By: Zac Phillips
Toronto, ON - A last minute comeback locks down second place for the George Brown Huskies, as they stun the Centennial Colts 85-84, in the last game of the regular season.
In a seesaw battle that included 14 lead changes, the Colts had an 83-75 lead with 1:39 remaining. Huskies' Jerimiah Brown hit two three's in 35 seconds, one being a four-point play, and it put them right back into it.
Brown led the Huskies (14-4) at both ends with 26 points and 14 rebounds on the night. Derrick Taylor and Christian Tabiri each had 14 points.
Tavonn Mars-Buckley did everything possible to push the Colts (13-5) to victory. He dropped 32 points finding a way to score any time his team needed a bucket. Shooting 12-for-20 from the field as well as 4-from-10 from beyond the arc. The herculean effort was somehow not enough for the win.
A last minute push from George Brown and two late errors ultimately stung Centennial. First, a rather controversial travel call on Mars-Buckley when leading by four, set up the second big three from Brown.
Then, a rare turnover from Deandre Goulbourne on an errant pass to Mars-Buckley with 0:13 seconds left, down by one. The Huskies missed one of the shots on the intentional foul that followed the giveaway, leaving the door open for the Colts.
With 1.6 remaining in the game, Zander Wilson found himself on the line after being fouled rebounding a Mars-Buckley lay-up.
Wilson drilled the first one and it only turned the noise up inside the Casa Loma campus gymnasium. On the second shot, he just was short, bouncing it off the front of the rim, and the Huskies would go on to win 85-84.
As focus now shifts to playoffs, Centennial will finish the year in fourth. The Fanshawe Falcons will come to the Athletic Wellness Centre next weekend in the crossover round.
While the end result was not easy to swallow, the Colts will look at this game as an excellent primer for the basketball they are about to play. They've shown they can swing it with the best of the rest when the competition rises.