On Saturday, Jan. 28, the SJU basketball team pulled off a close win against Carleton with a score of 57-56, bringing their overall record to 11-8.
“Our first-half team defense was some of the best we’ve played all year, getting us ahead by 17 early on in the game,” junior Chris Neumann said. “It became a close game when Carleton started playing a much better second half and we let up on our defensive intensity that we had in the first half. We held the lead for almost the entire game.”
“Our first-half team defense was some of the best we’ve played all year, getting us ahead by 17 early on in the game,” junior wing/post Chris Neumann said. “It became a close game when Carleton started playing a much better second half and we let up on our defensive intensity that we had in the first half. We held the lead for almost the entire game.”
The Johnnies continued their success against St. Thomas University on Wednesday, February 1. They won 61-56. They had previously beaten the Tommies 68-66.
“It’s always a great game between us no matter what the circumstances are,” Neumann said. “Being that we came out on top in the first meeting, we knew that they would come out more hungry than they did the first time. However, there’s no reason that we couldn’t be able to go down there and get a big win for our program.”
The team has six games remaining in their regular season and in order to qualify for the MIAC playoffs, SJU plans to take it one game at a time.
“The key to making the MIAC playoffs is to keep winning,” first-year Andrew Ortmann said. “If we play together as a team we are really hard to beat and we know we can beat the best.”
Head coach Jim Smith agrees with his players.
“Every game is a playoff game and we must play them that way,” Smith said. “There is a lot of the season left, and teams will be knocking each other off. We just have to tend to business and not worry about anyone else.”
Although the team has acknowledged areas for improvement, such as playing to the best of their ability for the full 40 minutes, they also are aware of where their strengths lie.
“This team is hard-working, competitive, has great team chemistry, very good defense and fun to coach and watch,” Smith said. “We are one of the leading teams in the nation regarding turnovers. We take care of the ball quite well.”