Day one of the OCAA Men’s Basketball Championship tournament came to an end after the reigning OCAA Gold Medal winning Sheridan Bruins defeated the Fanshawe Falcons 67 -61. The Bruins will advance to the semi-final round to play the Seneca Sting, while the Fanshawe Falcons drop down to play the tournament hosting Niagara Knights in the Consolation semi-final.
Both programs played fantastic defense in the opening quarter, making it very difficult for their opponent to score. Fanshawe’s ability to limit the Bruins’ scoring chances caused the London based program to end the quarter with a four point lead.
The second quarter was all Sheridan limiting the Falcons to a measly 9 points while putting up 23 of their own, ending the half leading 34-24.
Even after outscoring the Bruins 13-6 in the third quarter, the Falcons did not have enough left in the tank to muster up a fourth quarter comeback.
Sheridan’s bench proved to be the key difference maker in Thursday night’s affair, outscoring the Falcons’ second unit 32-23. Bench depth will be key if the Bruins hope to continue their success at this year’s OCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
The Bruins were paced offensively by 2nd year player Jemol Edwards (Brampton, Ont.). The 6’0 guard from Brampton, Ontario was outstanding against Fanshawe, collecting 22 points over 25 minutes of floor time. Edwards was the Bruins’ second leading scoring during the regular season (217 points) and will prove to be a key difference maker throughout the tournament .
Fanshawe’s offense was led by 5th year guard Sean Clendinning (Orilli, Ont.) and 3rd year guard Filip Pejic (Hamilton, Ont.). The duo led the Falcons with 12 points respectively.
Day 2 of the OCAA Men’s Basketball Championship tournament will see Fanshawe’s consolation semi-final against Niagara start at 3pm, while the Bruins semi-final against Seneca begins at 8pm.
