Mohawk fouling to extend the game, connecting on 13 of 18 (72 per cent) attempts - to preserve the win.

Michael Selkridge once again led the way with 29 points while Jahmal McQueen chipped in with 26 - 18 of which came in the second half.

The Bruins have one more OCAA West contest in 2012 - a renewal of their rivalry with Humber when they travel to Rexdale on December 1.

Ferencina says the team will soak in tonight's win and then get to work on their preparation right away.

"We'll start to formulate a game plan tomorrow," he said. "Obviously it's a great rivalry, but we'll treat it like any other game and hope that we can bring the same level of intensity that we did tonight."

Blue notes: The rivalry between the Bruins and Mohawk - one that dates back to 1968 - has been exceptionally close in recent years. Since 2008-09, the Double-Blue hold a slim 5-4 record in conference games between the two, with neither side holding more than two consecutive wins at any point.

Source: Sheridan I.T.