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Basketball opens regular season with 94-81 win
By Tim Sayers
Collegian Freelancer
The men's basketball team opened up their regular season with an impressive 94-81 victory over Lincoln Memorial last Saturday.
“It's always nice to win the first game,” coach Ed Douma said.
“It was so important to win this game,” sophomore Cory Coe said. “This game sets the tone for the rest of the season.”
The Chargers looked to be in midseason form after they jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game.
Lincoln Memorial fought back, however, putting together a 9-0 run of their own. Senior Paul Noble kept the Railsplitters in the game by scoring seven points in a row, but the Chargers held them off, as freshman Chris Skaggs dropped in a couple layups.
As the second quarter progressed, Lincoln Memorial consistently whittled away at the Chargers' lead and managed to end the half down only five points, with a score of 40-35.
At the start of the second half, Lincoln Memorial continued to close the gap. Finally, with a couple of free throws by senior DeAngelo Johnson, they took the lead, 42-43, at the 18:02 mark.
Both teams continued to battle it out in a back-and-forth game until Coe hit a baseline jumper to make the score 52-50 and give the Chargers the lead for the rest of the game.
From that point the Chargers continued to increase their lead with accurate shooting from Farmer and Coe, as well as repeated trips to the free-throw line.
Skaggs provided a dominant inside presence for the Chargers by scoring layups, grabbing rebounds and blocking shots.
Although the Railsplitters held firm and cut Hillsdale's lead back under double digits, they were unable to match the Chargers' potent offense. Hillsdale outscored Lincoln Memorial, 35-24, in the last ten minutes of the game.
“We played good in spurts,” Douma said. “But there were times when we were unaggressive.”
Coe led the Chargers in scoring with a career-high 30 points, scoring 22 in the second half. After leaving the game in the first half with an ankle injury, Coe stormed back to shoot 8-for-12 from the floor, 5-for-9 from three-point land, and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line.
“It really hurts,” Coe said of his ankle after the game. “But I had to step up, and, luckily, my teammates were able to get me open to shoot the ball.”
Douma remarked on Coe's shooting ability: “We've got to find ways to get him the ball.”
Other contributors for the Chargers included Farmer with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Skaggs with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore John Hamood and freshman Drew Powell each contributed three assists.
The Railsplitters were led by Noble and Johnson, who both scored 20 points, and Adrian Porter, who added 16 in the losing effort.
On Tuesday night the team lost, 60-61, to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Tuesday night in Kenosha, Wis. The Chargers were led by freshman Drew Powell, who scored 13 points.
The Chargers will play Northwood and Saginaw Valley State at the GLIAC North-South Challenge on Friday and Saturday.
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