By Braedan Shea
@braedan_shea
As the Springfield College men’s basketball team made its way to its lockerroom in the basement of Blake Arena, the energy within the program was at an all time high. Coming off one of their best halves in recent memory, the Pride were holding on to a 35-24 lead against No.18 ranked Williams College.
Defensively, Springfield played with a tenacity and ferocity that caught the Ephs off guard from the opening tip. In the opening minutes, no Williams pass was safe from the hands of the Prides rotational guards. After Springfield’s fourth forced turnover in the beginning three minutes of gameplay, Williams’ entire offense sputtered, not looking anything like its 8-1 record.
With the clamping down defense, it easily opened up the Pride offense.
With 6:48 left in the first half, junior point guard Tre Hodge perfectly jumped a Williams screen, stopping the opponent dead in his tracks and forcing him to pick up the ball. On the ensuing pass, sophomore forward Josiah Evely tipped the ball in the air, the Ephs needing a diving save to keep the possession alive.
The dish was to a sharp-shooting guard Alex Stoddard of Williams, seemingly wide open on the right wing. But as he reached the apex of his shot, Springfield forward Gary Bess Jr. jumped out of the gym, sending the three-pointer right back where it came from. Blake Arena exploded into cheers as the shot clock expired.
Clearly frustrated with the performance of his team, Williams head coach Kevin App was irate after what he believed was an offensive foul on Bess Jr. with two minutes left to go, earning himself a technical foul. Two possessions later, Bess Jr. rubbed salt in the wound, dawning a wide smile to the coach after knocking down a flawless fadeaway jumper.
The Ephs shot just 33 percent from the field in the first half, 16.7 percent from three along with 11 turnovers. But even with extreme confidence heading into the break, Springfield was about to take on its worst enemy of the young season – the second half.
In both of the Pride’s previous games, they had also entered the half with leads. Yet in the second half, those two leads were chopped away, losing both games in heartbreaking fashion by just one point in each. Once again, that same ugly head showed itself for the third straight game.
Springfield registered just one made shot in the first 9:34 of the second half, giving away not just the lead, but all the momentum. It was the Pride’s turn to struggle moving the ball, but their biggest flaw was fouls. By the 12:32 mark of the half, Williams was already in the bonus, and entered the double bonus with 8:35 left.
Following a fouled three point attempt, Stoddard hit all three free throws to cut Springfield’s lead to just two. John Paulino then proceeded to fire a pass right at Stoddard, who took off down the court, throwing down a monstrous two handed dunk. Springfield head coach Micheal McClendon II turned to a timeout, and the Williams bench erupted, with the court sounding more like a home game for the Ephs.
While Springfield battled down the stretch, it was ultimately too late as the Pride lost 61-56, dropping to 2-5 on the season and being defeated by less than five in their third straight game.
“We lack aggression coming out of halftime,” Bess Jr. said on Springfields lack of success in the second half. “The first half we get downhill and create for each other. But in the second half, we just pass the ball around the perimeter, no attacks or anything. It stagnates us a little bit, so it’s kind of hard for us to get going down the stretch.”
Despite the tough performance from the Pride, Bess Jr. was a bright spot. Coming off the bench for the first time all season on the back of a slow start, the Kansas City Kansas Community College transfer had his best performance in a Springfield uniform. The forward led all scorers with 23 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting, along with five rebounds.
Bess Jr. was Springfields go-to guy down the stretch, giving his team key buckets.
“I’m starting to feel like I’m playing like myself again,” Bess Jr. said. “It’s kind of been a struggle, but I’m starting to find my rhythm.”
Bess Jr. is optimistic that Springfield will right the ship before the end of the season, knowing that late game performances will be the deciding factor.
“We’re gonna keep practicing and keep working,” Bess Jr. said. “We’re gonna figure out how to keep the same energy from the first half into the second half and we’re going to try to win basketball games.”
The Pride head to Emmanuel College next Tuesday at 7p.m.
Photo courtesy of Nick Storlazzi