Patriots have winning streak snapped, fall to MU-M
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
All good things eventually come to an end … and for the Southern State men's basketball team, their 12-game winning streak was ended Wednesday, as they fell to Miami University-Middletown, 99-94.
The loss by the Patriots moves them to 16-3 overall, as they led 40-32 at halftime against MU-M.
Then came the second half where it was MU-M gaining the upper hand, scoring 67 points in the final 20 minutes, while the Patriots scored 54 in the final half of play.
For the game, SSCC shot 51 percent from the floor, including eight 3-pointers and 28 two-point shots.
"We played very well for the first 30 minutes of the game, then got real lazy on the defensive end for the last 10 minutes," SSCC head coach Travis McAvene said.
Coach McAvene credited MU-M, who are 17-5 this season.
"Miami-Middletown has a good basketball team, and they outplayed us in the second half," McAvene said. "Our players have to realize that teams will play us tough the remainder of the season due to our successful record and athletic talent.
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"There is no doubt we have a better basketball team than Miami-Middletown, but we have to play hard for 40 minutes when they come to our place in mid-February. It is our job as a coaching staff to get our players to improve on their weaknesses and get back to business on the court."
The two teams will meet again on Monday, Feb. 11 at the Patriot Center.
As for Wednesday's game, SSCC had two players with 20-plus points, as Ty Harris totaled 25 points and Martise McLaurin added 24 points. Brandon Whitlock scored 18 points for SSCC, and Isiah Walton totaled 17 points.
Other Patriots adding to the scoring were Dante Bryant with two, Javon Freshwater with two and Diondrey Holt with six points.
McLaurin led SSCC with nine rebounds, and Harris added a team-high nine assists.
SSCC totaled 33 rebounds.
The Patriots play again on Saturday, Jan. 26 as they travel to WVU-Parkersburg at 3 p.m. SSCC returns home on Thursday, Jan. 31 as they will host Clark State at 7:30 p.m.
The loss by the Patriots moves them to 16-3 overall, as they led 40-32 at halftime against MU-M.
Then came the second half where it was MU-M gaining the upper hand, scoring 67 points in the final 20 minutes, while the Patriots scored 54 in the final half of play.
For the game, SSCC shot 51 percent from the floor, including eight 3-pointers and 28 two-point shots.
"We played very well for the first 30 minutes of the game, then got real lazy on the defensive end for the last 10 minutes," SSCC head coach Travis McAvene said.
Coach McAvene credited MU-M, who are 17-5 this season.
"Miami-Middletown has a good basketball team, and they outplayed us in the second half," McAvene said. "Our players have to realize that teams will play us tough the remainder of the season due to our successful record and athletic talent.
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"There is no doubt we have a better basketball team than Miami-Middletown, but we have to play hard for 40 minutes when they come to our place in mid-February. It is our job as a coaching staff to get our players to improve on their weaknesses and get back to business on the court."
The two teams will meet again on Monday, Feb. 11 at the Patriot Center.
As for Wednesday's game, SSCC had two players with 20-plus points, as Ty Harris totaled 25 points and Martise McLaurin added 24 points. Brandon Whitlock scored 18 points for SSCC, and Isiah Walton totaled 17 points.
Other Patriots adding to the scoring were Dante Bryant with two, Javon Freshwater with two and Diondrey Holt with six points.
McLaurin led SSCC with nine rebounds, and Harris added a team-high nine assists.
SSCC totaled 33 rebounds.
The Patriots play again on Saturday, Jan. 26 as they travel to WVU-Parkersburg at 3 p.m. SSCC returns home on Thursday, Jan. 31 as they will host Clark State at 7:30 p.m.