Any sports enthusiast understand the value of winning on the road, and the level of confidence it can provide for a TEAM striving to improve daily. The Lumberjacks showed a level of toughness last night by defeating NJCAA D1 Dawson Community College in Glendive 89-78. Basketball is a game of simply making more baskets at times, and the Jacks did not seem to have difficulty scoring as they successfully completed 54% of their attempts. Also, on 26 of our made field goals WE had 17 assists meaning 65% of the scoring possessions we shared the ball with teammates. Probably the most significant statistic was our ability to attack the rim forcing Dawson to commit fouls as we connected on 27-31 FT attempts (87%).
Clearly a win is a win, but it did not come without areas of concern. Establishing a presence on the defensive glass continues to hurt our TEAM defense as it makes it nearly impossible to hold teams to a low total. Overall our defense did not do a poor job because we played faster, harder, and unselfish for the majority of the game but WE must develop a successful strategy to limit second possessions for the opposing team.
Individually there was a contribution from basically everyone who stepped on the floor, but our TEAM was also proud of those who remained great teammates by being supporting and demonstrating a level of maturity to understand they still had an important role. Jayden McMillin has simply been impressive up to this points by once again leading the team in scoring and rebouding with 29 points/8 rebounds. Freshman Billy Engel did a good job of returning to the starting lineup with an aggressive mentality by filling up the stat sheet in multiple categories - 21 points/8 rebounds/6 assists/ 13-14 FT. Our spark that lead us over the hill was sophomore Colby Boyes as he connected on three huge 3pt attempts, along with a few other baskets tallying 13 points. Freshman Kristoff Walker played a much better all-around style of play by delivering scoring passes, controlling the tempo of the game, and becoming a scoring threat at the right times by going 5/9 from the field for 12 points as well as dishing out 6 assists. From top to bottom the coaching staff felt this was our best TEAM EFFORT without a doubt up to this point.
It was a good win for the program, but with 1 game left in the first semester the Jacks must finish strong. WE play Minot Air Force Base on Saturday, Dec. 1st at 2 pm. Come help the Lumberjacks finish in correct fashion with a big win at "The Woodshed" before we take off for Christmas Break. This is the last opportunity to see us play at home until Jan. 21st so don't miss out!
SPREAD THE WORD
WE thank you for the support and look forward to seeing you on Saturday.
Let's Get Jacked Up,
Coach Fehringer
