NORTH BAY - Some would use the term "too close for comfort".
Others, like men's head basketball coach Jonathan Smith, get right to the point.
"We were lucky to win," said Smith on the bus trip home after his team stole a 91-87 win over Canadore College. "(Canadore) came to play, had beaten Centennial a day earlier and we were sluggish defensively."
The score was quite the change from George Brown's home court 95-60 thumping of Canadore, back in November. Canadore has five wins in 14 games.
With the gift, the Huskies sixth win in the past seven improving their record to 10-3, George Brown has the third best record in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association. The men's basketball team also has the most wins among other George Brown varsity squads.
If there was a player to praise, even more so than Dejazmatch James with a game-high 30 points or Vadim Halimov, the top College player in Canada, with 28 more to move closer to the OCAA's all-time individual scoring title, all fingers point to rookie John Cadougan.
"We were up by two with under a minute to go and (Cadougan) fired a three-pointer," said Smith about Cadougan, a starter who also grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the last quarter.
"A clutch shot at a key time and he was very impressive in the fourth (quarter). We could feel the relief after his basket went in."
George Brown took a commanding 32-17 lead in the opening quarter, then went for a snooze and headed to the dressing room at halftime ahead, 48-47.
"We were up and down all game," said Cadougan, an 18-year old who scored nine points in the game, but has some impressive numbers in the classroom with a first term 3.22 grade-point average. "My basket late in the game wasn't the greatest, but it did seem to give us some breathing room."
Only three other George Brown players scored in the game: Curtis Baanee had 10 points, Akai Nettey had nine and Ted Johnson finished with five.
The lead changed 14 times, but another figure that may have helped George Brown came at the bonus line. The Huskies sank 31 of 47 shots. - DG
