Off and running

The author is a junior guard on the men’s basketball team.

As the basketball season came to a close last year with a loss in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament, many people felt like we underachieved.

So did I.

This year, we are coming to reverse those feelings. As an experienced team, it is in our hands to make the right decisions in practice, and the games, in order to be the best team when postseason time comes around.

This year, we have a pretty much new roster including three freshmen and a ton of new transfers that bring that experience to the table.

We opened up the season with a home game against Rochester University.

Although they play at the NAIA level, they’re a pretty all-around good team that likes to drive and kick for open shots.

After a victory over Rochester, we made our first road appearance of the season against Boston College. This would be our first big test of the young season as they were a Power 5 team in the ACC. They had good guard play that transitioned to them getting some good perimeter looks.

We were basically in control the entire game until the final two minutes.

We had the lead but just could not find a way to put them away. So we ended up falling in a heartbreaker, 70-66.

After that loss, we were able to muster some new-found energy to come out hot against Ohio University at home. We grabbed an early lead and never looked back, beating them 88-74.

They also had a good group of guards that could really handle and shoot the ball.

The success came for us when we shut them down in the first half and forced them to make tough shots and run in transition.

I think we have something special growing here with this team.

We have a chance to do something really special which has not been done here in a long time.