The Park University Gilbert men's basketball team has often shown that they can compete with the best of the best in the first half of games, but has struggled to find a way to carry that momentum through the second half. On Tuesday night, it was much of the same, as the Buccaneers fell to No. 12 The Master's University, 90-70.
As they often have this season, the Buccaneers kept the score close after the first 20 minutes of play. The Buccaneers shot an impressive 50 percent from three-point range in the first half, but it was not enough to overcome 12 made free throws and 54 percent first half shooting performance by the Mustangs. Despite that, the Buccaneers found themselves down just five points at halftime.
In his first start of the season, Martin Simon scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds in the first half. Off the bench, Ethan Wallace added nine first half points of his own in just over nine minutes of play.
In the second half, the Mustangs solid shooting only got better, as they upped their shooting performance for the game to 60 percent, while the Buccaneers' fell to 37 percent from the field. The stellar shooting performance propelled the Mustangs to a 51-36 second half run and the win.
"We have to get things fixed on the defensive end," head coach Gordon Stubblefield said. "We need to find a way to shore up our shooting."
Despite the underwhelming second half, John Norsworthy III scored 12 of his 14 total points in the final 20 minutes. Jonah LaBranche finished with 12 points and Wallace only managed to score two points after an impressive first half for a total of 11. Kylan Shorts added a well rounded night with eight points, four rebounds, four assists.
The Buccaneers now set their sights on a familiar foe: SAGU-AIC on Thursday, January 14th.
