It has been a little downhill lately for men’s hoop, as the team has only won two out of its seven games so far this season. Even though the Rams have the right team with talented players on all positions the final touch and the ability to close games is missing. The ability to close in the last minutes is incredibly important to any team. In Suffolk’s recent 111-101 victory against New England College the Rams showed just how important this ability is. In this match six Suffolk players scored in double digits and proved that the offence skills of the team are at the right level. Despite the great win there are still some minor improvements to be made.
Although Suffolk’s desire to win is clearly there, the guys need closure in the last minutes of their games. The statistics that every Suffolk defeat is by only 10-15 points shows us that the Rams are not far off their target. If Suffolk can concentrate for the entire game every time, it will definitely show on the scoreboard. There is no doubt that this team has the potential to go very far, but first the guys need to find each other and play as a team throughout every game. There are so many new guys in the team that it is inevitable that the players need time to connect as a unit.
These small changes need to happen now if the Rams are looking to head to the playoffs this year because the GNAC conference is tougher than ever and the important games are right around the corner. Junior forward Adam Kaplan spoke about the team’s progress this season and the upcoming conference games: “We have some great players in the team who are strong individuals who can change the outcome of a game, but we need to play more as a team. Overall the team is progressing, season is improving, we are improving everyday and going very hard.”
In fact the Rams just played their first conference game against Rivier College on Tuesday night. Suffolk played a great game and fought extremely hard, earning an overtime victory over the visitors 91-84 in a very close and well played game.
Next game for the Rams is against St. Joseph of Maine on Thursday the Dec. 5. This game is crucial for Suffolk as it is a conference game. Knowing the importance of this game, the Rams will try to go for the victory. Men’s basketball is ready to find consistency and start going uphill.
