Men's basketball dazzles in close overtime game
The men sweep the second to last weekend of regular season home games
Tom Tielleman
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Sports
The men's basketball team started off their final home stand of the season with a bang last week when they defeated Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) 68-65 in an overtime nail-biter on Jan. 29. Birmingham-Southern came into the game toting a conference best record, and is still tied for the best conference record in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). The Tigers were able to utilize the momentum from that game and ride it into their game against Rhodes College (Tenn.) the following night as they won comfortably with a final score of 65-49.
The Tigers are currently tied for the fourth spot in the SCAC West with Millsaps College (Miss.) as they are fighting to make it into the conference tournament at the end of this month. Only the top four teams from each division make it into the SCAC tournament.
"The wins are pretty big for us because we've been kind of up and down. We're fighting for the fourth spot right now in our side of the conference," said Guard Luke Caldarera, junior. "They're pretty big because we're starting to play together really well. We really needed those wins. It was nice. It got the guys really pumped up."
Head Coach Pat Cunningham discussed the importance of every win and the advantages of playing at home.
"Every win is really important. I'm not sure that any one win is bigger than the other, but it's nice to get wins, period. It's always nice to take care of business at home," Cunningham said. "Obviously, Birmingham Southern is very good, and being one of the three teams to beat them was a really good win for us. We played well and had a lot of guys step up and make big plays. And to follow that up with another solid performance against Rhodes made it a great weekend for us."
While the Tigers are riding high on the two home wins, they have two more tests ahead of them this upcoming weekend as they will play Hendrix College (Ark.) on Friday, Feb. 5 and Millsaps on Sunday, Feb. 7. Both games are conference games and will be vital to the Tiger's quest to make it into the tournament. The Millsaps game on Feb. 7 will create some space in the standings for the winner.
"We need to beat Hendrix … We're pretty evenly matched, so whichever team plays better is going to win," Cunningham said. "First we've got that, and then secondly Millsaps and us are tied for that fourth spot so that game, if we win on Friday, takes on even more significance."
The Tigers will look to work their way up into the conference tournament with two wins this weekend, which will be their final home games for the season.
"I feel pretty confident about the team," Caldarera said. "We're really coming together … The home games are of great importance for us right now. We got to take care of our own business and beat them."
The Tigers are currently tied for the fourth spot in the SCAC West with Millsaps College (Miss.) as they are fighting to make it into the conference tournament at the end of this month. Only the top four teams from each division make it into the SCAC tournament.
"The wins are pretty big for us because we've been kind of up and down. We're fighting for the fourth spot right now in our side of the conference," said Guard Luke Caldarera, junior. "They're pretty big because we're starting to play together really well. We really needed those wins. It was nice. It got the guys really pumped up."
Head Coach Pat Cunningham discussed the importance of every win and the advantages of playing at home.
"Every win is really important. I'm not sure that any one win is bigger than the other, but it's nice to get wins, period. It's always nice to take care of business at home," Cunningham said. "Obviously, Birmingham Southern is very good, and being one of the three teams to beat them was a really good win for us. We played well and had a lot of guys step up and make big plays. And to follow that up with another solid performance against Rhodes made it a great weekend for us."
While the Tigers are riding high on the two home wins, they have two more tests ahead of them this upcoming weekend as they will play Hendrix College (Ark.) on Friday, Feb. 5 and Millsaps on Sunday, Feb. 7. Both games are conference games and will be vital to the Tiger's quest to make it into the tournament. The Millsaps game on Feb. 7 will create some space in the standings for the winner.
"We need to beat Hendrix … We're pretty evenly matched, so whichever team plays better is going to win," Cunningham said. "First we've got that, and then secondly Millsaps and us are tied for that fourth spot so that game, if we win on Friday, takes on even more significance."
The Tigers will look to work their way up into the conference tournament with two wins this weekend, which will be their final home games for the season.
"I feel pretty confident about the team," Caldarera said. "We're really coming together … The home games are of great importance for us right now. We got to take care of our own business and beat them."
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