Men’s Basketball Looks to Turn the Tide in Second Half of Season
Amidst a difficult season, the Choctaws believe they can turn it around.
The Mississippi College men’s basketball team has reached the halfway point of their season, with 11 conference games down and 11 more to go. This year has seen struggles for the Choctaws. They currently sit with 6 wins and 11 losses overall, and just 2 wins and 9 losses in conference play.
However, despite their record, the Choctaws sit just two games behind 8th place in the conference, which would propel them into the GSC tournament.
This was a season of new beginnings for the Choctaws. Just three players returned from last year's team, only two of whom saw playing time. Despite new faces on the roster, assistant coach Sam Newman believes the team has gelled together well. “We have a really good group of guys this year,” Newman said. “Rashad Bolden has led the way again this year, but we have gotten solid contributions from both Ty Briscoe and Tremaine Dixon coming in this year.”
Rashad Bolden has certainly been a bright spot for the team this season. Despite missing the first 6 games due to injury, he came back to lead the team in minutes, points, and assists. Averaging 24 points per game, Bolden continues to show why he is one of the best in the conference and the nation.
Despite standouts and promising new additions, the team has faced challenges in conference play, currently enduring a seven-game losing streak. Despite this, Coach Newman has full confidence in the team's abilities to turn it around in the second half of the season.
“I would say so far this year, we have struggled to find the consistency that we need to be successful in our league,” Newman said. “Despite some of these struggles, we are confident going into the second half of the season and feel that it is just a matter of putting together a couple wins in a row.”
Junior returner from last year's team, Judah Land, believes the team simply hasn’t unlocked their full potential as of yet. “In the midst of a few losses in a row, we are looking to come closer together to snap this streak and get back on track to achieve our goals,” Land said. “We have so much potential, and we are looking to tap into it fully.”
“I wouldn't say that any major tactical adjustments are needed,” Newman said. “Most important is competing every night and finding ways to consistently step up to the challenge that each team on our schedule the rest of the way brings.”
Despite the losing record, this season has seen several improvements in several key areas for the team. Coach Newman highlights both the guard play behind star player Rashad Bolden and the play of the forwards.
“Our overall guard play has seen significant improvement as the season has gone on,” Newman said. “Both #3 Dixon and #2 Briscoe have stepped up and been good in a complementary role to Rashad. We also have seen significant growth in the confidence level of our forwards #32 Land and #0 George throughout the season.”
Land has certainly seen numerous improvements from last season to this season, averaging 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and doubling his minutes from 12 to 25 per game, becoming an anchor for the team. However, Land still believes he can do much more to help the team get where they want to be.
“I feel as though I have struggled with having some inconsistencies at times, which is something I definitely need to improve upon in order to help us push for the playoffs,” Land said.
Land isn’t the only one who hopes to see improvement in the second half of the season. The Choctaws have consistently put their identity in their defensive play, which hasn’t been up to standard, playing some of the top ranked offenses in the country.
“Our biggest area of improvement that has always been a focus, regardless of how we are playing, is defensively being able to consistently get stops,” Newman said. “In the GSC this year, you have a number of nationally ranked offensive teams that have challenged us.”
In the midst of a season where the Choctaws may not reach the goals they had at the beginning of the year, Coach Newman keeps his focus on one game at a time.
“Our main goal stays the same, and that is going 1-0 in each game that we play,” Newman said. “We can't control the past and we can't control the future, but what we can control is the energy and effort that we bring when the lights come on the rest of the way. We have a really close knit group and I am excited to see the growth of this group in the second half of the season.”
The Choctaws’ next test will be a home matchup against Union University on Thursday, January 23rd. They look to snap their seven-game losing streak.