Sports

Jacks find no comfort on weekend road trip

By Tyler Ohmann

11/22/2011

The road is a tough place to play, especially when the competition is fierce, but the Dakota College at Bottineau Lumberjacks did not expect what was in store for them in Wahpeton this past weekend.

The Jacks fell 87-64 on Saturday and were blown out 106-67 on Sunday as they had some trouble over the weekend.

First on Saturday, Hibbing Community College took care of the Jacks, who had a poor shooting game.

The Jacks shot a season-low 53 percent from the free throw line. Given 30 attempts it was something that Head Coach Ken Keysor said they need to do better going forward.

“An area of concern is the free throw shooting, 16 out of 30. Are you kidding? Fifteen feet away from the basket and we can’t hit more than 53 percent? That’s not only unacceptable, but embarrassing,” Keysor stated.

“I’m not sure if we understand what it takes to win on the road, but we need to start figuring it out or it will be a long season.”

The Jacks also shot uncharacteristically bad from the field, going 21-for-61, including only 6-for-27 from beyond the arc. Keysor believes shot selection had a part in the poor night.

“We once again became our own worst enemy by shooting the first shot instead of the best shot, becoming lazy on defense, but more importantly letting the other team get into our heads,” Keysor stated. “We really seem to struggle with the mental aspect of the game. It is becoming frustrating that each week our inability to move on from a bad play or mistake seems to compound.”

Freshman Jayden McMillin led the Jacks in the loss. He had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and was one of the few bright spots for DCB in the game.

Cameron Malzer got his 16 points and James Odneal grabbed 12 boards. Jeremy Chambers got 11 points in the loss.

Following Friday’s loss the Jacks couldn’t have expected that the weekend would get worse, but it did.

Northeast Community College from Norfolk, Neb., really did a number on the Jacks on Sunday in a 106-67 demolition.

“They dominated us in every aspect from shooting percentage to rebounding 35-55 to hustle and preparedness to play,” Keysor stated.

“They are an outstanding team that gave a wake up call to us about what college basketball is about.”

Northeast shot 53 percent from three and 54 percent from the field, while the Jacks shot under 30 percent from three and only 32 percent from the field.
Malzer led the Jacks in scoring with 17 points. McMillin had 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Jacks host the Trinity Bible Lions tonight at 5:30 p.m. They then take the road again as they travel to Glendive, Mont. for the Dawson Classic.
The losses dropped the Jacks to 2-5 on the season.