MEN'S BASKETBALL: Eagles head to regionals looking for momentum
By Clay Coss
IV Leader Staff
The men’s basketball team has continued to struggle throughout the second half of the season, and head coach Mike Riley will be the first to admit it.
“We haven’t shot the ball well in I don’t know how long,” Riley said. “This team has been giving a great effort, and we have been getting good looks and taking shots that we want to take. We just haven’t been able to put the ball in the basket, and it’s hard to win if you can’t do that.”
The Eagles fell to Black Hawk East, 84-67 on Feb. 21 as Lee Moran led the team in scoring.
The Eagles’ last win came on Feb. 9 in a stunning, come-from-behind victory of 97-94 over conference opponent Sauk Valley.
“We showed a tremendous amount of effort at Sauk,” Riley said. “This was a game in which we were down 20 points after one half but got extremely hot in the second half. It’s the last game we shot well in.”
Since then the Eagles have fallen into what Riley refers to as a “shooting slump,” losing four straight games, and dropping their record to 13-14 overall and 3-8 in the Arrowhead Conference.
According to Riley, along with their inability to shoot the rock, IVCC has fallen victim to a three-point barrage, losing to recent opponents Carl Sandburg, Kishwaukee, and Blackhawk, all of whom shot the lights out from beyond the arc.
“There’s not much you can do when teams are hitting anywhere from 47 to 73 percent of their three-point attempts against you; that’s unheard of,” Riley said.“We’re playing good defense. We have been shutting teams down inside, and we’ve shut their transition game down too. It’s just frustrating as players and as coaches to watch these guys step five feet behind the arc and buy a three-ball.”
Despite the current shooting woes the Eagles are experiencing, Riley is quick to point out three bright spots of late.
“(Jeremy) Jones, (Mike) Kimbrough, and (Lee) Moran have been carrying us. Jones, with his scoring and assists, has been a bright spot all season. Kimbrough hasn’t been shooting the ball particularly well but has been a productive scorer, and Lee has provided us with some great energy and effort. I hope that continues.”
And if it indeed does continue, Riley expects his team to be just fine come tournament time even in the face of the same Carl Sandburg and Kishwauke teams and other teams of the same caliber.
“When this team plays like it can, we can compete with anyone in the region. We have to take things one game at a time, turn things around, and carry some momentum into the regional.”