You’ve heard the creak of the hardwood, the bounce of the ball, and the swishing of the net, so you surely know what time of year is upon us—that’s right, it’s basketball season. With new faces on both the men’s and women’s teams, it’s bound to be a good one.
With second year head coach Neil Young at the helm, the men’s team got their season underway with an exhibition game against Trevecca Nazarene, ending in a loss. Even though the team may not have gotten the results they wanted, they hung with a solid team and three players put up double digits in the scoring column.
They followed their exhibition loss with an overtime thriller in Birmingham versus Birmingham Southern. The Scots would eventually fall 103-98, but not without putting up a fight. James Mitchell (‘20), Bailey Spragg (‘19), and Will Crumly (‘21) would all put up over 20 points, with Crumly going off for 26 points and 12 rebounds on 9-16 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench.
One game into their season, the Scots hosted Centre in Barnes Gymnasium. They would fall 66-69 in another thriller. Bailey Spragg contributed 20 points, missing only one shot and going for 8-9 from the field. Crumly again put up solid numbers, scoring 19 points on 8-12 shooting. Even though the season began with 0-2 record, the Scots have shown that they can compete to the end, and will look to hopefully convert some close end-of-game situations into wins in games to come.
The women’s team, under first year head coach Skylar Bareford, has also kicked off their season with the two day Lee’s Famous Chicken/Hampton Inn Classic in Kentucky. They came away from the weekend with two losses, one to Thomas Moore and one to Centre.
Taylor Robinson (‘19) carried the scoring load versus Thomas Moore, putting up 17 points. Margo Koby (‘20) also helped the team by contributing 10 rebounds. The Scots would go on to lose 47-89. Against Centre, Joanna Smith (‘19) put up 13 points and Kaley Hallmark (’19) added another 12 points, with Robinson chipping in 6 assists. It just was not enough though as the Scots lost again, this time 52-70.
Basketball season is still young, and it is shaping up to be an exciting one. There are still many unanswered questions, such as will Neil McCarthy (‘19) receive the varsity call-up that many believe he has so long deserved, or what drove Amos Corbett (‘20) to retire from the JV basketball team in the midst of such a promising career? Hopefully these questions, and many more, will be answered this season.