Basketball teams split week 1-1

    Both the men’s and women’s GCSU basketball teams were in action twice this week. 
    Saturday, Feb. 2 was rough on both squads, as they each dropped contests to tough Augusta State University teams.
    The Lady Bobcats fell hard to the Lady Jaguars 85-62.  The team started off well but was then overwhelmed by a talented ASU offense.  GCSU also could not find the net, shooting a horrendous 28 percent for the game, including three-of-34 from behind the arc. 
    “We couldn’t throw (the ball) in the ocean,” Head Coach John Carrick said.  “We shot the ball a ton, and got a bunch of rebounds. We just couldn’t score.”
    Senior forward Ashley Williams had yet another double-double, her eighth of the season, and led all scorers with 19 points. 
    The total pushed her over 1,000 for her career, only the eleventh player in GCSU women’s basketball history to reach that milestone.
    Junior guard Emily Bixler hit the glass hard, snatching nine offensive rebounds and 14 total.
    The men’s team played the Jaguars close, but would ultimately fall 88-81. 
    Senior center Aaron Clark recorded his third consecutive double-double, while sophomore guard Graham Martin led all scorers with 23 points on nine-of-18 shooting, including five-of-ten from behind the arc. 
    Junior guard Shaun Keaton had an off night by his standards, but made up for it by going eight-for-ten from the free throw line to finish with 21 points.
    The Bobcats had to deal with an extremely balanced offense by the Jaguars, with all five starters recording double digit points.  Garret Siler, the outstanding center for ASU, led the way with 22 points and ten boards.
    “We dug ourselves a hole early,” said Head Coach Terry Sellers.  “But I was proud of our guys for battling back and making it close.”
    On Monday, Feb. 4, the teams hosted The University of North Carolina at Pembroke for their second home games in a row.
     First up were the Lady Bobcats, losers of three in a row, against a Lady Braves squad that has had a tough year and sat near the bottom of the conference. 
    This game could have been a scrimmage for GCSU, but UNCP had other ideas.  The outmanned Lady Braves gave an outstanding effort against a Lady Bobcat team that seemed disinterested from the start.  Only with a few late defensive stops and free throws did GCSU put away the pesky Lady Braves 62-56.
    “We got outplayed tonight, plain and simple,” Carrick said. “They outscrapped us, outshot us, the second team in a row to come into our place and do that, and we did not deserve to win.”
    For the second game in a row Williams moved up another notch in the GCSU record book and recorded a double-double, her ninth of the season.  This time she moved into fourth on the all-time rebounding list, a testament to her hard work and dedication over four seasons at GCSU.
    Freshman sharpshooting guard Dominique Huffin was hot in the first half, and finished with 16 points for the Lady Bobcats.
    Senior guard Elicia Lynch took over the scoring in the second half, finishing with 22 points on seven-of-14 shooting, including four-of-eight from deep.
    The men’s team got just what they needed in a blowout win over the Braves.  Every Bobcat saw several minutes on the floor, as the team opened up a huge lead early and never looked back, crushing UNCP 75-43.
    “Man we needed that,” Sellers said.  “We have had guys playing 30-plus minutes the last few games and it felt great to give them a rest and play some guys that haven’t gotten to play much.”
    The Bobcats brought the long-distance barrage back to put the Braves away.  Three players in particular had great shooting nights from three-point range.
    Senior forward Jay Warden went six-of-eight for his season high 18 points, freshman point guard Andre Mikell hit all four of his threes, and Martin matched Warden’s 18 points, including four-of-eight from behind the arc.
    The Bobcats’ deep bench outscored the Braves’ 41-8.
    “Our depth is going to be the key for us down the stretch,” Sellers said.  “We have to get the usual production from our main guys, but we also need the bench to step up for us.”
    With both teams going 1-1 this week, the men sit in third place in the Peach Belt Conference at 7-5, and the women are tied for sixth in the PBC at 6-6. 
    Several key games remain,  and either team can make a strong push leading into the tournament, but inconsistency could lead to sub-par finishes.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 8 2008. 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