2008 Woodie Awards
Pioneers come in a close second
Justin Abaya
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Sports
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The game plan was simple.
"Play zone and keep Stanley McNeil from hitting 3's," said Vol State Coach Rusty Melvin.
The Pioneers began the game with solid defense and jumped out to an early lead.
During the first half, the Pioneers were in complete control of the game.
Vol State sophomore Brandon McGill was doing his usual thing and running the offense.
Late in the first half, McGill got into foul trouble and had to leave the game.
The Pioneers held steady and at one point in the first half pushed the lead to double-digits.
Going into half-time, the score was 43-35 Vol State.
The second half began with Vol State turnovers.
"We had three at the start of the second half to allow them to close the gap," said Melvin.
The Pioneers dominated the boards on the offensive side of the ball. During one stretch in the second half, they grabbed six rebounds in succession. They still had the lead at that point.
As the game progressed, the Pioneers' lead was shrinking.
With just over seven minutes left, Jackson State took the lead 60-58. The rest of the game was competitive.
Both teams were refusing to back down, but with less than one minute left, Jackson State took the lead and wouldn't give it back.
Vol State played hard but they just couldn't close the deal.
"We do struggle and sometimes the other team makes big plays, like St. Catharine hitting a three in the corner with one second left," said Melvin. "Closing the deal involves a big shot, we had two lay-ups to close the deal but couldn't capitalize."
The final score was 78-76, with Vol State on the losing end.
There were plenty of positives to take away from the loss.
Freshman Astral Guerrier had a fine performance with 23 points.
"Guerrier had an outstanding game," said
Melvin.
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