WELLAND, Ont. - After playing to close out the regular season just over a week ago, the Sheridan Bruins men's basketball team (27-6, 17-4 OCAA) and Fanshawe (12-9 OCAA) will meet again, this time in the OCAA quarter-final (8pm), as the Ontario Championship hosted by Niagara College begins Thursday. 

"It's always very difficult to beat a quality team three times in a season," head coach Jim Flack said. "Fanshawe has some very talented players and they're really well coached. We expect it to be a battle."

Sheridan bookended their regular season with games against Fanshawe, opening the year with a 106-77 victory on their home floor, before a hard-fought 85-82 win in London last week. 

On paper, the two sides are a contrast in styles; the Double Blue led the OCAA in scoring at 100.8 points per game and even their lowest scoring output (78 points) was more than Fanshawe's season average of 77.5.

Conversely, Fanshawe is in the top 4 in the league in three key defensive statistics:  third in points allowed (72.7), fourth in opponents field goal percentage (.378), and second in opponents 3-point percentage (.273).  

Although defence is their calling card, the Falcons still possess explosive offensive ability. They are led by Chris Parker (20.3 points per game) and Sean Clendinning (19.4 points per game), who account for more than half of their scoring and were vital in their marquee victory of the year, handing division champion Redeemer their only loss. 

In that contest, Parker (31) and Clendenning (34) combined for 65 points, while shooting 25-44 (.568) from the floor, and 9-14 from 3-point range (.642). 

The Double Blue earned their spot in the OCAA Championship with a 106-78 win over Georgian, while Fanshawe held off Durham 63-59.

Sheridan leads the all-time series 51-26 (8-3 post-season).