The men’s basketball team struggled defensively over the weekend, dropping two tough road contests. After suffering a 95-70 loss to Tufts on Friday night, the team fell to Bates 68-47 on Saturday, running their record to 6-12 on the year.
Jared Ashe ’07 scored 18 points and grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds in the loss to Tufts as big man Sean Collins ’08 added 12 points. Ashe put together another solid game against Bates, notching 10 points on 5-10 shooting while Jimmy Shepherd ’07 added 11 points including three baskets from beyond the arc.
The Cards have faced a tough conference schedule, with all of their NESCAC losses coming to teams with winning records. Over the weekend, though, the squad’s defense let them down against two teams that are known for their offensive prowess.
“This weekend we finally got it going offensively and lost it defensively so we just have to put it together on both sides in the same game,” said Shepherd.
Despite their recent struggles, the team began winter break with a successful trip to Florida, defeating St. Olaf on Dec. 29. Shepherd shot 5-10 from three-point land to lead the Cards to a 68-66 victory. Ashe added five points and a team-high six assists in the win.
Since then, the squad has struggled to get back into the win column, losing seven straight games against formidable opponents.
“We came back from Florida and in those first couple games back, we had a lot of trouble on the offensive end and we couldn’t get the ball to drop,” Shepherd said.
The team has endured some tough losses despite solid efforts from several standout individuals. The team suffered a hard luck 72-61 loss to Williams after getting a 20-point effort from Blake Curry ’07 and a lead at halftime. The next night, Nick Pelletier ’08 notched 21 points and pulled down seveb boards while Curry added 16 more points in a close loss to Middlebury. The following weekend, the Cards dropped two consecutive home contests to Amherst and Trinity.
“Everyone’s playing hard, defensively and offensively, and our schedule gets a lot easier now,” Ashe said. “Hopefully we can turn it around. Amherst, Trinity and Bates are really experienced, talented teams that are playing great right now. We played two all- conference big men this weekend and they both played well.”
With only three league games remaining, Ashe said he and the team still believe that they can turn things around. “It would be really nice for us to end on a high note,” Ashe said. “It will eventually get better, hopefully next weekend at home.”
Looking even further into the team’s future, Ashe praised the effort of the squad’s young members over the weekend. “A lot of guys got a chance to play this weekend. Some good minutes from the freshman were nice to see.”
The Cardinals will continue their quest for one of the last playoff spots this weekend with home games against Bowdoin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and Colby at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Leave a Reply