The IUS Men’s Basketball team lost its season opener 85-83 in dramatic fashion against St. Catharine College on Nov. 2 in the Activities Building.

The Grenadiers had a 21-point lead at halftime and lost the game on a last-second shot by the Patriots.

“It was a good test to prepare us for the end of the year, and we will learn from this game,” Wiley Brown, IUS Men’s Basketball head coach, said.

Jazzmarr Ferguson, senior guard, led the Grenadiers with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists, followed by Darryl Bell, junior guard, with 19 points and six rebounds for the night.

“The first half we came out aggressive, played as a team and played solid defense and rebounded the ball,” Ferguson said. “The second half we got rattled from their run and fell apart.”

The Grenadiers shot out to a 10-2 lead and held the Patriots from making a field goal until the 12:39 mark.

IU Southeast took control of the first half and went on a run, finishing the half with a 51-30 lead.

“We came out with a lot of energy and excited about the season, but our problem is we play hard for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then we let up,” James Johnson, senior forward, said.

The second half was a different story.

The Patriots went on an 8-0 run at the 18:49 mark of the second half before Rick Bodiford, senior guard, broke it with a layup at the 16:47 mark.

St. Catharine College stole the ball and quickly hit a 3-pointer, prompting Brown to take a timeout.

“We didn’t play smart in the second half,” Brown said.

“Down the stretch, we made some bad plays, shot bad shots and turned the ball over,” he said.

After the Grenadiers’ timeout, Bodiford delivered again with a 2-pointer giving his team a 58-41 lead with 15:38 to go.

The Patriots responded by going on a 10-0 run to cut the Grenadiers’ lead to 58-51.

“We took some possessions off, and [the Patriots] hit threes, and we weren’t doing that,” Brown said. “We weren’t communicating tonight on defense.”

The Grenadiers were leading 78-72 when the Patriots missed a dunk, grabbed one of their 17 offensive rebounds, and swung it out behind the arc for a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 78-75 with 2:53 remaining.

Ferguson was fouled on the next possession, made one of his free throws, then the Patriots came back with another 3-pointer.

Ferguson responded with a 3-pointer of his own, bringing the lead back up to 82-78 at the 2:05 mark.

Both teams shot free throws and brought the score to 83-79 before the Patriots cut the lead to two.

“They played us physical, and they just wanted it more down the stretch,” Brown said.

The Grenadiers turned the ball over on the next possession, and the Patriots took advantage, tying the game at 83 with 32.4 seconds left in the game.

IU Southeast threw the ball away with 20.9 seconds left, and the Patriots held the ball for the last shot.

“We were content with having the lead, and we didn’t finish the game,” Bodiford said.

With 15 seconds left, Terrance Withers, St. Catharine junior guard, drove in for a shot and missed it, but the rebound was tipped in by his teammate Ervin Williams, senior center, at the buzzer to seal the comeback win,
85-83.

By NIKOLETTE
LANGDON

Staff

nlangdon.umail.iu.edu