STLCC limits opponent to season low 74 points in defeat
By: CHRISTIAN HARGAS
Sports Editor
The STLCC Archers lost to State Fair Community College, 74-56, on Nov. 24. Coming into the game, the Roadrunners amassed an 8-1 record against the Archers’ 1-5 record. 
The game featured three ties and two lead changes from one team averaging 99 points per game and one averaging 64 points.
“We did not focus on how many points they [State Fair] scored in each game, coming into this one,” Point Guard Andrew Weaver said. “We just tried to hold them to less than what they scored in the previous game.”
Fast break scoring from State Fair and poor defense contributed to the loss, Head coach Terry Collins said.
“We did not sustain our effort in terms of springing back on defense,” Collins said. “It was 15- 14 [STLCC] I believe, and then they got a couple of easy fast break baskets. Then, we cut it to eight in the second half with about six or seven minutes to go, then they had some easy baskets again. That was really the story of the game.”
Point Guard Sean Rigmaiden said the Archers did not play well as a complete team.
“We got off to a bad start this season,” Rigmaiden said. “We are just trying to get into the flow of what our coach is asking us to do. We are just trying to connect with the coach and the coach is trying to connect with us, but it just has not been working right now.”
State Fair ended the first half on a 14-2 run, leading 37-25 at the break.
Frustration loomed in the locker room at the break, Collins said.
“We were frustrated,” Collins said. “In the first half, we were 9-28 scoring. We were frustrated, but that was due to the fact that their defense picked it and we kind of gave into it rather than continue to run our offense and get better shots.”
Forward DaVonte Harrell led the team with seven points in the first half. The Archers had four turnovers and nine personal fouls.
No real adjustments were made before the second half started, Collins said.
“It was more of understanding that we could not let them get out and run the fast break,” Collins said. “That is how they took the lead and we just tried to tighten up on that, which we did.”
Despite the early frustration, the morale of the locker room was still high, Rigmaiden said.
“That is just the way to keep our team going,” Rigmaiden said. “We need to always keep encouraging our teammates, no matter how good or bad they are doing. We need to keep the morale up.”
“In these circumstances, you have to find a way to keep your morale high,” Collins said. “That is the challenge of being in sports. It is easy to get into that mood and sometimes we do, but nobody is going to cry for you. You just have to bounce back.”
The second half opened with two successful three point shots from Weaver.
The Archers felt the momentum was turning in their favor, Weaver said.
“I felt like we had the momentum at that point,” Weaver said. “But, it all stimulates from our defense. Our defense was not there, so therefore the offense did not really matter. We knew we could have done a lot better on the defensive end.”
Collins agreed.
“We needed to get better shots,” Collins said. “So we came out and got some better shots and it helped stabilize us a little bit. We made a couple of baskets to cut the lead to eight, but they were able to build the lead back up.”
State Fair outscored STLCC, 37-31,in the second half. The Archers improved their scoring percentage from 32.1 percent to 37.9, but the Roadrunners led by 20 with 35 seconds remaining.
“They played very good defense and took us out of our offense,” Collins said. “That is probably why we shot poorly, we shot 20- 57 and that is not very good.”
The Archers had 13 personal fouls in the second half, totaling to 22 for the game.
They had eight turnovers and were outscored 16-8 in the final nine minutes.
“When it came to our scoring, today everybody was having a bad shooting night,” Rigmaiden said. “We try to pressure guys and make sure they were not in their game. That is what we were trying to do tonight and we did pretty decent, but the ball was not falling our way.”
“It is continuously, night in and night out, our defense that needs to get better,” Weaver said. “Our offense has the talent, but it is just our defense that needs to get better.”
With the loss, the Archers’ record fell to 1-5 on the season. It now stands at 1-8 following losses to Danville Area and Arkansas State Mid-South. The season is far from over, Weaver said.
“We have only played 20 percent of the season, so we have a lot of time,” Weaver said. “We have until late February, early March. We just have to take it day-by-day.”
Rigmaiden agreed.
“That is what we have to do,” Rigmaiden said. “If we want to move forward, that is how we have to play.”
The Archers will not do anything other than to stick to the process, Collins said.
“We need to work hard,” Collins said. “We need to work harder on our defense and we need to improve the execution of our offense. If we work hard on those things with a great purpose, the results will be acceptable whatever they are.”
The Archers do not control the process, they control the outcome, Collins said.
“That is the key,” Collins said. “If we focus too much on the outcome, we will let go of control of the process of getting better. We probably got a little better tonight, but the team might not realize it because they are frustrated with the lack of result. We have to be tough enough to focus on the process, focus on getting better.”
