Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Sports

Kenna Corley/Collegian photographerRodney Jackson, senior forward, spans for a rebound while Amos Baker, senior forward, fights for position at the Jan. 26 game at Friends. The Builders lost to the Falcons 54-42. [Click to enlarge]

It's not where they expected to be at the end of the season, but the Builders haven't lost heart while going into their final games. Picked by preseason polls as the projected regular season winners of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, the now 10-6 Builders are fighting for the highest seed possible to go into the tournament with. They are currently tied for fourth, just one loss behind the duo tied for second place, and two wins ahead of sixth. Tomorrow, the men will host sixth-ranked McPherson at 8 p.m. Saturday they will play the last-ranked University of Saint Mary at 7 p.m. Sheldon Brown, sophomore guard, said, "We're just trying to finish off strong. We might not get first place in regular season, but we can still play hard and work our way up to a national title." Cedrick Riley, senior forward, said, "Winning these games would make our conference tournament a lot easier. We need to make up the mistakes and use these as preparation for the tournament." The men traveled to Tabor and Bethany last week. They lost to Tabor 58-57, but made up for it Saturday night with an 80-65 win over Bethany. Riley said, "We played a little bit better defensively in the second half because their first half shot percentage was pretty high. We got a lead on them and we didn't let them hang around like we've done before." Wrapping up the regular season with no chance of placing first isn't exactly what the Builders had in mind, but that doesn't mean that they've given up and are simply focusing on the upcoming tournaments. Almost literally anything could happen in the next two games. Depending on how they and everyone else plays, the Builders could finish anywhere from second to a three-way tie for fifth. Doug Hall, head men's basketball coach, said, "There's just not a lot of room for error right now. First and tenth have their positions wrapped up. The rest of us are still in the air." "For some people it's hard to focus," Riley said. "I know that I haven't given up, because there's still a big chance to still play in nationals. It's pretty easy for us to stay focused as long as we remember what we're fighting for." Paige Carswell is a freshman majoring in communication. You may e-mail her at paige.carswell@sckans.edu. 2/14/08 Southwestern College (57) Merrifield 0-3 1-2 1, Riley 4-10 1-2 9, Tyler 0-4 0-2 0, Jordan 9-19 0-0 23, Brown 3-10 0-1 6, Sanchez 1-4 0-0 2, Diggles 5-11 1-3 11 Jackson 0-1 1-2 1, King 1-1 2-2 4, Totals 23-63 6-14 57. Tabor College (58) Thomas 7-12 4-7 8, Vanselow 6-11 2-2 14, Whitelaw 1-9 2-2 4, Kroeker 2-4 0-1 5, Good 3-5 0-1 7, de Blonk 1-2 0-0 2, Hett 0-2 0-0 0, Rousell 3-7 1-2 8, Stoecker 0-3 0-0 0, Funk 0-1 0-0 0 Southwestern 27 30_57 Tabor 26 32_58 3-Point Goals - Southwestern 5-11 (Jordan 5-8, Brown 0-1, Diggles 0-2), Tabor 3-16 (Whitelaw 0-5, Kroeker 1-3, Good 1-3, de Blonk 0-1, Rousell 1-4). Fouled Out - None. Rebounds - Southwestern 42 (Jordan 8), Tabor 35 (Vanselow 11). Assists - Southwestern 12 (Diggles 3), Tabor 13 (Kroeker 5). Total Fouls - Southwestern 16, Tabor 13. Technical - None. A - 250. 2/16/08 Southwestern College (80) Merrifield 1-1 0-0 2, Riley 5-7 2-3 12, Diggles 5-7 0-0 11, Jordan 1-7 2-4 4, Brown 4-14 0-0 11, Sanchez 1-1 0-0 2, Tyler 7-13 0-0 20, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Moore 1-3 0-0 2, King 8-12 0-0 16, Totals 33-66 4-7 80. Bethany College (65) Holcom 1-2 2-4 4, Sullivan 7-9 2-2 16, Littlejohn 3-14 2-4 10, Wells 1-10 0-1 2, Williams 6-13 0-0 12, Jennings 6-11 0-0 13, Maike 0-4 0-0 0, Nickel 1-2 0-0 2, Brown 3-5 0-0 6, Totals 28-70 6-11 65. Southwestern 46 34_80 Bethany 40 25_65 3-Point Goals - Southwestern 10-23 (Diggles 1-2, Jordan 0-5, Brown 3-7, Tyler 6-9), Bethany 3-18 (Littlejohn 2-6, Wells 0-4, Williams 0-2, Jennings 1-1, Maike 0-4, Nickel 0-1). Fouled Out - None. Rebounds - Southwestern 39 (Jackson, Tyler 7), Bethany 41 (Sullivan 10). Assists - Southwestern 20 (Diggles 9), Bethany 16 (Holcom, Wells 3). Total Fouls - Southwestern 14, Bethany 15. Technical - None. A - 250.

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