Kajan Thiruthanikasalam (Sports Writer, Colts Athletics)
SCARBOROUGH, ONT.- Heading into halftime, the Centennial Colts men's basketball team was having trouble putting the ball in the net, as they trailed 34-32, to the Loyalist Lancers.
The Colts had shot a ghastly 24 per cent from the field in the first two quarters and their three top scorers (Bailey Burton, Kendall Wilson, Alastair Cole) shot a combined 7-33 in the half.
The second half started, however, and Centennial came out of the locker room with a mentality to kill. Five minutes into the third quarter, it was a wrap.
Behind a hot shooting second half and some serious thievery, the Colts turned what was once a close game into a blowout, beating the Lancers, 88-64, in front of a packed crowd at the Athletic and Wellness Centre.
Centennial bounced back after a loss to George Brown and improved to 4-2 on the season. Loyalist, meanwhile, fell to 1-4.
Despite shooting 34 per cent from the field in the game, Centennial shot a much better 44 per cent from the field as lanes opened up for them off of fast break opportunities. Wilson made five of his last seven shots from the field and finished with a game high 20 points on 50 per cent from the field. He and three other Colts players scored in double figures.
"Coach told me at halftime to be aggressive," Wilson said. "In order for us to take the lead and beyond, I had to get it going."
Burton bounced back from a rough shooting first half and scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, along with 10 rebounds (eight of them on the offensive end) while Cole finished with 13 points and a team high 11 rebounds.
Point guard Jahshua McFarlane was the catalyst behind the strong Centennial second half defense, finishing with 11 points and a game high six steals. The Colts forced the Lancers into 30 turnovers, 18 of them coming in the second half. They scored 23 points off those turnovers.
"We were just too laid back in the first half; they were pressuring us and we weren't pressuring them," Wilson said. "So we just talked a lot and played with more intensity."
"At half, the coaching staff challenged the guys to be more active on defence by applying more pressure," Colts head coach Trevor Challenger said. "We know Coach Patrick Kabeya and his Loyalist squad are a team that doesn't turnover the ball much. So we wanted to focus on getting into their passing lanes to make it difficult for them to run their offense."
Loyalist was coming off an overtime loss to the Durham Lords, in which they scored 107 points on 44.4 per cent shooting from the field. Centennial, though, limited the Lancers to just 64 points for the game on 31 per cent shooting.
"We knew that Loyalist can score, especially in bunches. They have some excellent shooters on their squad," Challenger said. "Our plan was to disrupt their offensive flow by applying pressure and constantly changing our defensive sets."
Meanwhile, centre Walshak Yusef continues to thrive in a key role for the Colts, as he finished with six points, seven rebounds, two steals, and a team high two blocks. Yusef says he just keeps the game simple for him and the experience in the starting lineup opens up opportunities.
"My coaches have told me just to be big and make my presence known," Yusef said. "If I get the ball, just attack the rim because I'm bigger than most of the guys even though I'm younger. It helps me a lot because they (the starters) know what they're doing and show me what to do on the court. It helps me get better as a player."
Centennial also out rebounded Loyalist, 62-55, and outscored them, 14-5, in second chance points.
"Our rebounding goal did not change. We challenged our guys to attack the glass and to create second shot opportunities," Challenger said. "Tonight we wanted our guards to be more active on the glass. The loss to George Brown helped us realized that we need more of a collective effort on the glass."
"In that category, I give a lot a credit to Cole," Wilson said. "Coach challenged him to get 10 rebounds today and he stepped up (to the challenge)."
"We capitalized on each opportunity on the glass and shared the ball," Yusef said. "We played unselfish."
The first quarter saw a back and forth affair for the first five minutes of the game before Centennial took control and took a 21-16 lead at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Colts took a 24-17 lead early on before the Lancers scored nine straight to take the lead as Centennial started turning over the ball in the backcourt and struggled converting at the rim during that time.
Wilson completed a three point play to end that run, which sparked eight straight points from the Colts, to take a 32-26 lead. However, Loyalist then scored the last eight points of the half to go up 34-32 heading into intermission.
In the second half, the game turned around for the Colts, and they ran with it. Burton hit a layup to tie the game and a touchdown pass from McFarlane to Wilson gave Centennial the lead for good, as it highlighted a 22-3 run to start the third quarter. Loyalist struggled with the Colts pressure and constantly coughed up the ball, leading to layups and dunks.
Wilson had consecutive bullet passes at one point which led to easy layups from Yusef and Cole.
The bench came in and continued the stifling defense and brought forward some tenacity on the offensive glass as guards Jason Dennis and Parker Brooks were part of a sequence late in the quarter in which Centennial had three chances to score from sheer hustle.
Brooks made the short jumper on the third attempt as the Colts went into the fourth quarter, up 60-45, outscoring Loyalist, 28-9, in the quarter. Dennis and guard Nathan Collins had three steals each coming off of the bench.
"We played so many preseason games versus tough OCAA West opponents (so that guys) like Daniel Humphrey, Jason Dennis, Parker Brooks, Nathan Collins, Khaleel Sutherland, Edose Etomi and Hussein Mahdi got a chance to get comfortable," Challenger said. "Now they're starting to find their rhythm and stride. Their energy off the bench brings a different flow once the starters take a seat."
"The energy they bring off the bench... I wish I had that when I was here a couple of years ago," Wilson marveled. "It's really helpful for us especially when we at times don't have the same intensity. When you see them play so well, it makes you want to step it up."
In the fourth quarter, the Colts continued their defensive pressure, forcing turnovers and getting easy baskets, one of them resulting in a two handed slam from Cole. Wilson then had a sequence in which he hit back to back triples, with a steal in between, to the delight of the bench and the crowd.
Things did get chippy with less than two minutes to go as Etomi was shoved by Lancers forward Ebun Tomiwa as frustration reached a boiling point for the visitors. Tomiwa received a technical foul while Wilson got a tech as well in the ensuing scrum. It calmed down from there, however, and Centennial coasted to an easy win.
The second half showed how dominant Centennial can be on both ends on the floor. However, Challenger says there are three factors that need to continue working well consistently in order to have sustained success, heading into their two game road trip.
"We need to do a few things," Challenger said. "Firstly, we need to start with team rebounding. We're not a big team so we need all five guys on the glass. Secondly, better execution on offence. At times we go away from our bread and butter, which is ball movement. And lastly our defensive pressure has to be for four quarters rather than one."
As for shutting down Seneca Sting forward Khalil Miller for next Thursday?
"I need to play good defense, keep a big body, and be a big presence in the paint," Yusef said.
Up Next: On the road in Peterborough against the Fleming Knights on Saturday Nov. 18 at 2:00 pm.