Central’s men’s basketball travels to SPU, fell cold

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Jeffrey MacMillan, Staff Reporter

Central’s men’s basketball team traveled to Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle to face Seattle Pacific University (SPU) last Thursday night, with an opportunity to lock up the second seed and a first round bye in the GNAC tournament.

Central came out cold against SPU, shooting 20 percent from the field and only managing 16 points in the first half.

Central never found its offensive rhythm as the team shot 42 percent for the game, falling to SPU 69-47.

Central senior guard Dom Williams never felt comfortable shooting against the SPU defense, but knows that moving forward he needs to get his shot figured out to help his team.

“I didn’t feel like I got any good positions,” Williams said. “I just felt like every shot was rushed. I need to adjust and find a way to get better looks for myself and find ways to get my team going, because when I’m not going, my team’s not going.”

Central then traveled to Montana, the site of the GNAC tournament, to face the GNAC’s last place team in a Saturday night regular season finale. The game against MSU-B turned out to be a real test for Central.

MSU-B senior guard Antoine Hosley torched Central for 50 points, a season high for anyone in the conference.

Central, led by William’s career high of 33 points and senior forward Joseph Stroud’s season high 24 points, squeaked out a 104-99 overtime victory.

The win solidified Central (17-8, GNAC 12-6) as the third seed in the GNAC tournament and identified their first round opponent as the sixth seed NNU Crusaders (13-15, GNAC 11-7).

Central sophomore guard Joey Roppo knows the mindset he and his teammates must have going into the tournament.

“We have to win,”  Roppo said. “It’s now win or go home, and we all understand that this is the only way into the National Tournament so our mindset is focused regardless of who we play.”

The Wildcats found themselves in a unique situation in the final two games of the season as they finished on the road, in the host city for the GNAC tournament.

If things go right for Central, the team could find itself on the road for 11 days and in Montana for seven days.

“We will be tired,” Stroud said, “But I know once everyone sees how close we are to our goal that it won’t matter and we will all play harder than ever, because that’s what we have to do for each other.”

Head Coach Greg Sparling is not worried about the length of the road trip either, as he told 88.1 The ‘Burg.

“We are gonna try to get in the gym as much as we can and just try to get as many shots up as we can,” Sparling said. “With that long of a trip you need to keep them focused and their minds right, because there is something to be said for sitting in a hotel room and laziness setting in.”

Assistant coach Jared Johnson is not worried about Central having to play an extra game in the tournament, as he sees it as opportunity for his team.

“Mentally, the guys need to be tough and not use anything as an excuse,” Johnson said. “Once they get over the excuses they can be any type of player they want to be, and we can be any type of team we want to be if we get off that.”

Central’s depth assistant coach Drew Harris feels that the team is the best built to overcome the extra game to win the tournament.

“It’s definitely tough having three games instead of two,” Harris said. “But I think we have the best chance of anyone to win three, because of our depth. We have ten guys who can play significant time if needed.”

Central’s first round opponent, Northwest Nazarene, presents a challenge as Central has yet to defeat them this season.

In two meetings this season, Northwest Nazarene senior forward Kevin Rima had double-doubles.

Northwest Nazarene tallied 50 free throws in the two contests this season, and out-rebounded Central 85-54 in both games. Central freshman center Drake Rademacher understands that being young puts a target on him in the tournament, but he knows that it is not a reason to shy away from the challenge.

“For me, I need to make sure I’m using my quickness especially against the physical guys,” Rademacher said. “When they get the ball in the post, I have to muscle them the best I can and hope for the best.”

In the end, Central has two wins and Johnson knows that this team can play with everyone in the conference.

“The only two teams we haven’t beat this season were Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon,” Johnson said. “And in those games we played both those teams really close, so I like our chances this time around.”