Heading into Seneca College for the first time as the head coach of the Centennial Colts men's basketball team, Trevor Challenger said he felt emotional.
"My three years at Seneca was an amazing experience, from the senior athletic staff, fans, and faculty to the student athletes," Challenger said. "So anytime we play Seneca I get a little emotional."
This win, however, must have felt sweet for him, especially with the way Centennial ended the game.
An incredible fourth quarter on both ends of the floor from the Colts led to a 74-64 upset win on the road over the second ranked Sting.
For Seneca (15-2), the loss snaps a six game winning streak. Centennial (11-5), however, has another signature win to add to their turnaround season, along with the road win against the top seeded George Brown Huskies.
The Colts avenged their earlier loss at home to the Sting, when they lost 84-78 on Nov. 25, 2016.
For the first three quarters, it looked like Seneca was fairly in control of this game. Although the Colts kept it within single digits, they were down by nine heading into the final frame.
The biggest story of this game? The fourth quarter. Centennial outscored Seneca 21-2!
No, that is not a typo. 21-2.
Even Challenger was stunned by the way the quarter went down. He said the coaching staff was the biggest reason why.
"My assistant coach Chris (Stewart) provided the team with some uplifting words of encouragement and coach (John) Clara designed a new offensive play to get us closer to the basket," Challenger said. "During half coach (Javaughn) Davis mentioned about changing our defensive schemes and it worked. I commend our coaching staff for in game changes."
The Colts completely shut down the Sting offense, not allowing a single field goal (0-13) the entire quarter. The only points that Seneca scored were on two free throws by Dimitri Lim.
Despite shooting seven for 26 in the fourth, Centennial scored 21 points, just like they did in the second and third quarters. Veteran guard Alex (AC) Hagoriles hit two huge threes in the quarter to spur the Colts' comeback. Most importantly, the Colts took care of the ball, with only one turnover in the quarter.
It made up for a slow start to the game, in which the Colts only scored 11 points (5-16 FG) and had seven of their 12 turnovers in the first quarter.
Altogether, the Colts forced the Sting into 32.4 per cent shooting from the field (24-74) and forced them into 15 turnovers. Despite the Colts shooting just 31.8 per cent from the field (27-85), they shot 45 per cent (9-20) from behind the arc.
Five players scored in double figures for the Colts.
Hagoriles broke out of a season long slump by hitting four three pointers and finished with a team leading 18 points and six steals. Marko Curic had a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, along with three blocks while Josh Mcfarlene, in his return to Seneca, had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Malcolm Jackson and Paul Walwyn rounded out the scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
When asked what win was sweeter for him between George Brown and Seneca, Challenger said, "I think both games were huge for me but more importantly, (for) our team. They responded to the challenge."
The Colts continue their road trip on Friday Feb. 10, in which they play the Durham Lords. Tip-off is at 6:00 pm.