Special from www.sheridanbruins.com
DOUBLE GOLD - BRUINS WIN ONTARIO
TITLE
HAMILTON, ONT. The Sheridan
Bruins men's basketball team came into the OCAA
Championship game wearing the hat of the villain.
Their opponents, the Algoma Thunderbirds, made an
inspired run to the title game that allowed many to
compare them to Cinderella.
But the story was denied the Hollywood ending, as the
Bruins and not Algoma now wear Ontario's basketball
crown - their ninth all-time - after an 81-63
conquest.
"It's fun for me, but you get to a point where the
whole deal is you want to see your players, because
you love them so much, have that experience," head
coach Jim Flack said of the championship, his fifth
while at the helm of the Sheridan program. "To be able
to look down the bench and see how many of them were
crying tears of joy, just made my year."
The Bruins held a slim 34-33 lead at halftime, but
out-scored their opponents 47-30 in the second half,
including a 13-4 run to close the game and seal the
championship.
"Our composure started to wilt a little bit in the
first half but then we got some really good
performances by some guys that stepped up and defended
(and) brought us back into the game," Flack said.
Shane Reece was named the MVP after a solid tournament
performance that was capped a by massive 20 point, 19
rebound effort. However, he pointed to strong team
play as the reason for the victory.
"Defence was the key to the whole tournament," he
said. "The last game we knew they weren't going to go
away. We've played them before and they've beat us
before, so we knew it was going to be a challenge."
Tab Donaldson also turned in a strong performance with
20 points and six assists, while Sheldon Sinclair,
with 14, and Dwight Taylor, with 10, were also in
double figures.
The Bruins will now travel to Champlain College in St.
Lambert, Quebec to battle for the National
Championship. Flack says the team will take a little
bit of time to enjoy this victory before getting back
to the grind.
"We've got work to do in two weeks, but we're going to
savour this for a couple of days and then get to
work," he said.
Blue Notes: It is the eighth time in the 40 year
history of the OCAA that one school has produced the
men's and women's champion in the same year, but the
first time in Sheridan history. With nine OCAA
Championships, the Bruins inch one step closer to the
all-time lead of 10. In addition to Reece's MVP, Tab
Donaldson was also named a tournament All-Star.
Rebounding was a big advantage for the double blue,
with the Bruins out-rebounding Algoma 49-35. Since
losing to Humber 83-80 on January 30, the Bruins have
put the clamps down defensively, allowing an average
of 57.9 points per game during that stretch.
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HISTORIC WIN
