Welcome back Fighting Scots fans! We just put another week in the books for this season, and it's hard to imagine that we only have nine games left on the schedule. Let's get right to the action.

This past week, we had two home games. On Wednesday we hosted our crosstown rivals, Endicott College. The Gulls came into the game ranked #21 in the country, and they have certainly earned the ranking. They have two of the best players, not only in our conference, but in the region in Elijah Kinney and Marcus Montagnino. We knew we were going to have to be at the top of our game in order to pull off the victory. Twelve minutes into the game, Ryan Brooks hit a shot to bring us within two, 23-21, but that's when the flood gates opened up, and Endicott closed out the half with a15-3 run.

Unfortunately for the Scots and our fans, things did not improve in the second half. Endicott opened the second half with a 24-6 run in the first six minutes, and the game was essentially over. The final score ended up 86-60, and it was a very frustrating way to play against our rivals. With the struggles that we have had this season, I think our players have not learned how to stick together when the other team goes on a run to try and minimize the run. Staying together is the only way to offset an opponent's run. When Endicott was making their run, we were forcing action, going one-on-one, and turning the ball over. We need to stay together, move the ball, and take good shots.

On Saturday, we had another home game against Curry College. Curry is a team that hasn't had a lot of success in recent years, but they have been better this season with five wins and playing most opponents to much closer games than in the past. Considering our struggles this season, we could not make the mistake of taking this game lightly. It also didn't help matters that Drew Brander was injured and unable to play.

We started the game well and jumped out to a quick nine-point lead seven and a half minutes into the game, 16-7. I thought our team defense was very strong most of the game, and especially in the first half. We held them to 31% shooting in the first half, and outrebounded them 49-28 for the game. I also felt like we moved the ball really well as evidenced by our 21 assists on our 27 baskets. Although they did cut into the lead at times, we never trailed from that point on. We ended up coming away with an 82-68 victory. It was a solid team win in which several players made great contributions. Alex Daniel led the team in scoring with 18 points. Isaac Jarvis had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan had another very good game coming within two assists of a triple-double, finishing the night with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Chiko Kalu came off the bench to chip in with 10 points and six rebounds.

This week we have two more conference games, starting with a road game at Johnson & Wales. JWU has really struggled this year, and has also had several injuries to compound their woes. When healthy, they are an athletic team who can really run and score. This style can lead to runs, and as I stated above, we have not handled opponents runs well. This year I think we have done a good job of adjusting our style a little bit, and not taking too many quick shots. We certainly don't want to get into a track meet with these guys, and we need to make them earn every basket. I think if we can take care of the basketball, win the inside battle on both ends of the floor, and minimize their runs, we will have a good result.

Saturday, we have our second road game of the week with a trip to Boston to take on Suffolk University. Suffolk has played extremely well this year even after losing several outstanding seniors that helped them come within a last-second shot of winning the conference championship last season. They have always been a very good defensive team, but this year they have taken it to another level. They are allowing only 62 points per game and holding their opponents to a paltry 39% field goal shooting percentage. They have a very balanced attack led by Nich Verdile who is averaging 14 ppg, and making almost three three-point shots per game. Playing in their small gym with a stifling defense will be a very difficult task for our team. We MUST take care of the ball well enough to get good shots every time down the floor, and then we need to win the battle on the boards.

I know I probably say this every year at least once, but it's amazing how quickly this season is going by. We only have four and a half weeks left in the regular season and nine games. We need to continue to improve every day and do a better job of staying poised when bad things happen during the game. We have the talent to compete with anyone, but we need to learn how to win games.

I hope you will continue to support our team and help us to win some games down the stretch. We are right in the middle of the pack in the CNE, and only the top six of 11 teams make it to the conference tournament. We desperately want to get back there, and every little bit helps. Thank you for reading this week's Coach's Corner, and I hope to see you at a game soon.

God Bless,
   Coach Murphy
                                                                                                                                             
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." - James 1:2-3