STORY BY MIKHAIL HELLER
The Sheridan Bruins (3-3 OCAA) tried to win one on the road last Saturday against their West rivals, the undefeated Humber Hawks (7-0 OCAA) but fell short 83-69 in what’s been the most anticipated game of the season.
A flat start at Humber North Campus allowed the Hawks to set the tone early, while the Bruins were fighting to stay in contention. They struggled from the field throughout the entire game, shooting a dismal 24 per cent, connecting on only 24 of their 93 field goal attempts.
“We have so many new players and we’re still learning what they can and cannot do,” said head coach Jim Flack. “We shot 24 per cent and you’re not going to beat anyone in a basketball game when you shoot like that.”
Humber held a 15 point lead, the biggest of the game, early in the second however the Bruins continued to rally back at several points in the game. Jamal Pryce hit a pair of three pointers to bring the Bruins within 10 points at 3:30, followed by Brian Owusu sinking back-to-back three pointers. Christian Williams hit a three point shot from the quarter with four seconds left to finish the first half trailing 24-17.
Both guards had off shooting nights. Pryce shot 3-18 from the field connecting on only 3-12 three pointers and Owusu shot 5-20 only making 2-8 from beyond the arc.
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“We didn’t come out aggressive from the start and allowed them to take control of the game,” said Owusu who finished the game with 14 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
Pryce, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists, wasn’t happy with the way he played.
“I didn’t get after the ball the way I should have and allowed myself to get beaten mentally first,” said Pryce.
Even though the Bruins made a few runs, the Hawks had control of the glass the entire night. They out rebounded the Bruins 63-46, grabbing 17 more rebounds than them.
Hawks’ Tyrone Dickson (12 points and 18 rebounds) and Vule Grujic (18 points and 16 rebounds) finished with a double-double.
In the middle of the third quarter Pryce shook off the defender guarding him with a hesitation-step and then knocked down the three point shot to cut the Hawks lead to just two points at 5:56.
Again and again the Bruins came close to closing the gap in the lead. Adam Elhereich nailed a three-point jumper off an assist from Pryce to bring them within three points at 5:25 in the fourth and then sunk another 3 pointer at 4:03 to trail Humber 66-63.
Elhereich lead the Bruins in scoring with 15 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.
Flack spoke about his team’s resiliency.
“I’m pleased with how we fought back. I thought for the first quarter we were pretty embarrassing and then to get it down to four and then two points late in the game show there’s some heart and resilience in these guys.”
“The unfortunate part about this is that the level of expectation year-to-year is high and when you’re trying to figure out what guys can do there’s not enough time to be patient because you’re in the middle of a league play,” said Flack.
Humber ended any hopes the Bruins had of taking the lead after RJ Ramirez went on 13-3 run before Elhereich drew the blocking foul and headed to foul line for two free-throws with 0.59 seconds remaining in the fourth.
“We just have to keep moving forward,” said Flack. “We can’t hang our heads. We can’t allow doubt to kick-in. We have to remain strong and say this is who we are and we’re going to push through.”