SQUAMISH, B.C. - It had all the makings of a high-energy back-and-forth battle between a pair of conference champions that makes the month of March sacred in the world of college basketball, but an ill-timed fourth quarter drought - where they were out-scored 34-16 - knocked the Sheridan Bruins men's basketball team (31-6, 18-3 OCAA) from championship contention, as they dropped a 108-91 decision to Red Deer in the national semi-final.
"I thought we played three quarters of basketball the way we want to play. Our legs, I think gave out a little bit, but if you look at the shooting percentages, we just didn't shoot the ball very well today," Sheridan head coach Jim Flack said. "When you get down to a situation this late in the season, you've got to make shots. There's just no two ways about it, you can't win championships or play in national finals if you don't make shots.
"So we didn't shoot the ball very well and we got tattooed on the glass and clearly in the fourth quarter, we really didn't make shots enabling them to run away from us and leave us in their rearview mirror. Hats off to them, it will be a great national final tomorrow and Red Deer just out-played us."
Both teams opened with a lot of pace and energy in the first quarter, with Red Deer able to nose ahead by the end, 25-21.
Sparked by a barrage of threes in quick succession, the Double-Blue won the second quarter 32-36 to lead 53-51 at the break.
In the third quarter, the Bruins pushed their lead to eight and had opportunities to extend it, but instead saw the Alberta champions trim the margin to one, 76-75, heading into the final period.
Early on, Sheridan was able to get good looks at the offensive end, but just couldn't get shots to go, whether inside, from the perimeter or at the free line.
Red Deer, meanwhile, was able to inflict damage in a multitude of ways - getting the ball to the hoop, converting from the charity stripe, knocking down three-pointers and getting easy put-backs off the offensive glass - and seemingly on every possession.
There was a sequence midway through the frame where the Red Deer advantage jumped from eight to 16 in a matter of seconds, and the Bruins were never able to fully recover, making the final score look far more lopsided than the first 35 minutes would have suggested.
Dylan Periana scored a game-high 28 points and also hauled down 10 rebounds, while Roshean Keen also put up a double-double with 20 points and 12 boards.
Sheridan will now drop into the bronze medal bracket, squaring off against the ACAA champions from Holland to determine who will play for the third place in the medal in the penultimate game of the championship.
Source: Sheridan College