Men’s basketball improves, builds team spirit
by Adam Tobin
The men’s basketball team competed in two tournaments during Thanksgiving break and emerged with an overall record of 1-3. The team ventured to Chicago two weekends ago and competed against the University of Chicago and Southwestern University, falling to both teams 71-84 and 70-80, respectively. Last weekend the team journeyed to Memphis to compete in the Rhodes College Classic and fell to Sewanee 81-87 but defeated Rhodes College 87-79. Both games in the South went into overtime.
Sophomore forward A.J. Sutherlin led the Quakers in the Rhodes College Classic with 54 points overall and earned the Most Valuable Player award for the tournament.
“Our defense got a lot better in the latter two games and it was a good experience overall. When you’re on the road a while, you get closer as a team,” said Sutherlin.
Sophomore guard Shane Heidt finished the Rhodes tournament with 31 points and sophomores forward Justin Barger, guard Kyle Calder and guard Ryan Taylor all contributed points in both games.
In both games, the Quakers held the lead before both Sewanee (University of the South) and Rhodes College came back to bring the Quakers into overtime.
“We thought neither [game] should have gone to OT because we were up before the buzzer. We have trouble not knowing what to do in pressure situations,” said Sutherlin.
Heidt reflected on the Rhodes tournament as well.
“We competed a lot better in the Rhodes game, and they were a lot harder than Sewanee. We just didn’t start very well in that game,” he said.
In the first game, the Quakers led 73-70 before a Sewanee player nailed a three pointer to send the game into overtime.
However, the Quakers bounced back against Rhodes in overtime and scored 15 points against their opponents to secure the win.
This season, there are six sophomores and one senior, guard T.J. Ferrick, who return to the squad with four freshmen as the new additions. The team remains young with two or three freshmen starting games.
“A lot of teams see that as a weakness, but we look at that as a strength,” said Sutherlin. “We’re still learning the game and it’s encouraging to have young guys step up.”
The team graduated four-year starter and all-conference second team player, Tristan Gregory, who eclipsed the 1000-point mark last season. However, many of this year’s sophomores started or received much playing time last season and have some experience.
Sutherlin spoke about the team’s chances in conference play this season.
“We have some shooters and we’re a quick team, plus we all have a good knowledge of basketball and know the game well. However, we lack size and we need work on rebounding and our transition defense,” he said.
Heidt said, “Every game we can be in contention if we play our game and play smart. Wooster and Wittenberg will be two tough teams though.”
So far the team is 1-1 against HCAC schools and thinking about next year’s move, both Sutherlin and Heidt agreed the conference will be more competitive for the team.
“The talent is just as good in the HCAC, it’ll be interesting to see how the teams stack up,” said Sutherlin.
Both Sutherlin and Heidt were honored by Earlham as athletes of the week in the second two weeks of the season. Sutherlin was also honored by the NCAC as player of the week. Heidt was honored on November 23rd after his career high 26-point performance at Franklin. Sutherlin was named this past Monday after scoring 32 points and contributing 15 rebounds against Rhodes College.
The Quakers have their league opener tomorrow against Oberlin College here at Schuckman Court at 3 p.m.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
