The College of DuPage men’s basketball team went back and forth against Olive-Harvey College on Jan 11 at home, going into the second half tied 42-42 after the lead changed 13 times in the first. The Chaparrals fell behind early in the second half and couldn’t refocus offensively. COD fell to the Panthers 95-81, leaving their record at 11-7.
“[Olive-Harvey] brought some pressure and got into us a little bit,” assistant men’s basketball coach Eric Garcia said. “We lost our cool. We lost our composure, and they went on a little run. They got up to a double-digit lead, and by the time we were able to calm the storm, it was a little bit too late. We cut it down back to [a seven-point deficit], but it was too far gone at that point.”
Freshman guard Greg Strong led the team with 18 points and put up two defensive rebounds. He also picked up two assists. Strong said he felt his teammates were trying to connect with one another on the court even after falling behind Olive-Harvey.
“In the first half, I came out, I hit my first two [three-pointers] and I thought ‘this is one of those days,’” he said. “I just kept going. In the second half, it slowed down a little bit. My team was finding me. I always tell my team they can always find me in the corner when I’m open. Get me the ball, and I just got to knock them down.”
Sophomore guard John Gray III racked up 16 points and four total rebounds. Gray III led the team with five assists and added one steal. He said the Chaps lost because they couldn’t get out of their own way.
“We just beat ourselves,” Gray III said. “I don’t think they beat us at all. [There were] a lot of self-inflicted turnovers, careless plays and it didn’t help that they shot 28 free-throws to our 17. We just lost it.”
Playing through the second half, freshman forward Braylen Meredith secured 14 points and three total rebounds. Meredith also picked up two assists and two steals. He said the game would’ve been more competitive if he played more minutes.
“If I would’ve started, I think we would’ve won the game,” Meredith said. “Collectively as a team, we all play better when we have the right guys in there. We should’ve won the game if I played.”
The Panthers scored 21 points from the free-throw line. Freshman guard Tylon Toliver tallied 13 points and two total rebounds. He also added two assists. He said fouling didn’t hinder the team, but fouling on the Panthers’ best shooters did.
“We just have to stop fouling shooters,” Toliver said. “That’s what we did a lot today, and that’s what got us in the hole.”
Garcia said that he hopes the team stays composed going into the next game against Olivet Nazarene JV.
“Adversity is a good thing,” he said. “Life is adverse, and we have a long way to go. We’ll come into practice and get back to work. Hopefully, we can start gaining some confidence when teams want to impose their will on us defensively and get into us physically. Hopefully, we don’t lose the mental battle next time.”
The Chaparrals take on the Olivet Nazarene JV Tigers (5-9) at 3 p.m. on Jan. 15 on Klaas Court.
