Mens’ basketball trying to turn it around

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Freshman Jay Johnson tries to dribble around a Barton defender.
Photo by: Alex Leff

By Alex Leff – Horizon Sports Editor

The month of November has been rough so far for the Hesston College Mens’ Basketball team. The Larks have been hit by a plague of injuries and they have posted a 1-6 record over the course of this month.

“Coming into the year the mindset of the team

was that we would be really good and we felt confident, that once we got together and played as a team we could run over some teams. Freshman Guard Myles Cardenas said.  “We still believe that. So it was kind of a shock coming into the season losing some games but we know we can be better than what we are.”

The Larks scheduling had pinned them with tough road trips versus Allen County Community College and Pratt Community College. Both trips ended in double-digit losses for Hesston College with both Pratt and Allen County posting 100 points against the Larks defense.

“Early in the year we lost pretty big and I think now we are starting to figure out that if we run plays right and value the ball and value defensives possessions as much as offensive possessions we will be able to play some better basketball and win games. ” Freshman Guard Davis Cook said. “At first I think we were playing timid and some of us hadn’t adjusted to college level basketball yet but now we are becoming more comfortable with our roles and I think we are starting to turn it around.”

One of the biggest games for the larks in this month was the Barton Community College game. Barton at the time was ranked no. 9 in the nation in Div. 1 Junior College basketball. The recent play of the larks and on paper Hesston looked to be out matched.

“We were 0-5 coming into the game and I think we were all frustrated with our past performance,” Cook said “we were coming off a great practice with coach and he simplified some of the plays and coming into the game we were all ready to play.”

Hesston College kept up with Barton for most of the game and the Larks even had a period where they took the lead. The Larks eventually fell short to Barton 53-62.

Photo by: Alex Leff
Freshman Darrion Martin flies through the air as he attempts to make a lay-up.
Photo by: Alex Leff

“The key for was to go in, get a win and make a statement so we can build off of that,” Cardenas said. “The loss made us learn a lot about ourselves and what we had to fix offensively and defensively.”

The Larks would eventually find a victory that had eluded them for six games. Hesston College hosted Friends University on Monday Nov. 18. At the end of the game the scoreboard was in favor of the Larks 87-77 giving them their first win and improving their record to 1-6.

“Playing these teams that are nationally ranked or that are just really good helps us figure out what we have to work on and it gives us a lot of experience for

down the road,” Cardenas said. “We are climbing right now and I think once we fix what is wrong I think we will start to win more games and people should look out because that is coming soon. “

 

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