The College of DuPage men’s basketball team put the pressure on Olivet Nazarene University’s junior varsity team on Jan. 15 at home, ending the first half ahead by 19 points (39-20). The Tigers stayed resilient, giving the Chaparrals trouble as the second half went on and getting within four points of COD’s lead. After they picked up defensively, COD shut down the Olivet Nazarene 78-71, raising their record to 12-7.
“It’s nice to get back in the win column,” assistant men’s basketball coach Eric Garcia said. “I think we did everything right in the first half. As teams come out in the second half, obviously Olivet made some adjustments and made it a closer game than we wanted it to be. They took us out of our game a little bit there for a minute, but down the stretch, we made enough plays.”
Freshman forward Braylen Meredith led the team with 21 points and five total rebounds. Meredith also notched three assists and two steals. He said the little changes made in this game gave COD the edge.
“I think we did pretty good collectively as a team,” Meredith said. “We cut the turnovers out. We did the small things like rebounding and getting good shots up on offense. Our defense could’ve been a little better. We could’ve stayed in front of some guys, but overall it was a pretty good win.”
Freshman guard Quentin Schaffer tallied 15 points and six total rebounds. He also added four assists and one steal. Schaffer explained what the team focuses on when their opponents threaten their lead.
“We just got to lock in and play defense,” he said. “We know that our shots are going to start falling. If we get the right open shots and make the right plays, we’re going to end up winning the game.”
Freshman guard Greg Strong secured 10 points and one defensive rebound. Strong also picked up three assists and two steals. He said the Tigers took advantage of the Chaps’ lack of energy in the second half before they made adjustments.
“We did well in the first half,” Strong said. “I felt like we lost focus in the second half. We lost our heart, and then we found it towards the end.”
Freshman center Luka Cuk also recorded 10 points and made eight total rebounds. He said COD was better prepared to face Olivet Nazarene, but they need to stay consistent.
“We’ve got to play every game as if it’s our last game,” Cuk said. “That’s it. We’ve just got to be consistent with communicating with each other, closing out better, and offensively we’ve just got to stay in the gym longer and work on our shots.”
As the Chaps look to reestablish consistency in the win column, Garcia said Malcolm X College will be a tough battle.
“We’re going to see a lot of pressure on Thursday against Malcolm X,” he said. “They’re going to trap, jump and really apply pressure to us so hopefully [our momentum] carries over.”
The Chaparrals take on the Malcolm X College Hawks (5-11) at 7 p.m. on Jan. 18 in Chicago, Ill.
