Heading in the right direction

Women
Every once in a while, every team has a relatively easy game. And every player gets some playing time.

The Georgia College & State University women’s basketball team cruised to an easy 88-51 victory Monday night, giving GC&SU (4-1) their fourth straight win.

The GC&SU women jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead, which eventually swelled to 22-7 with 12:57 left in the first half, then 29-7 at 10:44. Miles never led in the contest. The closest the Lady Bears came to overtaking the Lady Bobcats was narrowing the gap to 4-3 just 46 seconds into the game.

Senior center Dalana Watson led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Alicia Porter with 13 points, and Andrea Lee with 12. In addition, every Lady Bobcat player scored at least one point, except for Adrienne Tucker. Junior point guard Larkin Cleaveland handed out 9 assists and moved into the top ten on the school career record books for assists.

Such balanced scoring from different players is what makes GC&SU dangerous, according to Head Coach John Carrick.

“We’re capable of having four or five different players being a leading scorer,” he said.

Carrick was pleased and frustrated with the performance of the reserves.

“It’s fun for them,” he said. “I get frustrated with (blowouts), because I can’t teach them.” However, Carrick added, “Its good for (the bench players) to get a chance to play.”

Andrea Lee led all scorers with 21 points, while Dalana Watson added 12 points and eight rebounds in the Lady Bobcats victory over Columbus State.

The two teams traded baskets early in the contest before CSU took a 19-14 lead with 11:28 left in the first half. GC&SU (5-1, 2-0 PBC) then went on a 15-9 run to take a 29-28 lead with 3:02 to go, and eventually lead 36-33 at halftime. In the second half, the Lady Bobcats built a 41-33 lead, only to see go on a 13-3 run to lead 46-41 with 15:26 remaining in the game. CSU then took a 48-47 lead on a steal and lay-up with 13:03 left. But that was the last time the visitors would lead, as GC&SU held CSU scoreless for almost eight minutes, thanks to a 12-0 that put the Lady Bobcats ahead to stay.

Sophomore center Alicia Porter of Hartwell, Ga. also contributed to GC&SU’s winning effort, finishing with eight points and a game-high 18 rebounds.

The GC&SU men will host will Fort Valley State tonight, before facing the same team again on the road Dec. 14. The Lady Bobcats return to action Dec. 13 at St. Leo (Fla.). The next home games for both teams will be Jan. 4 against North Florida.

Men

The Georgia College & State University men’s basketball team opened the 2002-2003 season with a 65-58 win over Albany State.

The Golden Rams enjoyed their only lead of the game at 9-8 before a 9-0 run by GC&SU put the Bobcats up 17-9 almost midway through the first half. GC&SU led 37-28 at halftime.

Albany State kept the game close throughout most of the second half, trimming the GC&SU lead to 52-50 with 5:36 remaining in the contest. But the Bobcats made their free throws when it counted, hitting ten of 14 attempts for 71.4 percent on the evening.

Rodney Keener led GC&SU with 16 points, while Tylan Gatling and Daryl Ruffus added 13 points each. Strong rebounding also contributed to the Bobcats victory, with GC&SU earning a 51-33 advantage on the boards against Albany State.

Despite the win, GC&SU Head Coach Terry Sellers was not entirely pleased with his team’s effort.

“I was just so disappointed about how we were playing,” he said. “We just needed to get some stops on defense, and we were struggling on offense.”

Sellers, however, did praise Keener, Gatling, and Ruffus, as well as senior reserve guard Johnnie Stafford, all of whom had big nights in the Bobcats victory over Albany State.

“We’re counting on (Keener, Gatling, and Ruffus) to produce every night,” he said. “(Stafford’s) eight points were huge.”

“We have a lot of improving to do before Peach Belt Conference play starts,” coach Sellers added.

It may not be Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, or even Florida vs. Georgia, but the rivalry between Georgia College & State University and Columbus State University is about as intense as it gets in the Peach Belt Conference.

In the 27th all-time meeting between the women’s teams, the GC&SU Lady Bobcats handed the CSU Lady Cougars their first loss of the season in a 67-60 triumph. In the nightcap, the Columbus State men returned the favor by defeating the Bobcats 68-55.

In the men’s contest, things got off to a fast start for GC&SU (3-1,1-1 PBC) as the Bobcats led 23-11 with 11:42 left in the first half. But the Cougars eventually proved why they were pre-season favorites to win the PBC title, as they outscored the Bobcats 28-9 over the last 11:38 of the first half to gain a 39-32 lead at halftime, which included a three-point play by CSU’s Jon Antonelli just before time ran out.

Things did not get any better for the Bobcats in the second half, as Columbus State built a 51-35 lead with 13:22 remaining in the contest. GC&SU then outscored CSU over the next 7:45 to trail 54-46 with 5:37 left, but could get no closer.

The lone bright spot for the Bobcats was senior guard Rodney Keener, who finished with 25 points. Keener was the only Bobcat to score in double figures. Poor shooting overall and from the free throw line also hurt the GC&SU men, as the Bobcats finished just 20 of 54 from the field for 37 percent, and seven of 15 foul shots for 46.7 percent.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Dec 6 2002. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry