Except for the final score, this one wasn’t that different from last year.
The men’s basketball team avenged last season’s exhibition loss against Division II St. Rose this time around by edging out the Golden Knights 76-67 in front of a crowd of 2,627 at the Events Center Saturday. But both teams missed a combined 28 free throws and committed 43 personal fouls.
“Today, I wouldn’t say we progressed,” said senior forward Sebastian Hermenier, who posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. “We just stayed at a certain level instead of turning it up a notch.”
Senior forward Andre Heard led all scorers with 28 points, 19 coming in the second half, and sophomore guard Mike Gordon continued his solid play in the exhibition season with eight points, six rebounds and five assists. Overall, the Bearcats were 8-for-24 from the free throw line and shot a whopping 30 three-pointers.
“Of course we don’t want to shoot 30 threes if we’re shooting 63 shots,” Heard said. “We’re in love with the three ball, we have to get out of that.”
Teammates expressed similar feelings as the Bearcats have now attempted 57 threes in the two exhibition games.
“We sometimes rely too much on the three,” Hermenier said. “Because we’re open we take them. Instead like coach says, get the ball inside, establish that position and then work outside.”
The Golden Knights were led by senior guard Brad Shove, who scored 18 points with eight assists. Point guard Terrance King added eight points and 10 rebounds.
Despite the sloppy play, the Bearcats finished the exhibition season 2-0, and are optimistic heading into Friday’s season opener against Niagara.
“We think we have a better basketball team but there are some question marks that we have to improve upon,” said head coach Al Walker. “Our lost post opportunities and our rebounding are real concerns. Niagara is going to be a big game for us.”