BY ROSS ANDERSEN
The Sheridan Bruins men’s basketball team (OCAA 12-3) extended their winning streak to four games, with a 84–66 victory against the Lambton Lions (OCAA 8-5) last Saturday.
In the first quarter, it seemed the Bruins had their work cut out for them. The scoreboard remained close. The pace was fast and there was a key injury that set the Lions back for the rest of the game.
Shawn Hill, a star point guard on the Lions, left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury.
“It was a difficult night. Sheridan is a very talented team,” said Lions assistant coach Paul Doyle. “Our players worked hard, but they were not ready for Sheridan’s intensity.”
Through the second, third and fourth quarter, the Lions trailed.
Point guard Adam Alhereich lead the Bruins with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Brian Owusu scored 17 points.
“You can not underestimate players like Dylan Periana. He’s like our Tom Brady,” said Bruins coach Jim Flack.
Periana spent 30:42 minutes on the court, while scoring 15.
In the fourth quarter, another key player left the game. Lions point guard Mike Lucier was injured. The injuries crippled the Lions, and kept the momentum alive for the Bruins.
“Maybe we have to put more effort in our warmups, and work on our shooting,” said Doyle.
Sheridan’s strategy was to keep up the pressure on offence, while playing solid defence.
This game was important since Lambton was right behind Sheridan in the OCAA standings.
“This is a very exciting time of the season for us, we played well, and I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Flack.
Although Lambton is a tough team, the Bruins managed to prevail.
“Lambton is one of the better teams in our division, and we played well, said player Shane Bennett.
“We gave it our all, and it took a lot of skill but we managed to come out on top.”
With the season slowly coming to an end, every game counts.
“The sky is the limit for us, if we continue this momentum we can go right to the top,” Bennett added.
The Bruins are scheduled to host the first place Mohawk Mountaineers (OCAA 12-2) next Saturday at Davis Campus.