The Tartan Pride Men’s Basketball team was able to get back on the winning track with a close 74-70 win against Cincinnati State, and a blowout win of 87-66 against Owens. With both conference wins, the Pride sit at 10-1 in the conference standings.
Cincinnati State traveled north to face the Pride in an intense game, where they were able to shoot the three-ball much more effectively to keep them in the game. That is something they were not able to do in January’s blowout loss against the Pride, but they still couldn’t could the job done.
“They tried to pound the ball on us and tried to go inside. In the games that they have been winning, they have been shooting between 28-45 free throws. Tonight, they shot 10. If they aren’t shooting that many free throws, they are living and dying on the three-point line and it almost worked for them,” said Price.
Marcellous Washington led the way in points with 15 and nearly earning a triple-double with eight rebounds and eight assists. Manny Powell had a huge first half and got the team rolling with 11 first half points, but was quiet the second half and finished with 11 points, three rebounds and four assists.
The Pride led as many as eight in the first half, but it was short lived as Cincinnati State was able to make this game close.
“It seemed like we would stumble and they would hit a three pointer or hit a three point play or do something to counter,” said Price. “The two plays that stick out in my mind are the breakaway by Marcellous [Washington] and they called an intentional foul. That seemed to take the wind out of their sails a little bit. And then a great backdoor by Caleb Walker where they were over playing him and he got a reverse layup. Just a huge play by him.”
The Pride traveled to Owens where Reshardd Harris was able to get back on track after struggling recently. Harris put up 23 points on 9-15 shooting from the field while adding eight rebounds and an assist.
The Pride was down by 13 points going into the second half, but held Owens to 17 points and scored 51 of their own. Powell had another double-double with 13 points and 11 assists. Washington again almost had a triple-double with 13 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
With only three conference games left and a two game lead over Columbus State, it would have to take a massive collapse for the Pride to lose control. The Pride still have conference games against Lorain, Cuyahoga and Edison with a couple non-conference games in between as they prepare for what could be a promising tournament run.
Matthew Summers
Sports Editor