Despite getting out to an early lead, the Park University Gilbert suffered their third loss in four games this season with a 93-56 defeat to Ottawa (Ariz.) on Tuesday night at Faith Arena in Surprise, Ariz.
Thanks to the play of Tyson Beringer Jr., who missed the last two contests, and 6-6 forward Craig Mueller, the Buccaneers got out of the gates quick and took a 10-5 lead that forced a Spirit timeout. Those first few minutes included four points each from Mueller and Dante Aganmwonyi and Beringer Jr. getting it done all over the court.
Coming out of the Spirit timeout, they put their foot on the gas and never let up. They finished the first half on a 45-14 run and turned an early five-point deficit into a 26-point halftime lead.
The Spirit found an answer for the damage the Bucs did early in the paint. After his two early buckets, Mueller was limited to just six points and two rebounds total. Similarly, Beringer Jr. finished with just six points and six boards, but had four blocks in the effort.
As they shut down the Bucs' post presence, the Bucs were forced to shoot from the outside more and struggled to knock down shots. They shot just 35.3% from the field, 25% from three-point range and 40% from the charity stripe; they were also outrebounded 46-23.
The Spirit's lockdown defense and the Bucs' poor shooting allowed the Spirit's lead to balloon as high as 39 points late.
A silver lining for the Bucs was getting some production off the bench for the first time this season. Aganmwonyi (11 points, five rebounds) was the only starter to reach double-digit points. With the starters struggling, DJ McNeal and John Norsworthy III stepped up.
McNeal, an NCAA Division III transfer from Buena Vista University, had his best game as a Buccaneer so far with 12 points (5-10) and two assists. Norsworthy added 11 points (4-11) and three rebounds. But Trey Smith's lone jumper was the only other score off the bench as their production was not enough to trump the Spirit's 41 bench points.
The Bucs have 10 days to tighten things up before they tip-off the SOU Flagship Inn Classic (Ashland, Ore.) on Nov. 19 against No. 13 Oregon Institute of Technology. After playing OIT, they are scheduled to play Southern Oregon on Nov. 20.
