Photo by Nick Stulga
Sophomore Kobe Adams goes for a shot in Thursday’s game against Prairie State, which ended in a tight loss.
By Mohammed Jbara, Freelance Contributor
Time is of the essence. Nowhere is that more true than in a college basketball game.
With just a minute remaining in Thursday’s game against Elgin, MV sophomore guard Kobe Adams hit a dagger three, giving the Cyclones a slight edge over the Spartans, 81-79. Moraine ended up winning 86-82.
The game prior, however, the Cyclones suffered a close loss to the Prairie State Pioneers, 92-84.
Freshman newcomer Enari Thomas goes up for a three.
“We needed that loss on Tuesday, and it brought us together because we got too comfortable with winning,” said freshman guard Enari Thomas, the team’s biggest scorer over the past three games. Thomas has put up a combined 48 points in just the past two games.
“We needed someone that punched us in the mouth.”
On Saturday, the team lost again to Milwaukee Area Technical College 112-89, but it doesn’t count towards their conference record.
The Cyclones have won 10 out of their last 12 games, putting their season record at 18-5 and their conference record at 7-1.
Around halftime against the Pioneers, the Cyclones were down 51-27 after a sluggish start. The most the Cyclones trailed was by 26 points near the beginning of the second half. But after knocking a few shots down and gaining confidence, the Cyclones cut the lead down to 5 with 56 seconds to go.
However, they couldn’t completely close the gap at the last minute.
“We started off slow. We just need to speed our game up,” Thomas said.
Despite the falter in their step, the Cyclones are looking for a quick recovery, hoping to take it all the way in conference.
“If we get better on the defensive end and just continue to stick together, I see us going to Danville (for the NJCAA Division II Championship) in March,” Thomas said.
Coach John Chappetto talks to the team during a timeout in the Thursday game against Prairie State.
