SQUAMISH, B.C. - They had just under 14 hours to recover from the disappointment of being knocked from title contention, but the Sheridan Bruins men's basketball team (33-6, 18-3 OCAA) managed to dig deep and won a pair of games in eight hours to win the national bronze medal.
"A lot of people say that at this type of tournament with a wrap-around bronze it's one of the hardest medals to win, but clearly the hardest medal to win is the gold. It's just an entirely different kind of challenge when you have to play two games in one day after taking such a crushing defeat in the national final four," Sheridan head coach Jim Flack said. "Our guys stepped up, they represented and were truly ambassadors for the school all week long. I think people enjoyed watching them play, enjoyed interacting with them and I couldn't be prouder of the way the season finished. There only gets to be one champion and Langara was fantastic, so we bring a bronze medal, a lot of memories and some great performances."
The day opened up with a bronze semi-final against the ACAA champions from Holland, and the Double-Blue struggled to find their legs and rhythm in the first five minutes.
They managed to work themselves into the game, but still trailed 15-14 after one.
Now fully engaged, the Bruins slowly worked themselves into a 39-33 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Sheridan tried to pull away - pushing the lead to double-digits - but fuelled by some outstanding perimeter shooting Holland kept pulling themselves closer.
Down the stretch the Double-Blue just made a few more plays to win 92-85 and advance to the bronze medal game.
Depsite the amount of wear they had on their legs - it was their fourth game in 48 hours, third game in 24 hours and second game in less than hours - the Bruins pushed the pace from the open.
Sheridan led 31-20 over Vanier at the end of the first quarter and when Trevor Williams drained a three-pointer at the horn, they took a 58-38 lead into the break.
In the second half, they never let up and closed out the season on a winning note, downing the Quebec champions 106-76.
Dylan Periana scored a game-high 25 points,
while Michael Selkridge (22), Williams (18) and
Roshean Keen (12) all hit double figures.
Periana was named a first-team tournament all-star, while
Selkridge earned a second team all-star nod.
Source: Sheridan College