Bruins beat Mohawk in 100-point thriller
BY MICHAEL MELRO
The Sheridan Bruins men’s basketball team defeated the Mohawk College Hawks 105-102, in a very tight and tense Western Conference clash last Saturday night at Davis Campus.
The Hawks started the game in second place in the division, one place ahead of the Bruins. Both teams had been on a roll going into the game, with Mohawk winning three in a row and Sheridan on a five-game winning streak as well.
The Bruins head coach Jim Flack admitted after the game that it was an important win and an exciting game for the neutral, but he stressed, “I keep saying that our college season is like an NFL or CFL season-every game is key. The loss last month to Redeemer was just as huge as the win here tonight.”
There was a large crowd on hand to watch the top of the division match up, providing a great atmosphere for their Bruins and they needed it.
The home team started off the game sluggishly falling behind Mohawk by 10 points, surrendering 31 in total in the opening frame.
The Bruins would finish the first half a lot better than they started the game, executing a great passing game which opened up space and clear looks for their shooters. Even though Sheridan won the second quarter, outscoring their opponents 29-26, coach Flack cut a very frustrated figure on the sidelines knowing his team still had a lot to do going into the second half down 50-57.
“Our game is not predictable enough, we came out and started very soft. At half time I told the guys that Mohawk are playing the game like it’s a game for first place. They pushed the pace and took it to us and we didn’t match them mentally or physically in the first half, in the second we did,” Flack said.
After winning the opening tournament of the year, Flack said that the hallmark of his teams is a very high pressing game. They force teams to panic which leads to turnovers. This was very evident at the start of the third quarter. The Bruins started the half on a 12-4 run, forcing the Hawks into bad passes and rushed shots. The home team would win their second straight quarter 27-16 and took a well-deserved lead, 77-73, going into the final frame.
As to be expected in a game between two rivals near the top of the OCAA standings, the game became very physical. The fourth quarter was played at a break neck pace, with both teams looking to drive the lane, force fouls and get to the charity stripe.
The Bruins were led by standout performances from starters Brian Owusu who had 32 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and Dylan Periana who scored 16 points, 7 assists and 4 steals. With secondary scoring from the bench, led by Navdeep Deol, who had 19 points himself, the Bruins were too much in the end, improving their OCAA record to 13-3.
Sheridan now sits tied for first with Humber College in the Western Conference. The Double-Blue only have two more games left in the regular season and face first place rivals Humber Thursday, Feb 11.
