By: Teru Ikeda 

SCARBOROUGH, ON – The excitement on the sidelines rivaled the one on the floor. Bells rang on the bleachers and lively words came from the in-game announcer. 

It was the Colts men's basketball home opener against the Fleming Knights. The Colts blew the Knights out 86-66, but the 20-point victory wasn't earned easily. 

The Colts were up seven points (19-12) at the end of the first quarter. 

But the Colts had six turnovers in the second quarter.  Riddled with communication errors, the Colts had a scoring drought  for the first four minutes and twenty-five seconds. 

The drought was ended by rookie guard Isaiah Cromwell-Wright who started the 13-0 scoring run by hitting a free throw. Cromwell-Wright led all scorers with 23 points. He made tremendous use of his body to draw contact; he took a total of seven trips to the free throw line. 

During the 13-0 run, rookie guard Quentin Herbert made three deep mid-range pull-ups. He finished the game with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.

After halftime, the Knights went on a 7-0 run and came within 10 points. Shane Howell, Knights guard, had nine points in the third frame. After Quinton Paul, Colts reserve, was subbed in, he limited Howell's scoring opportunities and Paul threw down the lone dunk of the game. 

In the second half, the Colts only won by two points, but a dominant first half performance allowed the Colts a comfortable lead, allowing starters to share their minutes with the bench. The reserves contributed a total 25 points. Hakim Dahnoun, Colts reserve, finished the game with 11 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting. He scored six points in the third quarter, showing an arsenal of smooth, offensive moves.

DM Betoukoumessou was out due to injury, but Kyrin Henlin and Edose Etomi got the job done inside. Henlin who had 14 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and protected the rim with four swats. Etomi led all rebounders with 11 boards. 

The Colts forwards showed versatility, adapting to multiple positions.  

"We challenge our guys every practice to bring multiple efforts on defence and challenge the offense with steals, blocks and deflections," said Trevor Challenger, Head Coach.

In preparation for the home game against the Seneca Sting, Challenger will focus on defense: "It's tough to stop everything (Seneca does) well. We're going to do our best job slowing down their high-powered offense, and their hot 3-point shooting."


CATCH OUR NEXT RIVAL GAME
The Colts will defend home court against last year's national champions, Seneca Sting, on Thursday, October 25th at 8:00 PM.