SLUGGISH BRUINS CAPTURES  BELAIR TITLE

By: Ryan Kelly                                                                                         Posted December 21, 2009

BRAMPTON, Ont.  With their first semester now firmly behind them and a brief break for the holiday season looming, the Sheridan Bruins men's basketball team (16-8, 6-2 OCAA) gave a less than spirited effort in the Belair Direct Car Insurance Holiday Series - a four-team mini tournament. Their performance was just good enough, however, to earn them a pair of wins (107-95 over George Brown and 70-60 over Centennial) and the tournament championship.

"I think we showed a little bit of rust tonight (and) there's no excuse for it because George Brown and Centennial would have had some rust as well," head coach Jim Flack said. "It's clear that we need a little bit more veteran leadership and a little bit more intensity night-in and night-out if we're going to achieve the goals we set at the beginning of the year. That starts with our veterans but also there's a lot of freshmen that are taking a lot of minutes this year and they need to step up and play like college players which means that night-in and night-out, you're consistent."

In the tournament's first contest, the Bruins pushed the pace from the opening whistle and led 54-52 at the half. In the second half they built their lead as high as 20 but saw that reduced late in the game as the effort of the home side tapered off.

Allan Anderson led the way with 25 points, while Kareem Malcolm (19), Cory Cooper (17), Charles Antwi (11) and Khalid Abdel Gabar (10) were all in double figures.

In the tournament's da facto championship game it was a back forth affair for the first half, featuring four ties and seven lead changes. Centennial opened the second half on an 8-2 run to knot the game at 42, but after a 8-0 run from Sheridan (keyed by back-to-back three pointers from Khalid Abdel Gabar) the visitors couldn't break the Bruins five-point edge. Abdel Gabar poured in 16, while Cooper (16) and Greg Osawe (12) were also in double figures.

After the contest Flack praised Belair Direct for helping to run a terrific event.

"I want to express the deepest gratitude to Belair Direct for putting together the event," he said. "It's just a nice bridge to the second semester."

The Bruins will take some time off for the holidays and have one more game remaining this year, travelling to Ryerson on December 30. They will resume OCAA play at home on January 15 against Algoma.

Blue notes: The tournament's final game had some family bragging rights hanging in the balance, as Centennial head coach Jim Barclay is the cousin of Bruins bench boss Jim Flack.

Full Belair Direct Holiday Series Results

BRUINS 107 George Brown 95
Centennial 65 Niagara 64
Women's Basketball: BRUINS 86 Erie Community College 53
George Brown 83 Niagara 62
BRUINS 70 Centennial 60

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