By Justin Stulpe
The Grand Rapids Community College men’s basketball team had a tough outing against Oakland Community College,the Raiders struggled on both sides of the ball in the first half, shooting 11-38 (28.9%) from the field and scoring 29 points in the first 20 minutes of action, along with allowing OCC to score 45 points on 18-35 (51.4%) shooting, ultimately losing the game 97-72.
This sluggish start certainly set the Raiders back in their attempts at a big win against the undefeated OCC Owls, and Head Coach Joe Fox elaborated on this when he said, “You can’t shoot under 30% from the floor against a good team and beat a good team.”
The up-tempo offense of OCC gave GRCC trouble, as there were many long outlet passes leading to easy fastbreak layups or even alley-oop dunks. OCC outscored GRCC 8-0 in first half fast break points, certainly leading to their sizable lead at the break. First half team rebounding was also a significant factor to the Raiders falling behind, as they were outrebounded 27-17 in the first half.
The 16-point first half deficit proved to be too much for the Raiders to overcome, although they certainly played better in the second half, even cutting the lead to 15 at one point. But a 15-4 scoring run by OCC in the early second half spelled doom for the Raiders, as they ended up trailing by as many as 35 in the game, ultimately falling by 25 points.
OCC was led by a trio of forwards chipping in a combined 53 points, with Nick Speiser having a game high 20 points, along with Justin Latham and Jordan Wright contributing 18 and 15, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Raiders had three freshmen lead the team in scoring, with Zeekeal Jackson scoring a team-high 12 points, while Nicolas Knuutila and Benjamin Koubek both added nine points each. Team 3-point shooting for GRCC was one bright spot for the Raiders, as they shot a season best as a team from behind the arc at 39.1% for the game, including 60% in the second half. Knuutila aided in the team’s long-ball shooting improvement with a perfect 3-3 performance from long distance.
This contest proved to be a tale of two halves for the Raiders, as they struggled mightily in the first half, but put together a far better showing in the second, with clear signs of adjustment and better execution on both sides of the ball.
With the loss against OCC, the Raiders fall to 3-2 on the season and look to get back into the win column in their next matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at home against Muskegon Community College. The Raiders hope to use the improved second half performance in their next matchup with MCC as Fox states that the upcoming contest means a little bit more with it being a rivalry game against the Jayhawks.
