By Jack Walker
The Grand Rapids Community College men’s basketball team was back in action on Saturday,Dec. 2, taking on Schoolcraft College. After scoring 98 points in their last game the Raiders struggled offensively against Schoolcraft, only scoring 63.
As the buzzer sounded at the end of the first half, the Raiders led Schoolcraft 30-29. It was an unusual first half for GRCC as the team only attempted five 3-pointers, their lowest number attempted in a first half all season. They ended the first half 1-5 from beyond the arc, the only one courtesy of freshman forward Dominic McRoberts.
Head Coach Joe Fox spoke on the team’s few attempts from 3-point range.
“I think they were pretty physical on the ball and we got a lot of free throw attempts so our total number of shot attempts were down in the first half in general,” Fox said., “But we wanted to be aggressive and attack the basket.”
It’s not a surprise the game was so close at the half as both teams had very similar stats. Schoolcraft shot 11-27 from the field, good for 40.7%. GRCC shot 9-22 from the field, which is 40.9%. Both teams shot 1-5 from three, Schoolcraft led GRCC in rebounds 18-16, but GRCC led Schoolcraft in the turnover margin 11-13.
Two big reasons for GRCC’s lead at the half is thanks to their ability to get to the free throw line and sophomore guard Darrell Belcher. GRCC took 19 attempts at the charity stripe in the first half. They struggled with efficiency only knocking down 11 of their tries, but it was still a big plus getting Schoolcraft players in foul trouble.
Coach Fox was asked if drawing free throws was intended or how the game played out,
“Kinda how the game went, I mean that’s always the goal, it’s the most efficient way to score, but we gotta knock them down, leaving too many points on the board.
Starting Guard Joe Francis also spoke on the team’s willingness to get to the free-throw line,
“(The coaches) always preach just attack the basket and get to the line, we just gotta make our free throws,” Francis said.
Belcher on the other hand was everywhere in the first half, leading the team in minutes, field goal attempts, field goals made, free throw attempts, free throws made, assists, steals and usage rate. Belcher made his return to the starting lineup for the first time since Nov. 8 and made it count.
In the second half, GRCC was back to their usual playing style, attempting six 3-pointers in the first seven minutes, more attempts than in the whole first half combined.
The Raiders were able to get their largest lead of the game, six, with 13:02 left in the second half. It seemed like GRCC was finally starting to pull away after Belcher continued scoring. But the lead never grew from that point on, as Schoolcraft was able to tie it at 47 a piece with 10 minutes left to go, capitalizing on the Raiders’ turnovers.
The momentum shifted heavily in Schoolcraft’s favor, as they had established a 12-point lead with five minutes to go. GRCC put together a late push, going on a 7-1 run, cutting the lead to six with a chance to make it a one-score game. A costly turnover and a missed defensive rebound was the dagger in the game for the Raiders, as they were not able to get within that six-point margin. In the first half, it was GRCC getting to the free-throw line. In the second half, it was Schoolcraft getting to the free-throw line. Schoolcraft won the free throw attempt margin 16-4 in the second half.
Scoring only 63 points was a season-low for the Raiders. In fact, it was the first time the team failed to crack 70 points all year. Francis spoke on the team’s offensive woes,
“We just came out flat, we didn’t come out with the right energy,”Francis said. “We’ll bounce back.”
Coach Fox commented on what he thought compromised the team’s offense.
“I thought in the second half we did a little too much individual stuff and didn’t get in the flow of the team game as much,” Fox added. “Free throws and a few offensive rebounds and it’s ours, tough to take a game like that.”
Saturday’s match marked the team’s 10th game of the season, Coach Fox was asked if he was satisfied with the team’s 5-5 start,
“You always want to have a few more wins, even if we were 7-3, 8-2.” We have a really difficult non-conference schedule this year and we built it that way for a reason. These are the kind of games that help you in February and March,” Fox said. “We’ll figure out how to take punches now so we’re ready to fight back at the end of the year.”
The Raiders will look to get back on track next week, Sat. Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. when they take on Community Christian College at the Ford Fieldhouse.
