The frustration is beginning to show, as the Cougars dropped to 0-3 on the season Tuesday following a 90-87 loss to Lipscomb in the first of two games at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico.
Listen, losing sucks. It always has and always will. It should hurt more to lose like SIUE did Tuesday than suffer an inevitable defeat. After all, SIUE battled back from the brink in this one and came so far just to fall short. They trailed by five with a minute left to play in regulation. Then, Corey Wickware hit a 3-pointer, Mark Yelovich picked off Robert Boyd and Wickware dropped in a layup to tie the game at 87. Boyd redeemed himself, hitting the game-winning three with just 3.6 seconds left to send Lipscomb to the Mayan Division Championship game against Sacred Heart. Wickware had one last chance to send the game to overtime, but his three was off. The radio made it sound like he may or may not have been fouled. Who knows. Also, despite being the team's leading scorer in the game, Jerome Jones missed a dunk in the second half. It's the little things that make a difference. Zavion Williams scored 28 points for the Bisons, so containing him a bit and keeping him off the free-throw line (13-16) would have helped matters as well.
As far as this season is concerned, consider this as a building block. There are no moral victories, but it is better than a morally degrading loss.
Once again, SIUE was slow to start, trailing Lipscomb 5-0. For a change, SIUE was able to stay in the game, and actually had a 46-39 lead at halftime. The Cougars started the second half slow, and allowed Lipscomb to take the lead and keep it for the majority of the half. SIUE made it a game, and scored more than 40 points. The neutral court magic we have become accustomed to over the past two seasons was simply not there. Remember, the win against Drake in 09' took a similar late-game comeback effort. You have to credit Boyd for hitting a big shot to win the game. Granted, it was not a high-pressure situation, because we are talking about a small gym with 200 fans who don't care about either team. It's a shot you work on in practice in a practice-like setting in terms of the atmosphere. Let's not get spoiled here.
SIUE shot 29 percent in Champaign and 25 percent in Normal. Against Lipscomb, they scored eight more points in 20 minutes than they did in 40 Thursday. They scored just 48 at Illinois. SIUE shot 64 percent in the first half and 56 percent for the game. They were 11-23 from 3-point range, which is very good and out-rebounded Lipscomb, which is not a good rebounding team by two.
The biggest positive in this game is the fact that six cougars scored in double figures. That's what good basketball teams do and I cannot tell you the last time this team did that. They had 16 assists and were unselfish. That's how you get multiple guys involved in the offense. SIUE has capable athletes, and it's a matter of getting everyone involved. Nobody can win with one superstar. SIUE needs more than someone to compliment Mark Yelovich, they need a solid group of five guys on the court at all times.
While I am not happy with the loss, I am very pleased with this.
Jerome Jones - 20 points
Corey Wickware - 15 points
Kevin Stineman - 12 points
Mark Yelovich - 12 points
Kris Davis - 11 points
Michael Messer - 10 points
That is team basketball.
SIUE turned the ball over 18 times and may have scarified a bit on defense to get the offense rolling. Still, it's not all on SIUE. This is what Lipscomb does. They don't have much inside but have a quality collection of smart mid-major guards and like to run the floor. Lipscomb is disciplined and well-coached. SIUE played Lipscomb's game and didn't let it get away from them. The Bisons were averaging in the 70's in their three prior games against Division I opponents. They beat Gardner-Webb and also lost to Illinois and Illinois State. We know what SIUE has done offensively before this game.
If the worst thing this team has going for it is its shooting, they will be just fine. Lipscomb is not a bad basketball team, and they will probably be at the top of the Atlantic Sun once Belmont joins the OVC. They have been making strides for a few years now and are just about there.
As far as the Cougars, I become more and more impressed with Davis with each game. He is figuring it out. Messer's wrist appears to be doing fine. Jones took smarter shots. Things are starting to come together. This is a younger team, so it is easy to get distracted and focus on the negative aspects of the game. I know this team is better than Ken Pomeroy's robot says they are. Let's hope we don't take a step backwards today. Maybe this trip is exactly what they need.
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