By Jordan Fairchild
Elm Staff Writer
On Tuesday, Feb. 8, the Washington College men’s basketball team traveled to Westminster, Md. to compete against Centennial Conference opponent McDaniel College. The Shoremen were bested by the Green Terror, 71–42.
The Green Terror netted the first six points of the matchup and took their biggest lead of 14 points with 6:05 remaining in the first half.
Entering halftime, the Green Terror led 33–22 over the Shoremen.
The Green Terror opened the second half with a run, outscoring the Shoremen 15–5, which brought the score to 48–27 with 14:24 left in the game.
Sophomore Kedrick Frink shaved the Shoremen’s deficit back to 14 points with a layup with 9:45 left. The Shoremen trailed 49–35, and ultimately the score was capped at 71–42, a loss for the Shoremen.
Frink was the team leader in points and rebounds, tallying seven in each category.
Senior Tray Wright led the team with four assists on top of scoring six points.
The Shoremen shot 36% from field-goal range, 35% from the three-point range, and 40% from the foul line.
“Although our record isn’t what any of us predicted or wanted, we’ve made strides as a team and individually,” senior Dilyn Becker said. “Our difficult schedule has made us tougher, and that toughness, in time, will carry over to more wins on the record.”
On Saturday, Feb. 12, the Shoremen faced another Conference opponent, Ursinus College. The Shoremen lost by a narrow margin to the Bears, 86–75.
Wright opened the game with a score for the Shoremen, but the Bears answered back with 13 straight points, securing a lead they defended for the rest of the half.
With 4:42 left in the half, the Shoremen trimmed the Bears’ lead to 30–26 with a jumper from freshman Precieux Tshibangu.
The Bears responded with another run and capped the score at the half at 44–36.
At the beginning of the second half, the Shoremen trailed 50–41, but then went on a 12–3 scoring run to tie the game at 53–53 with 14:27 left in the competition.
During the run, Wright contributed eight points and sophomore Jason Zielinski added in a three-pointer.
With 13:40 left to go, the Bears took the lead with a three-point shot, bringing the score to 56–53, a lead they kept throughout the remainder of the matchup.
A layup from Becker, with 9:30 remaining, put the Shoremen within three points of a tie, but the Bears expanded their lead to 71–62 in the next two minutes.
A scoring effort by junior Nick Romeo put the score at 71-62.
The Bears went on a 10–0 scoring streak to close out the game. The final score was 86–75, Bears.
Wright had a career-best scoring game, tallying 25 points for the Shoremen. This is the third time he has scored more than 20 points in a game during his career, according to the WC Athletics website. He also contributed six rebounds for the team.
Tshibangu also had a career-best scoring game with 12 points and five rebounds. Frink, Becker, and Zielinski each had 10 points during the contest
The Shoremen’s overall record fell to 4–19 overall, and 1–15 in Conference play.
“Some of the things we’ve been working on in practice are execution in different situations since we’ve had many games this year go into overtime or be behind by three points or less and we didn’t get the job done,” said Becker. “We are trying our best to execute in the last few possessions and minutes of the game, which is crucial to us.”
The Shoremen will face the Muhlenberg College Mules on Saturday, Feb. 19, in the Penny J. Fall Gymnasium at 4 p.m. This game will be the Shoremen’s Senior Day.
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