The men’s basketball team got off to a slow start by dropping three of its first four contests of the season. But after it appeared the squad was set for a transition year, the men quickly dispelled that notion by stringing together four quality wins.
This past weekend, the Cardinals brought home the Skidmore Invitational Tournament championship, as they squeaked out two close victories over Nazareth (56-54) and host Skidmore (70-65) by a combined total of seven points.
Captain Tim Holland ’05 was named the tournament MVP. In the two contests, Holland totaled 40 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Robert Kelly ’06 also earned a spot on the All-Tournament team, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the championship game. As the opposing teams have inevitably learned, Holland’s deadly outside shooting ability and Kelly’s dominating presence inside are one of the best one-two inside-outside forces in the region.
“Myself and Tim compliment each other well on the court. We do whatever is necessary on the court,” Kelly said. “If the team needs rebounds, we get rebounds. If the team needs points, we get points. But we’re mostly a defensive team. We don’t always score that many points. We lead on the defensive end of the floor. The scoring on offense will come. Tim and I don’t need to take 20 shots a game to win. We work through the offense and try not to force any shots.”
Unlike last year when the focus was on the offensive end and the Cards were able to put up points with the best teams in the country, this year’s strength is on the defensive end of the floor. During the squad’s four game winning streak, opponents have been held to under 59 points per game, quite an improvement from last year.
“Sometimes we aren’t winning pretty, but that is the way it is going to be in these defensive struggles,” Holland said. “[In addition to Rob] we’ve had some big contributions from guys like Jared [Ashe ’07], who has really established great ball control on offense, and is aggressive when he needs to be. Mike Raymond has gotten some minutes coming off of the bench, and has been providing energy and spark while making the right decisions on the court.
”Guys like Nick [Pelletier ’08] and Blake [Curry ’07] have helped out on the defensive end and on the boards. Everyone knows their role and what we need to do to win. We’re playing more as a team right now, which is why we’re winning games.“
Holland and Kelly combined for 62 points in the tournament, but several role players stepped up as well. In the opening round when Kelly struggled from the floor, starting point guard Ashe picked up the slack on the offensive end by throwing down 14 points and dishing out four assists. Pelletier has also stepped up offensively, averaging just under ten points and five rebounds per game over the last three games, including the recent 58-56 victory over Emmanuel College.
”One thing that has helped us is that guys have really been maturing and finding their roles on the court,“ Kelly said. ”Younger guys have been playing some big time minutes, which may not have happened early on, but they have really matured on the court. Nick [Pelletier] has the intangibles of a good basketball player. One thing I’ve been working with him on is taking his time on the court, and not forcing any shots while waiting for opportunities. Nick has the maturity that most freshman don’t have, and I’m not surprised that he has been scoring in double figures.“
Perhaps one reason the younger members have been able to adjust to their roles on the court as of late is because of the positive attitude displayed by the team at all times.
”When someone messes up in a game, we don’t rag on them. We give them encouragement which makes them feel more confident to hit their next shot,“ Kelly said. ”When Doug hit that big three pointer the other day [against Eastern Connecticut State], he was confident enough to make shots. This type of confidence attests to the positive interactions within the team at practice.“
The 5-3 Red and Black will travel to play their eighth and ninth straight road games when they travel to New York to take part in the Oneonta State Tournament this weekend.
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