2008 Woodie Awards
DOWNWARD SPIRAL
Basketball continues slide into PSAC West basement
By Adam Brewer
Rocket Sports Editor
Issue date: 1/20/06 Section: Sports
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The Rock's (1-16 overall, 0-2 PSAC West) last win came against West Virginia Wesleyan on Nov. 21. "The overall mood of the team is frustration because we have put in a lot of work and effort into practices and games," coach John Marhefka said. "Our youth and inexperience has shown up in some games, but we are playing a lot of tough teams in a very competitive conference."
Seven of the Rock's losses this season have come by six points or less.
"It's a very difficult thing to get over the hump and win those close games," Marhefka said. "We just have three or four minutes in a game that we don't play our best on both sides of the ball and the other team capitalize. We are always battling back, trying to make a comeback."
Sophomore guard Brandon Thompson scored a career-high 23 points off the bench, while freshman post player Joseph Vines chipped in with 15 points. Freshman guard Matt Schaefer dished out a game-high nine assists with two points and four rebounds in the loss.
The Rock held its own against Edinboro (11-3, 1-0) team early in the first half, but Edinboro pulled away towards the break and held a 44-30 lead at halftime.
Throughout the second half, the Rock pulled closer, cutting the deficit to single digits at one point, but it wasn't enough.
Over the weekend, the Rock dropped two close games to PSAC Eastern opponents by a total of 10 points in PSAC crossover action.
On Saturday, the Rock traveled to West Chester and lost by a 53-48 margin to the Golden Rams. Leading the Rock were sophomore guard Jamar Scales and senior center Dejan Jancic. Scales had a team high 14 points with six rebounds, as Jancic added 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Rock led most of the first half. SRU bolted to a 12-4 lead with 13 minutes left in the half. But West Chester pulled itself back into the game, scoring the final 11 points in the first half and took a 27-20 lead into halftime.
