On a night when Centennial College celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Centennial Colts men's varsity basketball team were determined to make a statement to the OCAA (Ontario Colleges Athletic Association) in their Season opener.
Mission accomplished!
The Colts blew out the Fleming Knights 89-54 and secured their second consecutive win at the Athletic and Wellness Centre. Centre Marko Curic led all scorers with 21 points and seven rebounds, while guard Josh Mcfarlene had 17 points and five steals for the Colts (2-1). Jaquan Levene led the Knights (0-2) with 17 points in the loss.
The Colts defense was a major key, which limited the Knights to 27.3 per cent from the field. Mcfarlene made five steals in the third quarter that added to the Colts' pressure defense, which forced the Knights to commit 29 turnovers. The team may also owe their newfound success to newly appointed head coach Trevor Challenger, who praised his players for their tenacious defense.
"Our full court pressure was good and I thought we were disciplined on defense," Challenger said. Coach Challenger has little time to pick up the pieces from last year's disappointing season. However, he looks forward to leading the team into the play offs and towards Nationals.
Guard Josh Mcfarlene agreed with his coach as he was dubbed the catalyst to the Colts' stifling defense. He said their inbound defense played a huge role in the win. "Fleming always wanted to give it to their point guard," Mcfarlene said. "I pretty much stayed close to him, backed up (when necessary), and anytime they passed it to him, I made my move." Mcfarlene also admired the team's hard-work mentality and thinks this year's team could go far. "This team works hard from the starting line-up to the bench," Mcfarlene said.
The Colts shot an efficient 47.5 per cent and repeatedly exposed holes in the Knights defense. Curic, who went 6-for-9 from the field, said the offense took advantage of Fleming's defense by cutting to the basket. "Our guys were cutting well and I saw a lot of holes," Curic said. "I told them to keep cutting and it was working 90 per cent of the time. I just kept getting dishes and it was layups every single time."
The Colts' captain also raved about his team's swarming defense and pressure on the Knights' guards. "We were getting easy bucket after easy bucket, and steal after steal," Curic said. "It was just so much fun to watch." Although not everything went as planned for the Colts. The team committed 25 turnovers in the win. Coach Challenger acknowledged that the team was not as crisp executing offensively. "I thought it was a little bit sloppy," he said. "We just got to do a better job of executing each time on the court."
However, Challenger sees potential in his team to be contenders for a national championship. "I feel our team has a great chance of competing for an OCAA medal," he said. "A little more seasoning and we'll be alright." Curic also agreed with Challenger. He claims this Colts team is the most talented team he's ever played for. "This team has national championship potential," Curic said. "Honestly, I think we're that talented and that good together. We're a family and we love to play for each other."
The Colts will continue their three game home stand on Nov. 5 at 3pm, when they play the Algonquin Thunder and then on Sunday Nov 6th when they host La Cite both from Ottawa.
This truly is looking to be a golden year for the Colts Men's Basketball team as the school celebrates their 50th anniversary. With Centennial set to play host to the OCAA Men's Basketball Championships in March they have an automatic bid to the Quarter finals. The team by no means wants to just be given a spot at the table as they plan to earn it week by week in preparation of the play-off Championships.
This year Ontario also gets a wildcard bid to Nationals, whereby two team from Ontario both the silver and gold medalists from the OCAA receive a spot at the National Championships to be held on March 15th – 18th at Holland College in Charlottetown, PEI. Bags are not packed yet but plans are underway!