Men's Basketball Looks to End the Season Strong

Plymouth State's Men's basketball team lost a tough one to Keene State on Wed. Feb. 7, 2012, despite 20 points from senior Brian Chergey (Bow, N.H.) and 13 points as well as 8 assists from sophomore Petey Skevas (Wethersfield, Conn.). The 86-71 loss to Keene puts the Panthers' record to 7-14 heading into the team's home game against UMass Boston tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 P.M.

The tough stretch that the Panthers have been in since the beginning of January has resulted in a 3-9 record in 2012, but there is reason for optimism in Plymouth. As Head Coach Andrew Novick put it, "Our team has been working hard during the break to get better every day in both practices and games. Certainly, we would like to win all of our games, but I have been very pleased with our work ethic and commitment to getting better." Having a team stay together during a tough stretch is extremely important for not only the players, but for the team as a whole. While moral wins ultimately aren't a part of the win/loss column, keeping players focused on the task ahead of them shows a lot of mental toughness, which is something that all coaches obviously want.

Two players that have shown their toughness this year include Chergey (who leads the team with 11.8 points per game) and fellow senior Jesse Sabolis (Stoughton, Mass.). Coach Novick has relied on both of these seniors throughout the season and stated that both "have played and will continue to play very important roles on this team." Both of these players give it their all in both games and practices, and the energy that these two give off will help continue to push their teammates, especially the younger players on the team. It is nice to see that the hard work that these players put in the off-season really paid off for them, as they are averaging career highs in points (8.2 points per game for Sabolis) and as Coach Novick said "Having them take their game to another level this season is a real credit to their persistence and hard work."

With a little bit of luck on their side, hopefully the Panthers will be able to make a playoff push in the last few weeks of their season. The last three games of the season (home against UMass Boston tomorrow, then two road games next week against Southern Maine and Western Connecticut) are against opponents who Plymouth has already played this season (in which they have already beaten West Conn and Southern Maine). Winning these last three games should allow the Panthers to get into the Little East Conference playoffs, and if that is the case, they have a legitimate chance to make some noise in the post-season. These last three games figure to be exciting, and the Panthers would greatly appreciate it if you can come down to Foley Gym tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 P.M.