Huskies will end 2016 with a Dec. 7 home game against undefeated Seneca

George Brown’s men’s basketball team improved to 8-1 on the season, following Friday’s 79-60 road win over an eight-man Georgian Grizzlies squad.

The game got off to a grinding start, with neither side giving the other much to work with. In the second quarter, increased Huskies sharpshooting stretched the court, and by halftime George Brown had built a 41-29 lead. The visitors kept humming along in the third quarter, increasing their edge to 65-44. Georgian outscored the Huskies 16-14 in the fourth, but by then George Brown had long since taken their foot off the pedal.

Playing in its third game in seven days and with still another on Wednesday, George Brown kept up a steady rotation off the bench. The result was a team victory, one which saw all 12 players find their way onto the scoreboard.

“We played hard on defence, we followed the game plan, switching screens and all of that,” said Huskies guard Ted Johnson. “We’re a really deep team, so if anyone’s having a bad game, someone can always step in. I think that’s what did it for us; we were deeper than they were.”

Johnson’s sentiment might resonate with Grizzlies head coach Matt Coulson. According to Coulson, Friday’s loss was the second game in a row fatigue had affected his undermanned squad. Looking back on the last 10 games, the coach’s takeaway was unsurprisingly upbeat given the circumstances.

“They’re tough,” Coulson said about his team. “We don’t have a lot of guys but they play hard, they’ve won some games that probably a lot of people thought we wouldn’t. I’m pretty happy we’re 4-6.”

With Georgian in the rear-view mirror, the Huskies now pivot to their final game of 2016, a Dec. 7 home match against the undefeated Seneca Sting. If George Brown is to take the division, they’ll likely have to go through Seneca, and it’s a challenge the team welcomes.

“We’re excited, ” said Johnson. “We want to go at them, give them their first loss. We’re sore and tired because all the games are so close together, but we’ll get through it.”

Huskies head coach Jonathan Smith echoed Johnson’s excitement, describing Seneca as George Brown’s nemesis (and Sting head coach Darrell Glenn as a good friend). While hopeful that injured guard Dejazmatch James will be healthy in time for Wednesday’s game, Smith’s vision for success goes far beyond the return of any individual player.

“We need to get to where we play hard for 40 minutes,” said Smith, who believed George Brown played at a constant level for about five or six minutes on Friday. “That’s the only way we have a chance of going to provincials, being successful at provincials and hopefully getting a shot at nationals.”