On Tuesday, Nov. 10, relatives, friends and fans of STLCC-Meramec Magic basketball players gathered outside the Edward Jones Dome
Aram Karapetyan
– Staff Writer –
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, relatives, friends and fans of STLCC-Meramec Magic basketball players gathered outside the Edward Jones Dome and waited for the doors to be open to watch the conference rivalry game between the Meramec Magic and The Lewis and Clark Trail Blazers.
“It was a big game for us because it was a conference game and it was at the Edward Jones Dome,” said Dallis Johnson, co-captain for The Magic.
The sizes of the arenas that the Magic usually play their games in is incomparable to the size of the Edward Jones Dome. “It was the biggest arena I’ve ever played in,” said Allen Hadzimahovic, forward for The Magic.
Nerves didn’t seem to have an effect on The Magic players as their stellar defense helped them jump to an early lead.
“Our players were excited to play that game; it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play in a building that size,” said head coach Randy Albrecht. Although excitement can turn into nervousness and disrupt the way a team plays, it is important to remember Lewis and Clark had to play under the same conditions. When commenting about nerves affecting his team’s performance Albrecht said, “Not any more so than their team [the opponents], they had to play the same game.”
Although The Magic had the lead for most of the first half, Lewis and Clark finished the half strongly and brought Meramec’s lead down to only one point. Meramec was leading 33-32 at halftime.
During the second half, it was a fight to the finish and a close game, but Lewis and Clark prevailed, winning 66-58.
“That was our fourth time that we played there, and I’ve played and coached Division I. I’ve coached at a lot of big arenas and bigger games so it didn’t affect me, but it probably affected some of the kids,” said Albrecht.
The Meramec players were in a somber mood after the game. “We were disappointed because we lost, and most people felt like we didn’t play as well as we were capable of; and when you don’t play up to your potential you’re disappointed,” said Albrecht.
This is only the beginning of the season for The Magic and they will certainly have more opportunities to prove themselves. “We need to improve; we need to handle the ball a lot better; we make too many errors; we’re too hurried right now; we need more poise,” said Albrecht. Poise and confidence is surely something that this experienced head coach brings to this team.
“I just wish we would’ve won the game; the memory of us losing the big game at the Dome is going to be in our heads,” said Johnson.
