Kajan Thiruthanikasalam (Sports Writer, Colts Athletics)

SCARBOROUGH, ONT.- The Centennial Colts had the Seneca Sting on the ropes at the Athletic and Wellness Centre. After Jason Dennis tied the game up at 70 with two clutch free throws, the top ranked team in the OCAA were in the middle of a terrible offensive possession with the shot clock winding down.

Sting star Khalil Miller received the ball off of a dribble handoff from Yusuf Ali and had Dennis draped all over him. With the shot clock about to expire, Miller threw up a line drive shot from way outside with 14.7 seconds left. 

The result? Nothing but net, leaving the crowd and the Colts stunned.

Miller's three pointer proved to be the game winner as Seneca came out on top on the road in a chippy affair over Centennial, 73-70, at the Athletic and Wellness Centre. The win was the Sting's 11th straight victory as they improved to 11-1. Centennial, meanwhile, falls to 9-5.

This game was so tight as it featured 12 lead changes and the biggest lead from both teams was eight.

Despite Miller's heroics and a game high 12 rebounds, the Sting centre was limited to just seven points on two made shots, including being held scoreless for the first half, while Trevor Hutton was held to just one point.

"(Last time) we had no answer for Miller, Ali and Hutton. Myself and my coaching staff agreed that were just going to put pressure on all three of them and force them to execute," head coach Trevor Challenger said. "I'm extremely proud of our team and on how they battled tonight despite the adversity which they faced playing the number one team in the OCAA and number in the CCAA." 

"I'm proud of the team," former Centennial Colts basketball player and alumni Michael Brown said. "I'm proud of what I've seen and the maturity from the kids."

Ali led Seneca with 20 points, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Nabil Ibrahim had 12 points off the bench for the Sting, Isse Ibrahim had 11 and Daniel Wright had 10.

For Centennial, four players scored in double figures, led by Kendell Wilson, who had 17 points on five made triples.

"He kept us in the game," Brown said about Wilson's offense. "When we needed a big bucket, he gave us a big bucket."

Bailey Burton finished with a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, McFarlane filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds and a game high eight assists while Alastair Cole dropped 10.

"All four guys have been playing hard all year; some games are better than others but it really depends on what the offense gives us," Challenger said. "These guys have played in many big games so I expected them to perform to the best of their abilities. I'm extremely proud of these guys on how they played tonight."

It was Cole and Dennis, who took the task of guarding last season's Rookie of the Year, with their physicality leaving Miller visibly frustrated.

The last time the two teams played against each other, rebounding was a major issue with Seneca out rebounding Centennial, 58-42. Today flipped the script as it was the Colts who beat the Sting, 51-45, on the glass. Centennial limited Seneca and their third ranked offense (91.3ppg) to its worst shooting game of the season at 35.1 per cent from the field. 

However, the Colts did not shoot much better, only hitting 37 per cent of their shots from the field, including 30.6 per cent in the second half.

The start of the game did not feel like a grind-it-out battle as both teams started off at a breakneck pace. Centennial used an early 9-0 run to take a 17-9 lead, capped off by a triple from Burton. But Seneca chipped away at the lead, eventually scoring six straight to take a 23-20 lead late in the quarter.

Seneca eventually took a 23-21 lead after one. Ali and Wilson both had six points each, off of two made triples each.

In the second quarter, both teams went back and forth as Ali scored seven in the quarter while Wilson hit another pair of triples in the second. A layup from Burton had the Colts only down one (41-40) to the Sting at halftime.

After Walshak Yusef made a fastbreak layup to give Centennial a one point lead to start the third quarter, Seneca then went on a 14-6 run, capped off by a thunderous jam from Miller, forcing the Colts to call for time. The Sting eventually took a 62-54 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Ali once again had seven in the quarter while Burton had six for Centennial.

The fourth quarter saw both offenses grind down to a halt as it was a struggle just to get a basket. McFarlane hit a triple and Wilson hit a fadeaway but both of those made shots were on busted possessions with the shot clock about to expire. Wright had eight points in the first six minutes of the quarter and Centennial called a timeout, down 70-65, with 3:45 left. Wilson then hit yet another three off of the timeout and the Colts had multiple opportunities to tie the game for the next three minutes but couldn't capitalize.

"Our offense has been struggling recently; I credit the opposing team's defense," Challenger said. "Teams are taking away our first and second options, so were working on fine tuning a few adjustments so we have more flow."

Dennis got fouled with about 40 seconds left and calmly knocked down both of his free throws, leading to Miller's go-ahead bucket. Centennial had a chance to tie but McFarlane's pass was picked off.

Despite the loss, the Colts seem to have found some sort of blueprint to compete against the top of the OCAA as they gave the Sting a major scare. However, Challenger says it will be difficult to follow that on a consistent basis. 

"The OCAA is such a tough league; you never know how a team is going to play each night," Challenger said. "Going forward, we're just going to play our game: defend, rebound and run."

The Colts don't play again until Friday, Jan. 26 at 8:00pm when they host the Fleming Knights. Despite the Knights' 2-10 record, they gave Centennial a run for their money the last time the two teams played each other in which Fleming ultimately lost, 84-78, due to Wilson's 33 points. But Challenger says come Friday, the Colts will be prepared.

"Fleming will be another challenge for our guys, but I guarantee you, we will be ready."