The men’s basketball team lost another conference heartbreaker on their senior night Feb. 16 against Trinity Christian College. Before the game, seniors Mike Patton and Neal Hudson were honored for all of their accomplishments throughout their careers. However, things went downhill after those happy moments. After the first six minutes of play the men were down by just one basket. They stuck close with the Trolls and by the 4:30 minute mark they tied the game. PUC was even up by a score of 26-24 at the half. “It was senior night and we wanted to play like it was our last day to live,” freshman Thomas Pierce, roommate and close friend of the two seniors, said. Despite their high ambitions, the men’s game began to fall apart after halftime. They never again regained the lead, even though they were down by no more than seven points for the majority of the half. At approximately the eight minute mark, they began to let the game slip away. It was as though PUC could not even buy bucket. They consistently missed free throws and lay-ups during their cold streak. Although their offensive rebounding was on, they couldn’t sink the second and third shots when they got the chance for easy buckets. “We missed way too many easy shots,” Pierce said. In the last couple minutes, PUC fouled the Trolls on nearly every play, forcing them to the line. This limited the damage somewhat, but it also resulted in sophomores Andy Anderson and Kameron Bright fouling out before time expired. Patton himself went out with a bang sinking a crowd-pleasing dunk with just under two minutes left to play. Even that was not enough. PUC players and fans left the gym disappointed with the 72-60 loss. The men played their last conference game Feb. 19 at Calumet College of St. Joseph, where the strategy according to Pierce was to “apply more defensive pressure.” The men’s basketball team wrapped up the 2010-11 regular season in a big way with a 61-56 victory over rival CSJ. Bright led the men with 16 points and a game-high 10 boards, while Kedric Williams finished with 10 points and a career-high seven dimes. Neal Hudson added 10 points and six boards and Patton banged in 14 points and nine rebounds in their last regular season contest as a men’s basketball player. Although PUC made it to the CCAC tournament they will not have the advantage of playing here at home. PUC will be back in action Feb.22, when it begins CCAC Tournament play. Stay tuned to the PUC Athletics’ site for the final word on the seeding and game information.
