By Caio Miari
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL RECAP
Cori Browne scored 20 points to help the Centennial Colts clinch a dominant 74-53 victory over the Loyalist Lancers on Friday evening at the Athletic and Wellness Centre (AWC).
Browne, who leads the Colts (4-8) in average scoring, also contributed with five rebounds and three steals. She has now put up 20-plus points in three games this season.
“Cori is an all-star in this league,” head coach Justin Bobb said, post-game. “She proved it last season and she’s proving it again this year. … Her points help a lot but (it's) her mentality of attacking the hoop that really does a lot for our offence overall.”
Christianna Crooks (13 points, eight assists, five rebounds) and Keyanna Hyatt (11 points, five rebounds) were the other two Colts to reach double figures.
For the Lancers (6-6), Kate Raso topped the scoring sheet with 19.
Brittany Mason, who scored 36 points during Loyalist’s 78-73 win in the first meeting between the schools on Oct. 26, was held to 11 this time.
“I think home cooking helps a little bit with that,” Bobb said. “But Brittany Mason is a great player, so we had to key on her in our defence … We made some adjustments in terms of the assignments we showed her.”
Entering the second period tied at 18, the Colts featured an impressive defensive effort, allowing only four second-quarter points.
“Just keeping up the effort, keeping up the energy,” Browne said about her coaching staff's speech before the defensive dominant second quarter. “Our energy dipped a little bit when we didn’t get our stops, so it was about being consistent and keeping the energy.”
After outscoring their opponents 20-4 in the second, the Colts maintained their advantage throughout the game, limiting the Lancers to 31 points in the final two periods combined.
Overall, Centennial held Loyalist to 3-for-23 (13%) from the three-point line, while shooting 10-of-28 (35.7%) beyond the arch.
The Colts’ bench contributed with 25 points, against four by the Lancers’. Besides that, the home side forced 29 turnovers, scoring 29 points off those takeaways.
“I wish it was my speech,” the coach said, about his team's resilient performance. “They just picked it up, they understood the talent they have in the locker room, and the effort has to match that. So credit to the players, they did an excellent job picking it up.”
The Colts will try to make it back-to-back wins as they visit the Durham Lords on Friday, Feb. 7 (6 p.m.).
MEN’S BASKETBALL RECAP
Kyrin Henlin’s 36 points boosted the Centennial Colts to an impressive 99-96 comeback victory over the Loyalist Lancers on Friday night at Progress Campus.
Missing their season scoring leader due to injury (Dieu Merci Betoukoumessou), the Colts (7-8) were down 12 points early in the third quarter but still managed to get away with the triumph guided by Henlin’s all-around impact on the court.
“It feels amazing,” Henlin said, after the remarkable result that keeps Centennial unbeaten at home this season. “I thought (the game) was getting away from us. So to come back and win the game, it meant a lot.”
Besides scoring 14 of his total points in the third to put the home side back in the game, the second-year guard finished the night with four assists, two rebounds, and one steal. He shot 11-of-25 from the field and 13-of-16 from the free-throw line.
Centennial outscored Loyalist 31-26 in the fourth following two one-sided periods.
After the home team finished the first quarter leading by three, the visitors allowed just eight points in the second, building their 44-34 lead at halftime.
The double-digit deficit, though, didn't stop Centennial to bounce back.
“Coach just told us: ‘Go put on some fight. Don’t just give up’,” Henlin said.
And the Colts never did.
They strongly bounced back in the third period to enter the fourth trailing by only two.
In the final period, both teams were hot from the field. However, Henlin led the home side with eight points and one assist in the final three minutes of the contest to clinch an exciting win.
“I feel like this season I haven’t been this good on offence,” the star of the night said. “But I want to start to dominate on that side also.”
The game featured 12 lead changes and eight ties.
Besides Henlin, five players reached double figures: Quentin Herbert (17), Carlo Pantaleon (11), Walshak Yusef (10), Owen Shirley (10), and Tyrese McCarty (10).
Yusef added a game-high eight rebounds, while McCarty led Centennial with six assists coming from the bench.
For the Lacers, Noah Korovesi and Jeremiah Brown were the top scorers, with 22 and 20 points, respectively.
Centennial (9-of-23, 39.1%) had a slight edge over Loyalist (9-of-28, 32.1%) from the three-point line.
After snapping a two-game losing streak, the Colts will try to remain unbeaten playing under their domain as they face the Fleming Knights on Tuesday, Feb. 4 (7 p.m.).
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The Centennial Colts paid an emotional tribute to NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who tragically passed way in a helicopter accident last week. The Colts media team created a memorial video to the former Los Angeles Lakers player and it's available on the Colts social media (Twitter @CentennialColts and Instagram @ColtsAthletics).