Sports
Jacks take two of three over Thanksgiving week
Tyler Ohmann
11/29/2011
The Dakota College at Bottineau men’s basketball team stopped a five game losing skid earlier this week with an 87-80 win over Trinity Bible College.
The win began a 2-1 week for the Jacks, who split games at the Dawson Classic on Thanksgiving weekend.
At the Dawson Classic the Jacks began with a 79-72 win over the Coca-Cola All-Stars and finished with an 87-54 drubbing by Dawson Community College.
Rousing rivalry
The Jacks ended a five-game losing streak with an 87-80 win over the Trinity Bible College last Tuesday at the Woodshed.
Sophomore transfer Cameron Malzer exploded for 32 points to the lead the Jacks to the win, hitting a couple threes down the stretch.
“They played pretty well defensively, but I just needed to get to my spots and hit my shots,” Malzer said. “My teammates were hitting shots too, so it was an all around effort.”
The Jacks jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, despite the Lions keeping it close throughout.
The Jacks were just happy to hang on for the win after two tough weekends on the road where they came away winless.
“It was definitely good for us, we had lost five games in a row and we needed to get over that hump,” Malzer said. “We love playing at home. We’re a good home team, and we played well tonight all around.”
Malzer dueled the entire night with the Lion’s Miguel Rosario, trading baskets with him throughout the night.
Rosario won the personal battle outscoring Malzer 36-32, but Malzer’s team came away with the win.
“It was nice to finally get another game on the good side of the column,” stated Jacks Head Coach Ken Keysor. “We felt that defensively we played a decent game although the Rosario player had 36, a lot of his looks were just a good player making shots.”
Malzer though did make a couple key plays down the stretch, a position he feels comfortable in.
“We have a couple guys who can make shots, and tonight it was me,” Malzer said. “I am comfortable with it. It is a situation I like being in, and tonight I made some shots, so it was good.”
Malzer finished with five rebounds and four assists as well for the Jacks.
Also strong for the Jacks were sophomore Jeremey Chambers (17 points, eight assists), freshman Jayden McMillin (16 points, six rebounds) and sophomore James Odneal (15 rebounds).
The Jacks blocked six Lion shot attempts and held them to just 36 percent shooting from the field. Malzer was happy with the defensive effort.
“We played pretty well defensively, and we’re getting better,” Malzer said. “We need to continue getting better, that is the most important thing.”
Another factor that Malzer credited in the win was the Woodshed crowd.
“Our crowd is awesome, they are so loud,” Malzer said. “We owe a lot to them, because it pumps us up and gets us going.”
Daunting Dawson Classic
The Jacks looked to carry the momentum of Tuesday’s win into the tournament in Glendive, Mont. over the holiday weekend, and in Friday’s game they did.
The Jacks downed a tough Coca-Cola All-Stars team 79-72 to win their second straight contest.
Keysor beleived the Jacks played their game in the win, which includes strong distribution of the basketball.
“We played for the most part to our strengths, and although the three pointer wasn’t falling we were pleased to have 18 assists,” Keysor stated. “We are for the most part an extremely unselfish team. Our players get as much joy out of making a good pass as making a good shot,which in turn is building team unity and loyalty.”
McMillin was the star in the win for the Jacks. He had 24 points, 15 rebounds and dished out three assists in the win.
Odneal continued his strong play with a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds).
Also scoring in double figures were Malzer (13) and Chambers (12).
“We seemed to be aggressive offensively and although it took a little while to get the intensity on the defensive end it did finally appear,” Keysor stated. “We are playing with more passion and seem to understand that each player doesn’t have to do it all. They only need to do their job.”
The Jacks took a bit of a step backward in an 87-54 loss to a tough Dawson Community College on Saturday.
Keysor cited lack of focus and inability to take care of the ball as the reasons for the loss.
“We got our butts kicked on the glass. We had zero focus and it showed. We were just going through the motions,” Keysor stated. “I mean really three of our five starters finish with an underwhelming 12 points combined. We aren’t going to be too successful with that recipe. We also had 23 turnovers which in common sense terms means we didn’t take care of the ball.”
Malzer led the Jacks with 17 points. McMillin had nine points and 15 rebounds. The Jacks were 3-of-20 from three pointers.
“We need to find some type of spark to light a fire under our butt. This is the third straight weekend where we have struggled on the second day of a road trip,” Keysor stated. “I’m not sure if it is focus, maturity, or just coincidence. However I know it needs to be remedied.”
Following the 2-1 week the Jacks improved to 4-6 on the young season.
They will next be in action at 8 p.m. tonight at Turtle Mountain Community College in Belcourt.
They will then host the Minot Air Force Base at 1 p.m. on Saturday.