The Trials & Tribulations of the Basketball Season

No one said it would be easy.

As we trudge through the toughest portion of our schedule – which includes six straight games on the road, three against top-25 teams and one against Division 1 William and Mary – we must stick to the basic goals that we carry to each practice and game.

Bring relentless defensive pressure on every possession. Play fast, think slow. Focus on the little things. Don’t beat yourself. Get better every day.

These simple mantras are posted and repeated throughout our gym and locker room each day. The crucial follow-up is making sure they’re reflected as consistently on the court.

In our most recent game, a 75-64 loss to SUNY New Paltz on Tuesday night, we couldn’t put together 40 minutes of focused, error-free basketball. We went on runs that showed we were clearly capable of winning. Our leading scorer, Caleb McGraw, was hounded all night but still managed a gutsy 20 points. Center Chris Whitney was steady in the paint all game, and freshman John Donnelly gobbled up 11 rebounds.

But it was our own lapses, not an insurmountable opponent, which caused our fourth straight loss. Just like in our previous two games against Hartwick and Brandeis, we took what was a manageable four or six-point deficit and let it slip to a double-digit deficit in the last few minutes of the first half. Instead of having to come back from four points down, it was 10.

We put the pressure on in the second half, cutting New Paltz’s lead down to four and threatening to take a lead of our own. But key fouls, and turnovers, and offensive rebounds allowed, prevented us from completing the comeback.

So it’s back to our own gym for practice, and that’s where we’ll be for the rest of this week, preparing for another national powerhouse when we play at Williams this Saturday. Another chance to do the little things right, another chance to improve, and another chance to get back in the win column.