Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

CBC hoopsters split openers

By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer

For whatever reason you may have missed the Columbia Basin College men's basketball team's season opener Saturday, the good news is it has seven more home games this season.

For those of you who were there, take a few mental notes and use them as reference points for this young Hawks team that fell 80-71 to Seattle.

CBC, with a roster boasting just one sophomore, does not play at home again until next calendar year. The Hawks play their next 13 games on the road before coming back to Pasco on Jan. 16 to play Blue Mountain.

By that time, coach Lane Schumacher hopes his team has settled down a little bit and gotten accustomed to the pace of college basketball.

"For the first five minutes we were a deer in headlights," said Schumacher, whose team fell behind 16-2 just 61/2 minutes into the game.

It's not the start he was hoping for, but one that was not unexpected and his team can build from.

Forward Drew Church is the lone returner from last year's 16-10 team that went 0-2 at the NWAACC tournament. He didn't even start Saturday night, although he did come off the bench to score a team-high 15 points.

The Hawks started five freshmen, and nerves clearly got the best of them early on. CBC had just one field goal in the first seven minutes, digging itself that 14-point deficit.

CBC struggled at the free-throw line, making just 2 of its first 10. The Hawks finished 8-of-18. They were also just 1-of-12 from behind the 3-point line in the first half, yet trailed only 37-31.

"I think everyone was excited," said freshman point guard Andre Griffin, a former Pasco standout. "We had to get used to the pace of the game."

CBC got back in the game in the second half and led 62-57 with 7 1/2 minutes left, but then went cold down the stretch.

"I don't think we ever did quite settle down," Schumacher said. "But if this game shows something, we are going to battle and play hard."

Seattle's Wil Bush led all scorers with 30 points.

CBC women 81, South Puget Sound 61

There was a 3-minute spurt that gave coach Cheryl Holden reason to believe that things are going to be OK this season.

The Hawks, with a wealth of young talent, put together an 11-2 run late in the second half that broke the game open on their way to a season-opening victory.

During that stretch, CBC moved the ball on offense, created turnovers with its defense and hit shots from a variety of spots on the floor.

"You can see it," Holden said of the potential. "It's just a matter of putting it together."

Still Holden was critical of her team's first outing of the season.

"It's a win, but we gave up too many 3s, too many offensive rebounds," she said.

That was the condensed version of things that need to be improved upon for a roster that has five players returning from last year's 18-12 team.

Brianna Smith, a former Columbia (Burbank) star who played at Eastern Oregon University last season, led all scorers with 17 points for the Hawks.

Jordan Brown, last year's leading scorer, came off the bench to add 11. Trishi Williams was the third CBC player in double figures with 10.