After another extended layoff for the holiday season, the Park University Gilbert men's basketball team (0-5) dropped an afternoon matchup with No.7 Lewis-Clark State College 76-50 at the ACU Events Center in Glendale, Ariz. The Buccaneers did not play for 39 days before their last game against No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan on December 16 due to COVID issues within their and other teams' programs and then had another 25 days off prior to this contest. Four of the Buccaneers five losses this year have come against teams ranked in the NAIA top 10.
"We lacked flow in our offense today," said Buccaneers head coach Gordon Stubblefield. "We have to move the ball better and when we have open shots, we have to knock them down."
The first half saw the Bucs stay competitive early behind some early offense from forward Eric Patten. But Patten got in foul trouble and only ended up playing 15 minutes and scoring seven points after fouling out with about 10 minutes left in the game. Generally, Patten logs over 30 minutes and scores close to 20 points a game.
Starting guards Ari Danzy and John Norsworthy III attempted to pick up the slack scoring eight and 10 points respectively. Norsworthy's 10 led the Bucs who scored a season low 50 points for the game. Forward Jonah LaBranche chipped in with nine points and six rebounds. Forward Martin Simon scored seven points and led all players with eight rebounds.
Park Gilbert shot 34 percent from the floor and allowed the Warriors to hit at a 47 percent clip. Neither team shot particularly well from beyond the arc as the Buccaneers shot 27 percent (4-15) and the Warriors were 6-24 for 25 percent, including missing all six three-point attempts in the second half. The Bucs also struggled from the free throw line hitting only 50 percent (8-16) from the charity stripe. The Bucs also hurt themselves with 20 turnovers.
"The great thing is we get to play a couple more times this week," said Stubblefield. "We knocked some rust off today and I know we will come back on Tuesday ready to play against another tough opponent."
The Bucs next game is scheduled for Tuesday, January 12 against No.12 The Master's at The PHHacility. Then the Bucs will travel to take on SAGU-AIC on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. in Phoenix, Ariz.
