Men's b-ball needs a win

With a loss to Denison University (17-5) last Saturday and then another loss to Allegheny College (14-7) on Wednesday, the men's basketball team is looking at another year of playoff bystanding unless they get a win at Earlham College (2-19) this Saturday.

The Yeomen got off to a sluggish start against Denison and were down 21-2 at one point, before coming back to end the half 37-23. "It seems we don't start really playing until we get behind," Coach Miguel Curl said. "Then the kids got together and started really playing. We went from a zone defense to a man-to-man and that got us moving." The Yeoman outscored the Big Red by 3 in the second half, but still lost 74-63.

"We were undersized and not as deep," center junior Josh Ellison said. Ellison wasn't too happy with his own play, as he only put in four points and grabbed one rebound, but said other players contributed much more and so it "didn't hurt as much as it could have." These players included sophomore John Norris who led with 28 points and 7 rebounds and senior Kiese Laymon who got 12 points. Norris was also 4 for 5 from behind the three-point line.

In spite of these performances, Curl cited inconsistency as another thorn in his side. "If the shooting percentage is there, then the free throws aren't." The Yeoman shot 48 percent from the floor but went only 6 for 18 from behind the line.

Still, the Yeoman showed that they can play with the second-best team in the North Coast Athletic Conference. "When we go in and play them tough we lose by eleven points," Curl said. "It's an example of how when we play as a team we can play with anyone in the conference."

The Yeoman played well with Allegheny also, though still lost 75-58. "We let it slip away," Curl said. "We missed a lot of layups. It seemed that for every four or five good plays we had, there were four or five bad plays. We have to eliminate those bad plays."

This was shown in the first half as the attending 200 or so fans were emotionally toyed with through the Yeomen's stop-and-go periods of success and failure. The team was down 13, but then surged to get ahead by three with about five minutes left in the first half, thanks to arching three's from Laymon and junior Frank Boley. Then the tide turned again as ill-timed turnovers combined with a few bad calls left the Yeomen down nine at halftime.

The second half opened with a shakey Yeomen set-offense that showed some players looking confused and out of place. A similar situation occurred on defense as the Gators found several opportunities to get open under the basket with defenders many steps away.

You couldn't say the Yeomen weren't trying, though, as players dived for steals and loose balls left and right. "The guys played hard," Curl said. "The intensity and heart was there." The team applied a press as the second half wore on, and though they got a few quick steals off it initially, they soon had to cope with being spread out over the court and scrambling to get back on D.

A lot of points were scored in the paint. "They weren't playing very good interior defense," Ellison said. He scored 19, mostly lay-ups, but only shot 8-20. "I needed to make more lay-ups," Ellison said.

"I don't want to put it all on one player," Curl said. "As a team we only shot 32 percent from the field."

The Allegheny game was the last home game for starting seniors Darryl Seldon and Mahidi Newman, as well as for junior varsity senior Cisco Brooks-Church, who played the last 11 seconds. "For Darryl and Mahidi it was definitely a nice way to go out for your last game as a senior," Curl said. Seldon had 13 rebounds and Newman had an all-around good game with numbers in all categories.

"One of the things these two games speak of," Curl said, "is the importance of not quitting. In our first Allegheny game we lost by 36. Our guys always give it their all. In that respect I'm very pleased with their progress this year."

If the team gives it their all, they should have no problem beating Earlham. The last confrontation with the school resulted in a seven-point loss. "We always seem to play down or up to the level of competition of the team we're playing," Ellison said. "It's a must-win. If we play our best we'll definitely win."

Curl and his team spent Thursday reviewing films of Earlham and discussing strategy. "If we play like we played [on Wednesday,] we can beat Earlham," Curl said. "We can go down there and get a win."

I'm too speedy: Sophomore John Norris zips to the basket while being pursued by a relentless Gator (photo by photo by Dave Reeves)