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Spartans’ shooting woes continue [UPDATED]
Published 10:42am Wednesday, November 16, 2011 Updated 10:47am Wednesday, November 16, 2011The M State Spartans men’s basketball team controlled a late lead against the Jamestown Jimmies JV on Tuesday in Fergus Falls. But bad shooting by the Spartans, 13-for-27 from the charity stripe and a measly 2-for-17 from the three-point line (12 percent), allowed the Jimmies to win 78-71.
Jamestown shot 53 percent from the field, while the Spartans only shot 41 percent. They were 4-for-9 from the three-point line (44 percent). It was the third straight loss for M State.
“It was a very tough loss. We’ve (had) three games in a row where we had the lead late, and couldn’t finish it off,” said Jason Retzlaff, Spartans’ coach. “We have spurts where we play well, but we currently lack the focus and intensity to play 40 minutes at the college basketball level. Our mental toughness needs to improve for us to be a successful team.”
After a back-and-forth first half Spartan sophomore August Fleming, who scored a game-high 21 points, seven rebounds and an assist, provided a spark with some offense for M State. But Jimmie point guard TJ Rickard kept his squad under control and Jamestown left the half leading 36-31.
The Spartans made a run behind Keanu Glover’s 20 points, as they held their largest lead of the night, 55-46. Jamestown battled back and after tying it up, the Jimmies then pulled away and won the game by seven points.
The Jimmies went on a 26-10 run to end the game.
Shane Bosek posted 14 points, six rebounds and three assists in the loss. Anthony Lee had seven points, four assists and two steals for M State, while John Paul Bright posted seven points and brought down six rebounds.
The Jimmies were led by Nick Schultz who, had a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds. Rickard recorded 13 points and eight rebounds in the win.
The Spartans look to solve their shooting woes and come out strong on Thursday, when they hit the road for the first time this season traveling to Wahpeton to face North Dakota College of Science at 8 p.m
