The Tartan Pride men’s basketball team kicked off their season with three road wins this past week, two of which were in Michigan. The Pride dominated The Ohio State University-Lima branch 124-88 while forward Reshardd Harris provided 32 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, and was 14-17 from the field. Six Tartans scored in the double digits, but not without a cost. Guard Patrick Crawford, a player Coach Price has talked highly about, suffered a knee injury and will have an MRI on the 13 to determine if it is an ACL injury.
“The one thing you can’t plan for is injuries. DeAngalo Gates had a concussion in our last scrimmage so he was out for a week. He didn’t even play in the Ohio State-Lima game,” said Price.
Coach Price and the company headed north to play St. Clair County and Jackson College in Michigan. Guards DeAngalo Gates and Quinnten McComas produced 32 points off the bench and had just as many points as the top three starters combined in route to an 86-76 victory.
“Playing in Michigan, these region games really count double. This goes a long way for rankings,” said Price.
The game against Jackson was much more competitive as Sinclair barely got by with a 97-94 victory where neither team really showed up on defense.
“Both teams couldn’t stop each other. It looked like it was going to be a pro game. It looked like it was going to be 136-130,” said Price.
The Pride were up 18 in the second half, but they let it slip away as Jackson’s Charles Lawler exploded in the second half.
“He scored 38, but 31 came in the second half. We had absolutely no answer for him. To his credit, he was just making shots,” says Price.
With four minutes left in the game, the Pride were down six but settled down when Akiean Frederick and Marcellous Washington hit three-pointers to get the lead back and gain momentum. With roughly 50 seconds left, the players took the game into their own hands and called their own play.
“A couple of sophomores came up with a play to give us the lead. They were the ones that made the decision. That makes me feel good that I didn’t have to call it and use a time out,” said Price.
Manny Powell scored the last two baskets to secure a victory and send the Pride back home on a successful road trip. Coach Price was very excited the way his team handled adversity towards the end of the Jackson game.
“Down the stretch, they showed me they could handle the adversity. Even in the time out, they were thinking about ‘how are we going to win a ball game’? Their experience came through,” said Price.
The Pride have one more road game at Hocking College before they debut for the home opener against Henry Ford College on November 21. Nine of their next ten games are played at home as they look to continue their hot start to the season.
Matthew Summers
Sports Editor