It was a long time coming but the Redeemer Men's Basketball team came away with a historic win on Friday. The Royals hit the century mark for the first time this season, ran their win streak to 4 games, and defeated the perennial powerhouse Bruins for the first time in program history.

After starting the season 0-4, the Royals have stormed back, winning 4 straight including a 102-88 defeat tonight over Sheridan College. It was a solid win for the Royals especially away from their home court. The Bruins annually contend for the Provincial Championship and are the reigning National Championship Bronze Medalists. The Royals have a history of playing Sheridan tight but the Bruins have had a string of dominance in the win column dating back to the introduction of the men's basketball program at Redeemer.

Friday's match followed a new historical path however. A strong 1st half for Redeemer set the tone for the game as the Royals outscored the Bruins 21-10 to start the game. Redeemer was able to sustain that lead throughout as everytime the Bruins were able to cut down on the lead, the Royals countered with a run of their own.

Never able to count Sheridan out, the Royals needed to rely on great shooting to avoid a comeback from the powerhouse home team and Redeemer did just that. Shooting an incredible 56.7% from the floor during the match and an even more impressive 62.1% from 3 point territory, the men's team never gave the Bruins the opportunity to get back into the match.

The Royals continued to build on their lead throughout the game and aside from a 14-0 run in the final minutes by the Bruins when the contest was out of reach, Redeemer controlled the pace of play all night. Their perimeter defense held Sheridan to shooting just 14.8% (4/27) from beyond the arc.

Redeemer's Jacob Walda (Woodstock, ON) got hot early from the floor and went 7-11 from 3-point as he recorded a season high 24 points for the red and white. Calvin Turnbull (Burlington, ON) turned in another impressive performance with 23 points and 7 rebounds while John Woldue (London, ON) added 17 points and 8 assists. Divya Rao (Rochester, NY) was the 4th Royals scorer to hit double-digits with 10 points.

Satisfied with a solid victory on the road, Coach Jamie Girolametto attributed the win to a group of guys that played well together. "It was a great team win tonight", said Girolametto. "We managed well with guys in foul trouble. Our ball movement was great which led to a lot of good looks". 

Looking forward to Thursday's final game of the semester against Niagara College, Girolametto commented, "Friday's game was our most complete game of the year but still not a full 40 minutes. That's the goal". Redeemer will look for a full 40 minute team effort when the Knights come to town as the Royals will look to enter the Christmas break at 5-4 on the heels of a 5 game win-streak.