Sports

Jacks cannot top Wildcats on the road

By Tyler Ohmann

01/28/2014

Much like last week’s narrow loss to Williston State, the No. 14 Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) Lumberjacks basketball team fell 85-76 last Thursday to the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) in Wahpeton.

The Jacks fell behind early as the Wildcats exploited their weaknesses and led 45-32 at halftime.

“We began the game with cold shooting, poor transition defense and allowed NDSCS to be much more physical rebounding the ball,” stated Jacks head coach Cory Fehringer.

However, all that ended in the second half as the Jacks made a run.

With six minutes left DCB cut the Wildcat lead to two points. NDSCS was not going to budge though, as they stayed just out of the grasp of the Jacks and won by nine.

“We are 3-4 plays away from coming up with a victory instead of a loss,” Fehringer stated. “ A loose ball here, made layup there, an extra rebound here and the outcome is likely to be different.”

Sophomore and leading scorer Julian Vasquez had 23 points and six rebounds in the game for the Jacks. Also helping the Jacks were Jalyn Turner (14 points) and Patrick Robinson (12 points, four rebounds).

NDSCS’s Johnny Woodard led all scorers with 27 points. Trayvon Palmer had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats.

It is important to note that the Wildcats are a Division I National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) team and that the Jacks are Division II.

In fact, all four of the DCB’s losses this season have come from Division I schools. Those schools are a combined 72-11 on the season. In those four losses the Jacks have been in each game, and have lost by an average of 12 points per game.

“It appears to me we are taking care of business when expected and giving our best shot to teams who are well above average,” Fehringer stated.  

The Jacks also played last Monday night in Winnipeg against Canadian Mennonite University (CMU).

CMU proved to be a lot more competitive on their home court that they did when DCB smothered them in a 122-72 win back in the Kevin Thom Classic early in November.

Last Monday’s contest was a tight one. The Jacks were thrown off by the international rules of a 24-second shot clock, more physical play and other factors.

Despite all that, the Jacks came out victorious with a 95-91 victory to get their 20th win of the year.

“CMU play(ed) a tremendous game by competing their tails off, shooting the ball extremely well and according to their coach ‘playing the best basketball of the year,’” Fehringer stated.

However, freshman Gilberto Shojgreen and Turner stepped up in big ways for the Jacks in the win.

Turner led DCB with 15 points, and Shojgreen was one board away from a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Robinson had a team-best 16 points. Vasquez added 11 points in 13 minutes off the bench.

Robinson, a native of Canada, had a great homecoming in the game.

“He was the spark the team needed and delivered at the right time,” Fehringer stated. “Once again we had a different player take the spotlight as we continue to be a group of players who have the ability to share the basketball based upon who is playing well.”

DCB also hosted Lake Region State College last night, but scores and stats were unavailable by press time. The Royals are a Division II school. Coming into last night’s game the Jacks were a perfect 9-0 at home this season.

Their next game will also be at home as they host rival Bismarck State College at 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3.

DCB beat the Mystics 90-82 in Bismarck back on Jan. 9.