The Observer, January 28, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 15
Missed free throws, cold second half haunt Spartans
Basketball games often don't finish quite the same way they start. Just ask the Cleveland Cavaliers, who blew an early 17-point lead in Monday night's loss to the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately, the Spartan men's basketball team discovered this the hard way for themselves, when they lost to the New York University Violets last Sunday.
With their offense rolling as usual, the Spartans rallied from an early six-point deficit to open up a 48-39 lead with just over a minute to play in the first half. The burst was made in large part by Carson Oren, who during one stretch scored nine straight points, and Funso Lafe and his 13 first half points.
However, the second half was not nearly as successful for the Spartans. Increased defensive intensity by New York coupled with suddenly cold shooting helped the Violets regain the lead, 55-53, four minutes into the second half. New York never trailed again and led by as many as 13 points en route to the 90-82 victory.
There were several reasons for the Spartans' collapse in the second half. One was missed free throws. Case missed eight of its 17 free throw attempts in the second half and 11 for the entire game. Another was New York's three-point shooting. The Violets made six of 14 threes in the second half and connected on 12 overall, including five each from Jimmy Janeczek and Jared Kildare. Kildare at one point scored 11 straight points for New York, including three baskets from behind the arc. During that stretch, New York increased its lead from five to 11, squashing most of the hopes Case had at mounting a comeback.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the game, however, was the free throw shooting. No basketball team will win close games down the stretch if it shoots poorly from the charity stripe.
"Shooting free throws is all mental," said Lafe, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. "We just let it get to us during the game."
Foul shooting has not been a consistent problem for the team this year, but avoiding loss of momentum has been. New York used 11-0 and 10-0 runs in the second half to take over the game.
"Basketball is a game of momentum," Lafe explained. "When the other team has momentum, we don't take the right shots. [This game] we took the right shots, but we just didn't finish through with everything."
Giving up large runs to the opposition has been a problem for the team, and the players and coaching staff are doing everything possible to find a solution.
"In practice, we're trying to simulate game situations similar to the ones we've struggled with," Lafe said. "The problem is we haven't jelled like we can. We're still trying to get a feel for each other. When we do, the sky is the limit."
The Spartans will continue their efforts to jell on the court when they face the University of Rochester this evening at 8 pm. The Yellowjackets pose a tough challenge for Case, as they will enter Veale Center tied for the conference lead with a 4-1 record (13-3 overall). On Sunday the Spartans will conclude their longest home stretch of the year when they host Carnegie Mellon at 1 p.m.
