SHERIDAN 73, CENTENNIAL 59

NORTH YORK, Ont. – The Sheridan Bruins showed why they are the No. 3-ranked team in Canada with a complete performance against the Centennial Colts. The Bruins were tested early, but pulled away from the Colts in the second quarter en route to a 73-59 victory.

The opening quarter was a back-and-forth affair which saw each team with the lead on a number of occasions. Balanced offences were the story as 10 players recorded at least one field in the quarter with Sheridan getting contributions from six and four for Centennial. Sheridan clung to a narrow one-point lead, leading 17-16. Jameel Williamson was the game's leading scorer after one quarter with six points. Discipline also aided the Colts in their quest to knock off Ontario's regular season champions as they prevented the Bruins from attempting a single free throw in the opening quarter.

The tempo picked up in the second quarter as the teams engaged in an "up and down the floor" style which entertained the fans and no doubt wreaked havoc on the head coaches. Despite the increase in shots, few fell for either team. Sheridan's Paul Williams used his big frame to box out opponents and grab a number of those missed shots. This helped Sheridan create some space on the scoreboard as they went on an 8-0 run midway through the quarter, extending a 19-16 lead to 27-16. The Bruins continued to push the pace and took a 37-23 lead into halftime. Williamson was the one bright spot Centennial as he scored 11 points in the opening half.

Centennial did their best to claw their way back into the game as Tristan Stern scored the first four points of the third quarter. A 6-0 helped close the gap to 10 points at the Colts trailed 45-35 following a lay-up by Stern, steal and lay-up by Williamson and a block and basket by Stern. Despite the effort by the Colts, the Bruins still led 55-39 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter started slow with missed opportunities and tight defence reigning supreme. The first basket of the quarter was scored by Sheridan and came 3:56 into the final frame. It wasn't until Centennial subbed Justin Jarrett back in that the game got interesting. Jarrett, upon entering the game, proceeded to hit four consecutive three-pointers along with a deep two in just over three minutes of action. The Bruins were able to withstand the run by Jarrett and the Colts and came away with the fourteen point victory.

Three players scored 14 for the Bruins in Roshean Keen, Trevor Williams and Michael Selkridge. Jahmal McQueen also added thirteen points. Williams was named Player of the Game for the Bruins.

Stern and Williamson paced the Colts with 17 points each along with 16 from Jarrett (all in the second half). Terence Nelson added 10 rebounds. Stern was Centennial's Player of the Game.
Earlier in the morning, Sheridan's Selkridge (first-team), McQueen (first-team) and Kadeem Hall (all-Rookie) were named OCAA West all-stars. Centennial was represented by Jameel Williamson (first-team), Stern (second-team) and Alex Hagoriles (all-Rookie) on the OCAA East all-star team. Bruins coach Jim Flack was named OCAA West Coach of the Year and a CCAA Coach of the Year Nominee.

The Bruins advance to play Fanshawe on Friday at 6 p.m. while the Colts will face George Brown Friday at 1 p.m.

Source: Seneca College