BY MICHAEL MELRO
The Sheridan men’s basketball team (15-3 OCAA) strolled to an easy victory, 82-55, over the Fanshawe Falcons (4-14 OCAA) at Davis Campus last Friday night.
It was the last game of the OCAA regular season and around 200 people packed the gym to watch their Bruins take sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. Fanshawe was trying to play the spoiler role, winning their last four games before tip off, while the Double Blue had won seven on the trot themselves.
It was a slow start for both teams, with the Falcons really slowing Sheridan down in the first quarter. Eventually the high pressing style that head coach Jim Flack likes to deploy was paying dividends. The Bruins were forcing a lot of turnovers and were very active on the glass, leading to great breakout opportunities, running Falcons ragged by the end of the second quarter.
“We prefer to play a high-pace game and sometimes it backfires. I’ve coached that way for 25 years. You have to coach like your personality and I’m not a very passive individual. I think we took the play to the other team and wore them down by the end,” coach Flack said.
Watching from the sideline, one can tell that Flack takes every game seriously. It didn’t matter how much of a lead his team took, he never attempted a smile and looked as if he was dribbling every ball with his players. “It’s a bad habit I wish I could lose, but at 51, I don’t think it’s going to change,” he said, finally cracking a smile.
It was a real team effort by the home side. They spread the points around nicely throughout the team with Adam Alhereich, an OCAA veteran, leading the way, scoring 14 points. Special mentions should go out to fellow starters Dylan Periana and Brian Owusu who controlled the tempo and dominated the boards for the Bruins respectively. Navedeep Deol and Shane Bennet, provided some great minutes off of the bench.
With about five minutes left to go in the game, Flack was willing to play his bench players, seeing as though his team had opened up a 30-point lead over their opponents.
“It feels good to play with the lead. I love it when the whole team gets to play, it makes the game fun, sometimes basketball can be stressful, but when all the guys get minutes it’s good for the team,” Periana said.
With the conference championship secured, Sheridan can shift their focus toward the OCAA provincial tournament starting March 4. “Now we are in gravy time. Every game is a chance to advance and see how far you can get, but I am so proud of this team. I consider this a very honourable Western Conference title and it has been a pleasure coaching these guys all year,” Flack said.
Fortunately for the Bruins, they don’t have to travel far, as the competition is being held at the home of divisional rivals, Humber College, on their Northern Campus.
“We know the level of focus that is needed going into the tournament. There’s no looking ahead, we got to take it one game at a time not matter who it is,” Periana said.