All season the men’s basketball team have prided themselves on their tenacious defense and relied on their defensive intensity to win ball games. On Saturday, however, the defense-oriented squad fell victim to the high-powered offense of Trinity, as the Cards were eliminated from the NESCAC Playoffs. Despite 15 points apiece from the two big guns on offense, captain Tim Holland ’05 and center Rob Kelly ’06, the Cards could not rebound from an early funk, surrendering 19 points in the first six minutes. They ultimately fell by a score of 78-64, but despite the loss, the Cards defied almost all expectations by finishing with yet another winning season (13-11).
In the first half on Saturday, the Cards suffered a devastating setback early on as Kelly, the team’s commanding low post presence and second leading scorer, picked up three fouls which sent him to the bench for the remainder of the half. Despite the early deficit and foul trouble, the Cards had an opportunity to keep the difference in single digits, but could not convert and found themselves in an eleven-point hole at the half.
Despite a strong defensive effort in the second half, limiting the Bantams to just one field goal over an eleven minute stretch, and twelve points from Jared Ashe ’07, the squad continued to trail by double digits.
“We didn’t come out with the necessary defensive intensity, we put ourselves in too big of a hole, especially on their own home floor,” Holland said. “We had stretches where we had some solid defensive stops, but in the end they shot lights out and were patient on offense. In the second half, we played good defensive basketball, but we just couldn’t put two halves of good basketball together.”
Despite the loss, the basketball team exceeded all expectations this season, in which they started without their top two scorers from last year. Even though such a large chunk of their offense from the previous season was gone, the squad remained confident and defiantly established themselves as a leading force in the conference.
“We have 13 guys who know that they have a good team, even though not everyone else might not have thought so,” Holland said. “I was talking to Coach [McDowell] after the game, and I said that this might not be the most talented team, but it certainly was the most hard working. We played hard night in and night out. Our defense kept us in games, and we came together in tough spots to get wins. Before the start of the season, I said that our goal was to be on the better side of .500, and we were able to do that.”
With the season coming to a close, the outstanding career of Holland, a four-year varsity letter winner, also ended. The squad will have large shoes to fill for next year, given that Holland was arguable the best offensive power shooting guard in the conference. His tremendous work ethic and leadership on and off of the court proved to be vital, especially to some of the younger players on the team, such as freshman guard Will Griffin.
“Tim played a huge role as far as showing us what it takes to play in the NESCACs and the level of intensity and focus you need to come out with every game,” Griffin said. “He single-handedly won a couple games for us. It’s going be tough to replace him. A bunch of different guys are going to need to step up our offensive games to fill the void.”
“When we entered the season, we knew that we lost over 40 points of scoring from the previous season, which gave everyone increased pressure to score,” said Jared Ashe ’07. “But we knew that Tim was a scorer last year, and I knew that he would be capable of scoring over 15 points a game this season. He is a great pure shooter, and always had a confident approach to the game.”
Another player that impressed Ashe through his strong work ethic was Kelly, who came into his own this season, averaging 16 points and ten rebounds a game. With increased playing time, Kelly was able to display a post up game that overpowered much of the opposition.
“When I came here as a recruit, I saw Rob as a freshman,” Ashe said. “He wasn’t the most gifted player when I saw him, but he kept getting better and better, and he had a break out year this season. He is the best big man in the league. I knew he had the ability to step up his play this season.”
Next season’s returning players includes four starters (Kelly, Ashe, Griffin and point guard Doug Rubenstein ’07) as well as other key players.
“The core of this team is going to return, and they will be good next year,” Holland said. “They will be just as competitive as this year. Even though we lost our two best players from the previous season, this team finds a way to win.”
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