Coming to a close PUC men drop season finale at Judson

Men's basketball went down in the season finale against Judson with a final score of 81-62 on Feb. 22.

In a game represented by an exclamation point on the hard fought season, PUC could not seem to find the age from downtown. They shot 46 percent from the field but finished 1-11 from three point range.

With the loss, PUC dropped to a final record of 11-17.

Though it may seem as if there is nothing to take away from a loss to cap off an otherwise promising season, PUC showed a lot of positive signs downtime stretch. They started the game off with a 15-10 lead until CCAC tournament champions Judson took over and went into the half with a 39-29 lead and never looked back.

In addition to the team's struggles from downtown, they were also kept off of the glass for most of the game. PUC never seemed to find the scoring touch after Kameron Bright received his second foul and was forced to sit.

"You have to give a ton of credit to Judson for doing such an awesome job rebounding," Coach Dan Voudrie said. "I don't think another opponent all year did such a solid job of keeping us off the glass."

With that being said, the men ended their season on a promising note, bringing back a 2011 squad who lost only two seniors to graduation. The impact of these seniors, though, is something that will be felt throughout the campus as well as the locker room.

Finishing his career by leading all scorers with 23 points, Michael Patton also dished three assists and denied two shots. He finishes his tenure with PUC ranked third all-time in blocked shots with 96 and sixth all time in rebounding with 729 boards.

Neal Hudson, the only other senior on PUC's team, finished his career with a six-point, three-steal effort.

"Michael Patton and Neal Hudson will be greatly missed in the future," Voudrie said.

"I can't even put into words at this time what they mean to this program and me personally," he said.

Returning next year to the team are three starters in addition to 10 letter winners in all. For a team that has struggled in the past, the Voudrie campaign certainly improved its appeal, and only aims to get better.

After another multiage improvement and some hopefully promising moves in recruitment, the men look primed for another bout in 2011. Until then, we can only wait for the 2011-12 men's basketball squad.