Concordia-Moorhead

We had our first overnight trip this past weekend and headed to Moorhead to face the Cobbers of Concordia. It was the first true road trip for our freshmen and it is always good to see how they react to be in different settings and staying in a hotel. We decided against a shoot-around in the morning because we felt the guys needed some sleep. I also heard something about the Celtics not doing shoot-arounds anymore because there was a study saying that performance was better with more sleep. Looking back on it now I'm not sure we made the right decision. It's always good to get some shots up before a game. The problem was the only time available was too early. We can always change that.

The game started off really well for us as we opened up 10-3. Concordia got back in the game and ended up three at the half. We looked really sloppy and weren't moving the ball or penetrating like we should have been. We were lucky to be down only three. One good thing we did in the first half was limit their second opportunities. We rebounded really well but just couldn't make shots.

In the second half, the Cobbers came out with a bang and went up early. We battled back and tied the game several times and might of been up at one point but it wasn't for long. We just couldn't make shots when we needed. It didn't help that we only got to the line 14 times to their 34. I thought we were somewhat aggressive to the basket and passing to the post but things just weren't going our way. We certainly didn't think we got a fair shake but at the same time we can't put ourselves into that situation.

They ended up with four guys in double figures while we had two. We have to be able to find that third and fourth scorer behind Carl and Ray. In the games that we have been successful, we have had that. We also have to be more aggressive to the basket and get to the free throw line. If you make more free throws than your opponent attempts then you are doing a good job (like Concordia did).

Hopefully this week's practice will be super intense. We are hoping that we can string these practices together before we face #8 Wheaton out at Cal Lutheran. We head out to the California on the 26th to play on the 29th and 30th.

To add a laughter to a tough end of the first semester, here we go...