Comeback Not Enough in Men’s Basketball Season Opener
At halftime the score was 45-39 in Waynesburg men’s basketball season opener Saturday, Nov. 19. Muskingum went to half with the lead and the energy off a three-point basket by sophomore guard Jalen Paige, however the Yellow Jackets did not stop.
A free throw from transfer, junior forward Marcus Wallace cut the Muskie lead to 45-40.
On the other end, sophomore wing Brennan Smith blocked a shot, and in transition, Wallace made a jumper off an assist by senior guard Christian Koroly.
Paige added two free throws a minute and a half later, before Waynesburg got a three from Koroly, a turnover and a game-tying lay in by Smith to tie the game at 47-all.
Muskingum called a timeout.
“We were able to get ourselves back even,” said Christner. “After that, they have a guy, in [Jarrell] Marsh that can shoot the three and he was probably the difference.”
Out of the timeout and over the course of the next six minutes and 15 seconds of game time, the visiting Muskies went on a 16-0 run to take and extend the second half lead to 63-47, a lead they never gave up, en route to their second win of the 2016-17 season, ultimately defeating the Jackets (0-1) by a final of 78-62.
In that run, Muskingum freshman guard Marcus Dempsey hit a three-point shot and then came two of the same from sophomore guard Jarrell Marsh. A few baskets later, and Waynesburg found itself looking up at a big deficit.
“Give credit to them,” said Christner. “We got a little rushed. There was a sequence with a lay-up, a block, a lay-up and a block that caught up to us a little bit.”
Waynesburg was able to cut the lead back to single digits with scores and stops, ultimately pulling within nine points at 67-58. On the heels of a mini, nine-point swing came a put-back dunk by Koroly that forced a Muskingum timeout.
Following that timeout, the closest Waynesburg got the deficit was eight points, but Christner was pleased with the team’s resiliency after it got down big.
“It’s a small college game, you have to make shots but I was pleased with our ability to fight back,” said Christner. “We were keyed up to play our first game, and it isn’t an excuse, but they played a scrimmage and game Tuesday. This was our first time, so we have some things to work on.”
Waynesburg enters the season, even after its first game and loss, looking for an identity after graduating 13 seniors in the last two years. Five of those graduated last year, along with the top two scorers for the team.
Christner said he has a younger team this year and it showed on the floor with a few freshmen pieces seeing the floor and contributing in different ways.
Freshman wing Nick Valentic played 20 minutes off the bench and registered the second highest shot total on the team, but went just 4-12 from the field, tallying nine points and four rebounds.
Valentic’s classmate, guard Frank Bozicevic played seven minutes and had a rebound, but no points on just one attempt from three-point land.
The bulk of the minutes came from junior wing Jon Knab, Smith, senior guard Timmy Kaiser and Wallace. Kaiser played 31 minutes, while Knab played 29. Those two led the team in the category.
With more work in discipline on the offense and defensive sides, Christner said the team will continue to improve.
“Discipline-wise, we all have a little way to go offensively and somewhat on the defensive end, but we’ll get there,” said Christner.
Knab led the team in points and rebounds with 14 and nine in those categories, respectively.
The junior said the team is “never pleased with a loss,” but said he was happy with how the team battled back late.
“We’ll make some adjustments in the next few days,” said Knab. “Our biggest thing we need to work on is playing consistently throughout the whole game. Being the first game and us having a lot of young guys, we were a little tense and sped it up a bit more than we’d like at first, but it will come with experience and time.”
The Jackets will play Tuesday night on the road at Frostburg State, before a weekend trip to Rochester, New York, after Thanksgiving.
“It’s a learning process and it takes a big step on Tuesday,” said Christner. “The biggest thing is getting our guys to relax. Our spacing and taking guys off the bounce earlier in the shot clock was a bit frantic. And we won’t shoot 8-20 from the free-throw line every night either. We will get better.”
Tipoff at Frostburg State Tuesday is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Editor’s Note: For updates on Tuesday’s game, visit theyellowjacket.org.