BY STEPHEN YOUNATAN
The Sheridan Bruins men’s basketball team picked apart the Conestoga Condors in their 93-60 win on Saturday. The Bruins allowed a measly 27 first-half points and ended the game allowing only 60 which ties a season-low in points allowed.
Star of the team Nick Campbell led the way with 23 points 6 rebounds and 1 assist. The team finished the game with 4 players scoring in double digits and a total of 20 assists compared to Conestogas 7. After a hard fought battle Sheridan came out on top while stifling the Condors offence all game long allowing eight points in the 2nd and 4th quarters respectively. You don’t have to know basketball all that well to know that is an impressive feat. In fact, it’s the 5th time this season that the Bruins have held an opponent to under 70 points and the 2nd time that they’ve allowed 60 points, the other game being against Sault Ste. Marie.
“You’ve got to take every opportunity to get stops,” said coach Jim Flack of his team on Saturday. “No matter what happens, at some point you’ve got to dig in and get stops.” Flack is very keen on defence especially after the disappointment of last year’s season and would like to build on it this year, and as shown through his team’s play, it looks like they have built on it.
“Had we gotten two stops in a row last year, or even one or two in the semifinal, we could have gone to the national championship.”
What a difference two plays can make in basketball, two successful defensive possessions and Sheridan would be playing for a national championship. This year, however, it looks as if the team has taken a step forward. After many players stepped up for him on Saturday Flack raved about the team effort. “There’s a method to the madness–the way we play, it’s very different, we want to spread it around.”
It’s even better for the students on the team because according to Flack it helps them stay engaged in school activities.
“It’s better for the program, instead of the emphasis coming from one or two guys, if it comes from four to nine guys then they’re more prone to want to stay in school and go to class so they have a chance to up those numbers the following year.”
It’s easy to see how the Sheridan Bruins have been so successful this year withholding that attitude and mentality. When it comes to keeping his guys motivated, Flack doesn’t see it as his defined role.
“I’m not sure it’s my job to do that. I’ve been doing this a long time and what I’ve discovered is that teams that have good post-seasons (not necessarily win a championship) comes from within. If you can appeal to their maturity, and motivate them through that so that they can self-cover, self-motivate and hold themselves and each other accountable, that’s when you truly have a team that can do some damage.”
This team has the makings to do something special in the post-season this year after heartbreak last year. The question is, will they do it? The Bruins next game is Jan. 29th against the Niagara Knights at Sheridan’s Davis Campus. Visit sheridanbruins.com for more information.