Men revive season with streak
Andy Buss
Issue date: 1/29/09 Section: Sports
The men's basketball team went through a rough patch durinfg break, but have turned things around and fought back to .500 (8-8 overall, 6-6 in the GLIAC).
On Thursday, the Chargers sweated out a close game against Ashland University and came away with a narrow 66-62 victory. The team also beat Tiffin University on Saturday but with much more ease. The final tally was 91-49.
Head coach John Tharp said his team has rebounded from the seven-game losing streak leading up to the last win against Northern Michigan University.
"You know what, the stretch we had when we lost seven straight took a little swagger away and put a little pressure on us," Tharp said. "When we finally won against Northern, it was a sense of relief. We're very confident right now. We have a sense of belief and great energy."
Assistant coach Dan Evans said the team is beginning to hit on all cylinders.
"We've been able to string a few wins together in a row," he said. "We're beginning to do thing right more consistently."
Senior center and captain Tony Gugino said the Tiffin game was never really in question and credited the Charger forwards for their defensive work.
"It was nice to see us finish," he said. "We really played good defense again. [Junior] Luke [Laser] did a great job playing D - him and [senior] Travis [Worst]. They shut down their forward. They made a tiny run - hit back-to-back 3s, but that was the end of it. After that it was done."
Tharp was proud of the way his team came together to seal the victory.
"It was an overall great team win," he said. "We shared the ball, rebounded the ball. We really locked down and only gave them 49 points."
The game at Ashland was a bit more competitive. It came down to the wire, and that is where Tharp said he saw his team step up.
"In the last five minutes we really handled ourselves really well," he said. "That's improvement. That was our nemesis during the streak. I was pleased with our composure and mental toughness."
On Thursday, the Chargers sweated out a close game against Ashland University and came away with a narrow 66-62 victory. The team also beat Tiffin University on Saturday but with much more ease. The final tally was 91-49.
Head coach John Tharp said his team has rebounded from the seven-game losing streak leading up to the last win against Northern Michigan University.
"You know what, the stretch we had when we lost seven straight took a little swagger away and put a little pressure on us," Tharp said. "When we finally won against Northern, it was a sense of relief. We're very confident right now. We have a sense of belief and great energy."
Assistant coach Dan Evans said the team is beginning to hit on all cylinders.
"We've been able to string a few wins together in a row," he said. "We're beginning to do thing right more consistently."
Senior center and captain Tony Gugino said the Tiffin game was never really in question and credited the Charger forwards for their defensive work.
"It was nice to see us finish," he said. "We really played good defense again. [Junior] Luke [Laser] did a great job playing D - him and [senior] Travis [Worst]. They shut down their forward. They made a tiny run - hit back-to-back 3s, but that was the end of it. After that it was done."
Tharp was proud of the way his team came together to seal the victory.
"It was an overall great team win," he said. "We shared the ball, rebounded the ball. We really locked down and only gave them 49 points."
The game at Ashland was a bit more competitive. It came down to the wire, and that is where Tharp said he saw his team step up.
"In the last five minutes we really handled ourselves really well," he said. "That's improvement. That was our nemesis during the streak. I was pleased with our composure and mental toughness."
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