GCSU Men's Basketball Drops Two Straight, Must Regain Focus and Shooting

That’s two in a row, now.

But in the wrong column.

Terry Sellers and his Bobcats (18-4, 11-2 Peach Belt Conference-west) have dropped the previous two games, one to nationally ranked Augusta State and the other and most recent to USC Aiken 69-65 on Saturday at home. The loss at home was the first of the campaign.

The Bobcats had a hard time taking care of the pumpkin. The 18 turnovers were a season high committed by the Bobcats. In the previous 13 games, Georgia College was averaging just over 10 turns. The Pacers turned those 18 mishaps to 18 points, taking advantage of the Bobcat errors.

Also of recent worry, the three-point shot has not been seen in quite some time by the Bobcats. GCSU was just 6 of 21 in the game against Aiken, good for just 28.6 percent. Against Augusta? Five for 22, or 22.7 percent.

Which leads me to my next point: Obviously opponents have found a weakness in the Bobcats game. And during that process, opposing coaches have realized that if the three-pointer is not falling often for the Bobcats, things turn sour quickly.

Instead of focusing on the negative, though, let’s all realize that the beauty of basketball, baseball, soccer, and hockey is that more times than not, you have a chance to redeem yourself a few days following a loss. The turnaround is rather short between games.

That brings us to Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday night in Americus. Back on Jan. 13, the Bobcats stormed past Georgia Southwestern 80-42. GCSU was led by the 17 points of senior guard Jake Rios, while junior guard Andre Mikell had 14. Junior forward Josh Hurst knocked home 10, too.

Georgia College shot the ball at an astronomical 58.5 percent from the field. The team was even better from behind the arc at 60 percent. The Bobcats bench won the battle 40-15, too.

Georgia Southwestern is at 6-17 this year and 2-10 in the PBC-west. Mike Leeder’s team is led by senior forward Chris Rawls (16.3 points & 7.3 rebounds) and senior guard Marcus Scott (12.7 points & 4.4 rebounds). Sophomore guard Evan Mobley also throws in around 14 points per outing as well.

The talented core team is terrific. The ‘Canes, however, have no depth. The key reserves off the bench average no more than four points per game.

Due to the thin bench, Rawls, Scott and Mobley are forced to pick up the slack. All three players are averaging over 30 minutes per game. While a talented force, all tend to suffer from exhaustion at the end of the game. And you really can’t blame them.

So, what are the keys to the game for the Bobcats?

Here you go:

1) GCSU must establish some sort of presence in general. Last time out the Bobcats appeared to be a step behind the pace the team is capable of playing at. Taking a key out of the women’s book, the men must bring energy.

2) Obviously, as stated above it is imperative to limit the perimeter play of Scott and Mobley. Also, senior guard Ric Roderick (7.4 points) can be an adequate force from the outside. All three of these players make up for 55 percent of the point production for the ‘Canes.

3) Head women’s coach John Carrick has a great saying: “Good shooting makes up for a multitude of sins.” By that, he means shooting the rock well hides all the other miscues a team did in the game. The Bobcats have been in a shooting funk from behind the arc. Georgia College must set good screens, make efficient cuts and somehow bring the three-pointer back to the arsenal.

4) I’ll be looking at both benches once again. As I stated above, the Bobcats pounced on the Hurricanes last time 40-15 in bench production.

5) It’s a big week here at Georgia College. Homecoming is a special time where former athletes and alumni are able to return to the university and share memories with others who are currently enrolled. There are numerous activities during the week, such as concerts, rallies, and ceremonies. It’s crucial to stay mentally focused through this week. Focus on Georgia Southwestern only in Wednesday’s game. The Bobcat’s can’t afford to look forward to the Homecoming game on Saturday against Columbus State. The Hurricanes have nothing to lose and would love to play spoiler.

When talking to senior center Rob Thomas today at practice, he said “we’ve had a really good week of practice.”

We’ll find out if the good practices translate well Wednesday night at the Storm Dome in Americus!

Talk to you at 7:20 on Country102.3 in Milledgeville or www.country102fm.com (wkzr link).

I will join Scott MacLeod for the radio broadcast. Always a pleasure!

Let’s break this two-game slide!