Bobcats, Cougars clash: women win, men falter

The men and women shared a thrilling contest with the Columbus Sate Cougars on Feb. 23.
The Lady Bobcats started off the evening with a 78-70 win but not before the Cougars put up an 18-point comeback. The Lady Bobcats had a lot of good things to show in this game but also found a few things to work on. The Lady Bobcats finished the game shooting 42 percent.
“We shot the ball well. We hit shots from all different areas of the court. We will win if we shoot 40 percent or higher,” Head Coach John Carrick said.
The Lady Bobcats also did a fine job on defense holding the Cougars to only 37 percent shooting.
“We did a good job in half court defense. We took away their fast break which made a difference in game,” Carrick said.
This was a big win for the Lady Bobcats because it stopped Columbus State from winning the conference. The Lady Bobcats finished the regular season 18-9, 9-7 in the Peach Belt Conference.
“The team is coming together. We need to never be satisfied and always be hungry to win,” Carrick said.
The Lady Bobcats also have a few things to work on. The team did poorly on offensive rebounding, outnumbered by Columbus State 23 to 16. The team also gave up an 18-point comeback. In the game there was a four-minute span of unnecessary turnovers.
“We turned the ball over too much. When we start to turn the ball over we need to settle down and gather ourselves,” point guard Kirsti Jones said, who scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out eight assists.
Red-shirt freshman Shanice Dawson came off the bench and netted a career high 15 points. Alicia Porter contributed with 14 points.
The men’s game, although more exciting, ended in a disappointing fashion. Bobcat’s Jeremy Mayweather hit a three pointer at the end of regulation to tie the game at 69 and force the game into overtime, but Columbus State out-scored the Bobcats 14-5 in the extra period to come away with the 83-74 win. There were a lot of positives that came out of this game such as the team gaining confidence.
“We are disappointed but positive that we can surprise some people and we are looking forward to doing it in the Peach Belt Conference tournament,” Head Coach Terry Sellers said.
The Bobcats need to improve on defense.
“The difference in the game is that we did not get enough stops. We need to play solid basketball for 40 minutes,” Sellers said.
Ronnie Dennis scored a career high 24 points, and Jeremy Mayweather also hit a career high with 23 points.
Although finishing 13-14 in the regular season, the Bobcats have high hopes of proving themselves in the conference tournament.
“This team does not quit in any game. We never give up. We always think that there is a chance to win,” Sellers said.
Next up for the men and women is the Peach Belt Conference tournament. Unfortunately, the women have already been knocked from the tournament, losing their opening round game. The No. 3 seeded Lady Bobcats fell to the No. 6 seeded Lander University 72-59 on March 1 (see previous page for more information).
The men’s first round game is scheduled for March 2 against Augusta State.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 4 2005. 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