By: Pedro Casellatto
Scarborough, ON - The Centennial Men's Basketball team defeated the Fleming Phoenix at home this Saturday afternoon. Maintaining a comfortable distance on the scoreboard throughout the whole game, they finished with 84 points against 59 points for the Phoenix. They are now sitting at the top of the standings, being the only undefeated team in the division.
The Colts started the match being very effective and right away putting up a nine-point lead. The Colts showed effectiveness on rebounds with Omar Nur in the paint. On the attacking transitions, Tavonn Mars-Buckley and Deandre Goulbourne were assertive on the three-point line, scoring two each in the first quarter, helping the Colts secure an 18-point lead. Later in the second quarter, the Colts struggled to run their plays and made some ball-control errors, forcing coach Michael Jackman to call a timeout with 4 minutes left until halftime. The Colts shook the dust and came back with a more fluid game. With about a minute left in the second quarter, two Colts' players, Goulbourne and Mars-Buckley, had more than 10 points in the game.
In the third quarter, the Phoenix started more aggressive, on a 7-4 run. With the momentum on their side, they challenged the Colts' offence, which was not as effective as it was earlier. In the fourth quarter, the Colts found the energy and pace they started the game with. Zander Wilson played an important role in the beginning, getting two important rebounds and scoring twice with less than three minutes through the fourth quarter. The Phoenix did not step back, matched the quality, and tied up the fourth quarter with about four minutes left. Omar Nur came back into the game effectively, making it the first double-double in the game with 11 rebounds and 11 points.
The Colts took over first place after winning this game, and without losing a game yet, they aim further, looking to be one of the top teams this season. Their next game is against the Seneca Sting this Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. at the Newnham Campus Gymnasium.