2008 Woodie Awards
Denied
Men's basketball loses opener
By Adam Brewer
Rocket Sports Editor
Issue date: 11/18/05 Section: Sports
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Schaefer scored 13 points, earned seven rebounds and picked up eight assists in the Rock's season opening loss to the Fighting Scots. The Rock had four players that scored in double digits in the losing effort.
After competing against the likes of the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State Altoona in preseason scrimmages, the non-conference loss hurts, but the Rock will have five more non-conference games this season.
"Each of the scrimmages we had a different approach to and a different goal we wanted to accomplish," coach John Marhefka said. "We are dividing the season into segments, and we just got done with all of our scrimmages and now we are focusing on our non-conference schedule."
After Ohio Valley scored the opening basket, the Rock scored seven straight points. For the next few minutes, the game went back and forth. The game's pace quickened. With less than 11 minutes left in the first half, the score was tied at 16.
Both teams then went on a scoring drought and frequently turned the ball over with bad passes. Ohio Valley got on a roll near the end of the half, and led 27-16 with six minutes left in the half.
The Rock then cut the lead to seven, 36-29, with two minutes left in the half. At halftime, the Rock found itself down by seven, 39-32.
With only four players scoring in the first half, the Rock was looking to get the rest of the team involved in the offense. The Rock managed to do just that when freshman guard Erroll Robinson scored 11 points in the second half and overtime period.
Robinson penetrated the Ohio Valley defense, which gave him tough shots inside and wide open outside shots for his teammates. Robinson finished the game 4-12 shooting with one three pointer and three assists.
With the Rock playing as a strong unit and a tough play by Robinson, the Rock took its first lead of the second half, 57-55, on Schaefer's three-point basket with seven minutes left in the game.
Ohio Valley tied the score up on a three point basket of its own, but the Rock took a 58-57 lead after a free throw with 4:03 left in the game.
Two minutes later, the game was tied at 60. With both teams scoring on its next possession, Ohio Valley took a two point lead with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Robinson stepped up for the Rock again as he drove inside the paint and got the hard basket. The game was tied 64-64, so both teams played an extra five minutes of overtime to decide who the victor would be in this heated contest.
Both teams shut out one another earlier in the overtime period, but at the end the Rock couldn't make the big shot, and couldn't stop Ohio Valley's inside game in the overtime period. Ohio Valley outscored the Rock 8-4 in the overtime session.
"In order to be successful against Ohio Valley we had to play solid defense because they have a lot of athletic and scrappy guys," Marhefka said. "Over the years, they might not have a good record, but they are a solid team. On offense we had to take care of the ball and rebound the ball well. We also had to set up screens so that our offense will have flow and rhythm."
Ohio Valley out-rebounded the Rock by a 55-38 margin and shot the ball 44 percent from the floor, 43 percent from long range and 47 percent from the free throw line.
The Rock shot the ball 40 percent from the field, 41 percent from beyond the arc and 46 percent from the charity stripe.
The leading scorer for the Rock was freshman guard Matt Hale. Hale had 17 points and made five three pointers in the game.
Junior guard Nathanael McCoy had 10 points coming off the bench as junior forward Pete Craig and sophomore Jamar Scales chipped in with four points each.
Senior center Dejan Jancic scored five points and earned five rebounds while sophomore guard Brandon Thompson rounded out the scoring for the Rock with four points.
The Rock will look for its first win of the season when it hosts West Virginia Wesleyan Monday night at the Morrow Field House. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
"For this young team, I think having our first couple of games at home in comfortable settings might give this team confidence," Marhefka said. "If we get off to a good start, and we play hard then that will excite the home crowd."
Next week the Rock will also have its first road test of the season when it travels to Youngstown State on Wednesday in a non-conference battle. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
