The end of the first semester can be rather difficult at times in a college basketball season. Freshman have played more games in a short span than ever before, road trips have begun to lose their luster, academics create stress due to eligibility concerns for many programs, and of course the common cold is catching up with everyone including coaches. As if those issues were not enough the TEAM bus froze up over night and created havoc among game day routines, travel plans, and delayed arrival back to home! Both teams handled the mishap in stride and arrived safely 5 hours behind scheduled time.
Although WE would like to be playing the best TEAM basketball up to this point it might be best to simply be grateful for wins and stay healthy going into break. Over the weekend the Lumberjack TEAM competed in a two-day classic at Bismarck State College. Fortunately WE came home with two wins and no injuries. As always this group played very well in stretches but also found ourselves struggling to be consistent at times along the way. Good news is players made the right plays at the right time as we pulled together when necessary.
GAME 1: Jamestown College JV - 86-62 (W)
The first 15 minutes of the game our TEAM executed offensive strategies shooting 67% from the field and defensive philosophy extremely well holding the Jimmies to 32% as WE took a 40-11 lead. At half-time the score was 49-25 with several players performing well but none more exciting than Freshman Patrick Robinson who was 3/3 from the arc in 5 minutes of play. He continues to be a source of electricity with a canny ability to score several points in a short amount of time. Julian Vasquez also tallied in 11 points during the first 20 minute session.
The second half would prove to be more interesting as the two teams played a dead lock game both scoring 37 points in the second half. Offensively WE put the breaks on so to speak and defensively WE began to get somewhat loose in our execution. When it was all said and done 4 players found themselves with double digit scoring during a balanced attack. Freshman Gilberto Shojgreen and Vasquez led with 13 a piece, followed Robinson finishing with 12 and rounded out by Freshman Justin Musgrave who totaled in 10 points.
GAME 2: Minot Air Force Base - 99-88 (W)
I have said it before and will say it again, the second day of any classic provides an opportunity for anything to happen. MAFB is older, bigger, and stronger than our TEAM as well as play for the "fun" of the game. They can be a difficult opponent no matter the day, but it appeared on Saturday afternoon WE would drop a game to MAFB. The score at half was 53-47 in favor of the Lumberjacks while literally no defense was being played. WE shot 55% from the field and MAFB shot 54% as it appeared both teams were playing 5 on 0.
In the second half there was room for concern as MAFB would take an 8 point lead with nearly 10 minutes left in the game. Eventually the TEAM would return to form by way of defensive stands followed with transition offense. The final 10 minutes of the game our Jack Boys would outscore MAFB by 19 to finish with an 11 point victory. Gilberto Shojgreen was very impressive posting his 1st college double-double with 18 points (majority dunks) and 11 rebounds. Julian Vasquez possibly played his best basketball in the second half with 25 points and 8 rebounds. Freshman Jalyn Turner supplied 16 points in the win as he has found more rhythm in the offense. Most importantly the TEAM had 22 assists to only 11 turnovers which is the best ration of the year.
COMING UP:
The Lumberjacks return to action tomorrow night as WE travel to Turtle Mountain CC. Tip-off is set for 8pm following the Ladyjacks game.
Thank you for the continued support!
Get Jacked UP,
Cory Fehringer
