 Media Credit: TREVOR RUSZKOWSKI/ UTM Sports Information
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After a frustrating start to the season that included several one-point losses and a road swing at the end of the calendar year that resulted in three consecutive setbacks, the Skyhawk men's basketball team cannot help but hope that 2007 will be kinder than 2006.
So far the opposition has cooperated nicely, as the team has picked up two key conference wins in the Elam Center against Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois.
The pair of triumphs undoubtedly brought a sense of relief and confidence to a young team that had just suffered its second losing streak of at least six games.
The key to success for the Skyhawks this season is to find consistent scoring and defense. As evidenced by their losses, the results can be less than desirable when those two areas of the game become unreliable.
"This is the same stat sheet we have looked at on a number of games," Skyhawk head coach Bret Campbell said following his team's 70-48 loss at Morehead State on Saturday.
"We are back at 35 percent from the field and 19 turnovers and that's the recipe for losses."
Over the span of the losing streak, the team struggled from the floor, connecting on an average of only 37.1 percent of its shots and turning the ball over an average of 17.7 times per game. That combination proved to be even more costly in close games.
In a 56-55 loss to Morehead State at the Elam Center on Dec. 18, the Skyhawks struggled shooting the ball, making only 32 percent of their shots. Despite shooting nearly 70 percent from the free throw line for the game, the home team could not convert at the charity stripe when it counted most. Bubba Tolliver missed a potential game-tying free throw with 12 seconds remaining.
"This is a frustrating loss. You have to win the home games in the conference," Campbell said.
In their latest loss, which came against Samford on Jan. 4, poor shooting and turnovers doomed the Skyhawks once again. Despite trailing only 17-16 midway through the first half, the Skyhawks fell apart in the second half en route to a 55-41 loss.
The Skyhawks remained close to the Bulldogs in the first half by sending the ball inside to Cleve Woodfork and McKale Jones. Woodfork, a 6-foot-9 St. Louis native, scored nine of his 13 points in the first half on perfect 4-for-4 shooting.
However, the Skyhawks struggled to get the ball inside in the second half and made only 6 of 17 three-point attempts in the game.
"We got away from our game plan late in the second half," Campbell said. "We wanted to pound it inside, but we didn't finish."
Turnovers also hurt the Skyhawks, who coughed up the ball 18 times, including 10 times in the second half.
"We made big turnovers out front, and we weren't worthy of winning this game tonight."
One bright spot for the team has been the play of junior college transfer Gerald Robinson. The 6-foot-9 junior forward from Los Angeles has picked up a great deal of the scoring burden left by Newson, averaging 11.3 points per game, including a season-high 23 points in an early-season loss to Howard.
Robinson also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.9 boards per game.
Guards Bubba Tolliver and Zerek Knight have also been key contributors to the offense, providing 9.4 and 8.7 points per game, respectively.
The highlight of the holiday break, at least in spirit if not in the win column, was the team's trip to Hawaii for a Dec. 28 contest. Although the Skyhawks fell to the Rainbow Warriors, 66-53, the players had the unique experience of enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Aloha state.
The Skyhawks displayed impressive tenacity on the defensive end of the floor, forcing 21 turnovers.
Knight was the only Skyhawk to register double figures in the scorebook, finishing the game with 12 points.
The Skyhawks are currently alone in ninth place in the OVC with a 3-6 league record.
They will return to action Thursday night when they host current league leader Austin Peay. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Elam Center.
2008 Woodie Awards
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