Sheridan Bruins Clinch Tenth OCAA Title

For the tenth time in school history, the Sheridan Bruins men’s basketball team are Ontario College Athletics Association (OCAA) champions.

For Immediate Release: March 4, 2013
Oakville, ON

For the tenth time in school history, the Sheridan Bruins men’s basketball team are Ontario College Athletics Association (OCAA) champions. After posting the best record during the regular season (18-2), the Double-Blue beat Centennial in the quarter-final, Fanshawe in the semi-final and the reigning Ontario and national champions from Mohawk in the championship game on March 2.

“There was a lot of excitement and nervous energy before the game,” explains Andrew Stephenson, a shooting guard for the Bruins. “We weren’t shooting well in the first quarter so our coach called a time out and talked us through it. By half time we had chipped away at their lead and we were only down by six. In the second half, our top scorer, Trevor Williams went on a scoring rampage. One of our star players also got a concussion during the game but we could hear him cheering us on from the bench.” By the end of the third quarter Sheridan was in the lead 65-56, and finished the game with an 88-70 win.

Making the win even sweeter was Sheridan’s Trevor Williams being named the tournament’s MVP and the Bruins’ coach Jim Flack being voted Ontario Coach of the Year by his colleagues. Flack has coached the team during its six most recent Ontario titles (2013, 2008, 2002, 2001, 1999, and 1998) and was an assistant coach during the team’s first four Ontario wins (1990, 1989, 1986, and 1985). When asked to explain the secret to achieving repeated victory, Flack declared, “It’s not about me – it’s all about the players. You can’t do anything without good players. That is first and foremost. Next you need to find a way to get the most out of your team technically, by motivating them or getting them to be disciplined – but that is really a secondary part of the job.”

While Flack is humble about his contribution to the team’s win, his players are much more forthcoming. “He’s so down to Earth and he jokes around with us and knows how to have fun, but when it’s time to get serious he gets the job done,” adds Stephenson. “When we heard he got Coach of the Year, the whole team started shouting M-V-P, M-V-P! He really deserves the title. Without his coaching style we never would have made it to the finals.” Flack has been named Ontario coach of the year for a total of seven times and in 2002 was voted national coach of the year.

The Bruins will travel to John Abbott College, just outside of Montreal for the national championship tournament from March 14-16.