Well this was just an awful game from top to bottom. I suppose the last two minutes we got it together, but by then it was far too late. The offense was out of sync, the bench was non-existent (as were some starters), and defensively Mercer attacked the paint at will, not even needing to go for the long-ball. Phil Anglade fouls out midway in the second half and there goes our rebounding.
It's apparent that we simply don't have the height nor the athleticism to compete with teams like Mercer, ETSU, and presumably Chattanooga and Wofford. Brian Brown was back tonight (sick with the flu last game), and had a meager 6 pts and two dimes on 2 of 6 shooting. Eleby was also sick with the flu for the second straight game. Would his presence have made a difference? Possibly, but one so-so contributor should not throw an entire team off course. QJ had a much better shooting night, going 9 of 21 overall (4 of 9 on 3PA) for 27 points. So his shot and scoring touch are back, and we still lay an egg at home to a beatable team. What gives?
Well the 3P shooting was where it usually is (12 of 35, 34%) but the overall shooting was bad yet again: 22 of 60, 37%. Marshall was 3 of 13 from distance, for 13 points. But that was just about it scoring-wise. Anglade did contribute 7 points and 5 boards but, as mentioned earlier, fouled it midway through the second half. No one else scores more than six.
Mercer as a team shot 71% from the line but hit nearly all of their FTs late when it counted most. But notice: Mercer gets to the line 17 more times than we do. And that gives them twelve more points. Our lack of aggressiveness is showing, and on defense our forwards and centers don't know how to take charges. And the Bears outrebound us 40-32. Stat of the night: 14 turnovers is a killer. Incredibly Mercer committed one more but if you want to win games that can't happen.
This was probably the most critical game to win to date. Coming home after a long road trip, your one home game before another 3-game road swing...and we blow it. Now we will most likely be 5-11 and 1-4 in the SoCon after Thursday's matinee at Wofford, but then the schedule gets a bit easier. Two games at Furman and UNCG, Saturday home game with ETSU, and after one more road contest (UTC), seven of the final nine games are at Cameron Hall. Even with that I don't know if there is a team in the league we are guaranteed to beat.
How long until baseball season starts?
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