B-CU Hoops feels sting of Delaware State in two-team sweep

Karsceal Turner – I Got Next!

Lady Cats Meltdown in 62-57 overtime loss to Delaware State

The Lady Cats had numerous opportunities to take control and hold on for the win Saturday afternoon. Time after time, I saw my girls give the Bloody game away as they set the tone for an afternoon of disgust for yours truly in a 62-57 overtime loss.

As you read this, perhaps you may think an overtime period means B-CU played well. Clearly it wasn’t well enough. What I saw were mistakes which led to the Lady Cats falling behind twice in each half needlessly. Call me critical or call me a hoops fan. I just expected better. Too many mental mistakes cost B-CU the game.

Delaware State opened up its biggest first half lead, 16-9, on a basket with 5:28 to go before halftime. B-CU outscored DSU 12-5 in the last 5:07 of the half to force a 21-21 tie at the break. Seven lead changes occurred in the second half.

Jade Washington gave Delaware State the lead for good on a steal and lay-up with 34 seconds left in overtime. Tasia Bristow added four free throws in the closing seconds to lift the Lady Hornets to their third consecutive win.

Bristow led DSU with 16 and Kianna D’Oliveira recorded her first double-double of the season for the Lady Hornets with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. She also led all players with four blocks to give her 99 in her career.

Delaware State led by as many as nine in the second half before B-CU rallied to tie the game at 49-49 at the end of regulation.

“I just don’t think that we showed up from an offensive standpoint,” Head Coach Vanessa Blair said. “On the defensive end, we gave up far too many offensive rebounds that converted to baskets for Del. State.”

Like I said, they set the tone for what would end up as a VERY disappointing night if you happen to be a Bethune-Cookman former athlete, now sports columnist.

Delaware State delivers sizzling sting to lackluster Cats 68-52

B-CU started this game flat. They didn’t score for the first full minute of action. 17 first-half points and an 11.1 field goal percentage attests to that. By the time they reached intermission, the Cage Cats were down 17-33. What else can I call it but what it was…UGLY. I can’t recall when I’ve seen the home team shoot so poorly (try 3-for-7 in field goals and 1-for-12 beyond the arc). Throw in a piss-poor job of defense, and there you have it, a 68-52 thrashing and an addition to a two-game losing skid.

We now arrive at the point where I give my assessment as a baller, turned sports columnist. Come on man!

As I watched this game, a couple times I was forced to put my camera down and curse.

What I saw was grit, and tenacity…from the Hornets! Man, they handled us! BLOODY HELL, you’ll excuse me for relating to the team is such a manner. As I said before, I once balled. Delaware State dug in on defense, and scored at will, mostly on layups in transition from steals (They totaled 7 steals as a team).

I’m not going to call DSU dirty; I’ll just call them gritty. They threw a lot of unnoticed elbows and played with grit (for lack of better phrase, here insert your own). In contrast, B-CU simply did not play the game as if it was in their home gym. I suppose it can happen on any given night. Still, it can’t be ignored.

Head Coach Gravelle Craig summed it up thus; “We’ll try to make adjustments. It’s all you can do at this point of the season. You’re going to have nights when you don’t shoot the ball well, but you have to defend. We didn’t defend tonight.  You can’t let a scorer like Oliver go 9-10.

Craig was referencing Marques Oliver, who scorched B-CU with a career-high 24 points, followed by Miles Bowman’s 11. Delaware State shot a season-best 57.8% from the field (26-for-45), keyed by 15-of-22 shooting in the second half (68.2%). The Wildcats were 3-27 in the first half and 13-48 overall for a season-low 27.1 %.

Adrien Coleman and Paul Scotland each scored 13 points to lead B-CU, while Ricky Johnson had a season-high 11. If you’re looking for a glimmer of hope, B-CU made a season-high 21 free throws in the losing effort.

“We have to find a way to win and then string some wins together.” Craig said.

I imagine practice on Sunday will bring forth some guts. But still, folks that simply isn’t going to get it done if B-CU wants decent seed for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament, a little more than a month from now.

Anyway, we are really entering the thick of the conference schedule. A chance to defend home comes again Monday (Jan. 28) as Bethune-Cookman hosts Maryland Eastern Shore at 7:30 p.m. in historic Richard V. Moore gymnasium. Look for me in the oversized basketball jacket with a camera in my hand cause I Got Next!