After a commanding 80-42 victory over the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes this past Wednesday, head coach Terry Sellers and his Bobcats will hit the road once again for an out-of-division conference battle against the Pirates of Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 3:20 at Alumni Arena.
This is the one of the most pivotal stretches for the Bobcat men and women. Both teams are hitting a four game road trip that involves games against AASU, Columbus State, Montevallo, and Flagler, all being played within a week and a half span and all against PBC foes.
What’s even more surprising is the Bobcat men have played just one home game since Dec. 3 (not counting the Ga SW game). Since that contest against Carver Bible, GCSU has been on the asphalt six out of seven games. At the end of this current road swing (including the Ga SW home game), the men will have played two home games out of 12.
So far, so good.
The Bobcats are at a terrific 10-2 on the year and undefeated at 3-0 in the Peach Belt Conference Western division, in sole possession of first place after Montevallo dropped its recent game this past Wednesday.
Against the Hurricanes, Georgia College exploited all of their strengths, forcing more turnovers (16) than committing (7), acquiring more steals (12) than allowed (2) and accumulating a whopping 17 assists, while allowing the Hurricanes to garner just two!
The Bobcats outscored the Hurricanes in the paint 30-12, off turnovers 20-8, and out-dueled Ga. SW in second chance opportunites at 21-4.
Perhaps the most telling stat of the evening was the Bobcat bench outscoring the Hurricanes 40-15. Fifty percent of GCSU’s point production came from players on the pine! Bobcat fans also got a chance to see other talent such as senior guard Jordan Poole, freshman guards Nate Hamilton and Mike Ross, freshman forward Derek Zittrauer, and junior guard Robert Praylo, all who scored great collegiate experience in the contest.
GCSU was led by senior guard Jake Rios with 17 points, his second game in double figures. Rios was phenomenal in getting GCSU off on the right foot, hitting five first half three-pointers. Junior forward Josh Hurst was also hitting from outside the paint, dumping in 10 points, and hitting 2 of 3 from behind the arc.
Hurst has been virtually unstoppable in conference play. Showing he has the hot hand, Hurst has shot 76.4 percent from the field (13-17), 75 percent from three (6-8) and 100 percent from the charity stripe (1-1). Since the start of conference play, Hurst is putting up 11 points per game. Before conference action, Hurst was at 7.2 points per outing.
Also for GCSU, “Mr. Sparkplug” aka junior guard Andre Mikell continued to dazzle fans with 14 points on 4-4 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line. Mikell showed his quickness in creating offense for the team and himself in driving to the basket and either dishing or hitting. Mikell has been in double-figures every game in conference play, his highest coming against the Hurricanes.
GCSU game plan of stopping the Hurricanes senior forward Chris Rawls worked to perfection. One of the top scorers in the league (15.5 pts per game), Rawls was held to just seven points, due to the efforts of the wonderful post-defense by sophomore forward Ryan Aquino and senior center Rob Thomas.
Looking ahead to Saturday against the Pirates, Georgia College will have to shift focus to perimeter defense. The Pirates (5-8, 0-4 PBC East) rely much on shooting off the dribble.
Led by “The Big Three” of senior guard Patrick Shopkepa (15.9 pts, 8.3 reb), sophomore guard Chris Vanlandingham (13.7 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.9 asst) and senior guard Keron McKenzie (12.8 pts, 3 reb), Armstrong has shown signs of brightness this year.
Already having played #1 Augusta State twice, the Pirates lost both meetings, but played significantly better the second time around. Armstrong lost the first match 81-52, but only by seven in the latter of the meeting 62-55.
The Pirates, however, are on a four game slide, all losses coming against conference opponents in the current losing streak.
Therefore, for GCSU, shutting down or limiting point production from the outside must be emphasized. The Pirates are scoring 9.9 points out of 70.6 from their forwards, showing the reliance on the guard-first offense.
Senior guards Ty Rowland, Graham Martin, and Rios, along with junior guard Trent Fildes must take pride defensively the whole game in keying in on the Pirates back court in order to be successful. The front and sides of GCSU’s “Vegas Zone Defense” must be intimidating and potent from the get-go.
Look for Mikell to provide more valuable minutes when being the sixth man off the bench and providing more spunk.
Switching over to offense, if I’m Sellers, my game plan is to pound the ball inside. GCSU has a distinct advantage inside this game. The Pirates are only three to four players deep in the front court. Altogether, Armstrong has just nine players listed on the roster, eight of which play significant minutes.
Utilizing Aquino, Thomas, Hurst and junior forward Reece Wiedeman will be crucial for success.
Again, the Bobcat bench will be tested against a short-manned-team like Armstrong. If Georgia College can get quality minutes and efforts from the key subs, the Bobcats will walk away with a win.
If the Bobcats can take advantage of a post offense, then as the game goes along the three-point shot will open up. GCSU is first in the conference in three-point percentage (44) and three-pointers made per game (11.1). Guys like Martin (15.5 pts) Rios (14.6 pts), Rowland (9.1 pts) and Mikell (5.8 pts) should set good screens, creating shots for themselves and team mates.
GCSU foundered both times against the Pirates last season, falling 68-63 on the road back on Jan. 14 and then again 68-60 on Feb. 11. Armstrong Atlantic was ranked both times the two teams faced last year, the highest being at #20.
Hopefully the Bobcats can turn the tides!
Conference battle is always challenging, anything can happen at any given point and time. However, everything leans toward GCSU for a victory.
Talk to you from Alumni Arena in Savannah at 3:20 on Country 102.3 FM in Milledgeville or http://www.country102fm.com/ (wkzr link)!
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