By Molly Pennington
Staff Writer
The Washington College Shoremen basketball team fell to a 3-16 record following their games this week against the Swarthmore College Garnet and the Muhlenberg College Mules.
WC has not been able to defeat the Garnet since 2014, with their record for the season now standing at 11-7. They did, however, take down the Mules in 2022.
On Jan. 25, the Shoremen took on Swarthmore at home, earning a final score of 55-76. The first half was close with a score of 24-39 favoring the Garnet. Senior guard Kedrick Frink led the Shoremen in points, racking up 14 over the course of the game, closely followed by sophomore guard Davis Bland with 13 points.
Frink owned the WC court with six rebounds and three steals against the Garnet. The Shoremen did score more bench points by a 24-20 margin, a positive sign for a comeback later in the season.
Their next game was at Muhlenberg on Jan. 27. Senior forward Sam Corrao scored within the first minute of the game, but the Shoremen could not maintain their lead for the remainder of the game. By the half, WC was down 31-49 and the final score resulted in a 61-90.
Although the game ended in a loss, the Shoremen’s performance was promising. WC once again overtook their opponent in bench points, 28-7. However, the Mules owned the court regardless of the Shoremen’s hard work.
Once again, Frink paved the way in scoring. His highest season record for points scored was the previous game against Muhlenberg, scoring eight points this game and 25 previously.
The game plan for the squad allows for Frink and others to get themselves into the best possible scoring position.
“We do a great job balancing scout and preparing for our style of play as well. Scoring will come as we get stops, deflections and steals that leads to transition scoring which is one of our strengths,” Frink said.
Bland also had a banner performance, earning a team high of 18 points and a pair of blocks during the game.
A rough week only motivates the Shoremen to break their 12 game losing streak. Senior guard Zack Skrocki feels optimistic about the remainder of the season.
“We have had a rough stretch of games here, but as a team I feel we are motivated and excited coming down the stretch here. There’s plenty of basketball to be played and I think we can finish out this last month with great improvements,” Skrocki said.
One more win this season will bring the Shoremen past last season’s record of 3-21.
“I think the greatest improvement from this team has been the growth we have shown defensively throughout the year,” Skrocki said.
Defensively, the Shoremen continue to improve, as specifically their rebounds per game average goes up every week over the last few contests.
“It’s been great to be able to be out there with my guys and have a big role on the team. I’m just happy to be healthy and be able to compete every day.” Skrocki said. “I have learned a lot throughout this season and think I’ve definitely grown as a player.”
The Shoremen basketball team will be playing the Haverford College Fords on Jan. 31, and the Ursinus College Bears on Feb. 3. Both will be home games for the Shoremen.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics
Photo Caption: Sophomore guard Davis Bland scored 31 points for the Shoremen this week, his best consecutive games of the season.