2008 Woodie Awards
End of season brings hope
Disappointing tourney loss is good experience for next year
Borna Danesh
Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: Sports
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Last year the Brookhaven College Bears basketball team had 7 wins and 22 losses. This year the team finished the season with 17 wins and 12 losses, the largest one-year turnaround in school history.
They also had the most conference wins ever. The Bears have a lot to look forward to next year with nine returning freshmen.
The Bears ended their remarkable season with another first; they hosted their first ever Metro Athletic Conference tournament game versus the Lamar State Seahawks. At the end of a sloppy first half, the Bears were down six. Although they were plagued by the flu bug, which was more evident in the second half, the team effectively kept Lamar State star Kevin Charles in foul trouble all game long. He was unable to get involved in the game. The Bears fought hard all game, but they could not finish the job, losing 72-69.
On Feb. 24, the Bears traveled to Port Arthur, Texas to take on the Seahawks in the final game of the regular season. The Bears won in dramatic fashion 107-103 in double overtime. The Seahawks were led, single handedly, by Charles who had 31 points and 26 rebounds (15 offensive). Several questionable calls made by the referees also helped the Bears.
Guard Craig Green who had 29 points and eight steals and forward Cedric Clark who had 20 points and seven rebounds, led Brookhaven to the win. Clark, a sophomore who will not be back next year, was disappointed about the loss.
''Little things lost us the game," Clark said. " A couple of the guys were sick and we didn't play tough mentally. Even though we had a disappointing finish, it was a much better season than last.''
Guard Mike Love, who has been one of the most consistent players for Brookhaven this year, said: ''We didn't play to our full potential. Our whole team knows that we should have won the game, but we didn't play Brookhaven basketball. Even though a lot of players were sick we should have stepped it up. I think we let coach Hurst down.''
On Feb. 17, the Bears took on conference rivals the North Lake College Blazers in a conference showdown. Brookhaven shot 38 percent from the floor as they lost 78-72. With 10:49 left on the clock the Bears were down by 19 points.
Head coach Kevin Hurst called a timeout and changed the game plan. Hurst stopped running a zone press and changed to man-to-man. On offense Hurst decided to go with a smaller and quicker line-up. The moves worked well as the Bears went on a 26-10 run to close the gap at 67-64.
That was the closest they came to the Blazers. Love tallied 19 points and 6 rebounds and forward Kerry Gee chipped in with 9 points, 6 assists and 4 steals to lead the way for Brookhaven offensively. The Blazers' Brandon Brooks scored 19 points in a losing effort.
The Bears now must wait until next fall to improve on their breakout season.
They also had the most conference wins ever. The Bears have a lot to look forward to next year with nine returning freshmen.
The Bears ended their remarkable season with another first; they hosted their first ever Metro Athletic Conference tournament game versus the Lamar State Seahawks. At the end of a sloppy first half, the Bears were down six. Although they were plagued by the flu bug, which was more evident in the second half, the team effectively kept Lamar State star Kevin Charles in foul trouble all game long. He was unable to get involved in the game. The Bears fought hard all game, but they could not finish the job, losing 72-69.
On Feb. 24, the Bears traveled to Port Arthur, Texas to take on the Seahawks in the final game of the regular season. The Bears won in dramatic fashion 107-103 in double overtime. The Seahawks were led, single handedly, by Charles who had 31 points and 26 rebounds (15 offensive). Several questionable calls made by the referees also helped the Bears.
Guard Craig Green who had 29 points and eight steals and forward Cedric Clark who had 20 points and seven rebounds, led Brookhaven to the win. Clark, a sophomore who will not be back next year, was disappointed about the loss.
''Little things lost us the game," Clark said. " A couple of the guys were sick and we didn't play tough mentally. Even though we had a disappointing finish, it was a much better season than last.''
Guard Mike Love, who has been one of the most consistent players for Brookhaven this year, said: ''We didn't play to our full potential. Our whole team knows that we should have won the game, but we didn't play Brookhaven basketball. Even though a lot of players were sick we should have stepped it up. I think we let coach Hurst down.''
On Feb. 17, the Bears took on conference rivals the North Lake College Blazers in a conference showdown. Brookhaven shot 38 percent from the floor as they lost 78-72. With 10:49 left on the clock the Bears were down by 19 points.
Head coach Kevin Hurst called a timeout and changed the game plan. Hurst stopped running a zone press and changed to man-to-man. On offense Hurst decided to go with a smaller and quicker line-up. The moves worked well as the Bears went on a 26-10 run to close the gap at 67-64.
That was the closest they came to the Blazers. Love tallied 19 points and 6 rebounds and forward Kerry Gee chipped in with 9 points, 6 assists and 4 steals to lead the way for Brookhaven offensively. The Blazers' Brandon Brooks scored 19 points in a losing effort.
The Bears now must wait until next fall to improve on their breakout season.
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