The Tartan Prides men’s basketball team overcame a huge 14-point deficit to close the door on Columbus State with a shot from DeAngolo Gates with less than five seconds left to win 67-65. In one of the more competitive games this season, it was more Columbus State being well prepared for a high flying Tartan Pride offense.
“It is probably less of us and more of what Columbus State did to us. Sometimes, you have those games where coaches of both teams do a really great job and really lockdown,” said Coach Price.
Previously this season, the Pride defeated Columbus State 90-87, where the Pride were again trailing at half, but fought back. The anticipation was that it would have been a high scoring game again for both offenses, but turned out to be anything but that. The lowest the Tartans have scored all season was 72 in a victory against Cuyahoga, a team they see on February 20, but were able to squeeze out a victory with just 67 points against Columbus State.
The Pride were down going into half again; it wasn’t anything new for them. They have been down at half a few times and have always been able to fight back. However, this wasn’t a regular second-half comeback. Not everything went the Tartan’s way to begin with.
“We were getting some shots, but they just weren’t going in. That’s frustrating for teams like ours where we are 20-0. I don’t think we have faced this much adversity with stuff not working like it has worked in the past. It’s like going out to your car and you start it every day, but then it doesn’t start,” said Price.
With Lansing losing previously in the week, a number one ranked Sinclair team seemed very possible with just two games in their way, both of which they have beaten before. After handling Columbus state, the Tartan’s suffered their first loss after losing 79-73 to Lakeland Community College. The Pride had just beaten them in December 88-66.
The Pride were up by as much as 21 within ten minutes into the first half, but let the lead slip away. A combination of late turnovers and missed shots plagued them as Lakeland make a huge 16-1 run late to hand the Tartans their first loss. Some could say it was bound to happen, but that’s not the mentality Coach Price had.
“As a competitor, you never want to lose. We lost our own accord because we didn’t shoot the ball very well. We only shot 27 percent in the second half. We kind of let ourselves down” said Price.
Price also claims that though they were disappointed about losing, they were more upset with how the game went.
“I think they were disappointed with the loss, but I think they were disappointed in the way they played. I don’t think they were disappointed that they lost the streak, but I think they were disappointed with how they performed,” explained Price.
The Pride fell to third in the rankings behind Triton, who received 10 first place votes, and South Suburban who didn’t receive any first place votes. Sinclair still received one vote, so one of the voters still believe they are the best. Both Triton and South Suburban have a 22-2 record.
At the end of the day, they are still 21-1. Many players would be more than happy to have a record like that.
Matthew Summers
Sports Editor