It was an exciting weekend at "The Woodshed" for the Lumberjacks fans. Our TEAM scored a combined 239 points in two games against Canadian Mennonite University and University of Winnipeg. The Lumberjack players were able to trust the pass, stay aggressive in transition, and force easy baskets off of turnovers. Going into the weekend WE wanted to create an intense environment through our defensive pressure in order to create scoring opportunities for our offense. Our ability to play a deep bench allowed us to continue pressuring the opponents offense without showing fatigue.
The first game was played against CMU with the final score tallying 122-72. Freshman Travis Frye of Myrtle Beach, SC was nearly perfect from the arc going 7-8 from deep finishing with 28 points to go along with 9 boards and 5 assists. Backup PG Xavier Cruz from Miami, FL also a freshman came through with 20 points, 6 boards and 4 assists. Justin Musgrave (FR) had 16, and Julian Vasquez (SO) scored 15 to finish out the double digit scorers. Every player who suited up scored at least one basket. Scoring is typically considered the excitement of the game but more importantly our TEAM won the battle of the boards by 25 total rebounds (58-33). This statistic will forever be our source of success and failure.
Game 2 versus Winnipeg brought about much of the same scoring pace as the TEAM did a great job of distributing the basketball to the open man. The final score was 117-87, but the guys emphasized our ability to attack the rim rather than settle for open 3's. Six players reached double figures lead by Julian Vasquez with 15, Kobli Selby (SO) out of Faith, SD went 4-5 from the arc to score 14, point guard Billy Engel (SO) was 9-10 from the FT to help get to 13, Gilberto Shojgreen (FR) caught a few alley-oops and reached 13 points while Jalyn Turner (FR) finished with 11 points. Once again the rebounding battle went to our TEAM 44-30. We were not as consistent on the defensive end or on the defensive boards, but the ball pressure provided several opportunities to capitalize on transition baskets.
Probably our greatest highlight of the weekend is the fact all players were able to score in each game. We are a balanced group who enjoys celebrating our teammates accomplishments. As a coaching staff and a TEAM we were pleased with the results, but far from satisfied. Several areas of concern will need to be addressed moving into next weekend.
Our next game will be played at the Lake Region Classic against Jamestown College JV with a 6:30p start on Friday, November 8th. Saturday will be the toughest test early in the year as WE square off with Iowa Western (#5 NJCAA D1) at 2p.
Thank you to all who were in attendance over the weekend. It was a great environment.
Get Jacked UP,
Cory Fehringer
