Slowly moving forward

A three-point field goal with 1.6 seconds left knocked the Bobcats out of the Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball tournament and ended their season March 2.

A fitting end to a season marked by close calls.

“We had eight ballgames we lost on the last possession,” Head Coach Terry Sellers said. “Games we could’ve won if we’d make a shot or the other team missed a shot.”

The Bobcats finished the 2004-2005 campaign with a 5-11 record in the PBC and a 13-15 overall record.

“Ending up with a 13-15 record is disappointing because we’ve been to the Elite Eight, won some conference championships and we expect to win,” Sellers said.

The Bobcats ended this season with a losing record, but improved on their record from last season when they finished 3-13 in the PBC and 7-22 overall.

“We’ve made a lot of progress,” Sellers said. “I feel better. We were very competitive this year.”

It was only the fourth losing season in Coach Sellers’ 12-year tenure.

The season started off strong as the Bobcats won eight of their first 11 games. However, they could not keep up the pace and dropped 12 of the final 17 games.

“We were just too little, too late,” Sellers said. “In a tough league like ours, you’ve got to play every minute like it’s the last.”

In a season of tough loses, the Bobcats battled in every game no matter what the score.

“One of the best traits this team has is that they never give up,” Sellers said. “This team has the right attitude.”

Against Columbus State University Feb. 23, the Bobcats overcame a seven-point deficit with 22 seconds left on the clock to send the game into overtime.

The Bobcats lost the game 83-74, but did not walk away empty-handed.

“The experience this team gained from those close games and learning from them will be important next season,” Sellers said. “Experience is the best teacher.”

The close games have not gone unnoticed. Sellers decided to take a different approach to preparing for games next season.

“I want to start practice working from the end of the game backwards,” Sellers said. “I want to make sure that our guys know exactly what to do with two seconds left and no timeouts or five seconds left with one timeout.”

Sellers is looking forward to next season and is confident the experience his team gained this season will turn into wins next season.

“We have more players eligible to return next year than we’ve had in four or five years,” Sellers said. “I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 1 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