Men’s basketball staying competitive

The Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team has continued to play with high intensity despite several close losses. The Engineers currently hold a 4-5 record; however, their largest margin of loss has been by only eight points, with the other losses being by five points or less.

Head Coach Jim Shaw said, “We got off to a good start and were playing pretty good basketball until struggling recently. Our balance is a great strength of our team. We can get scoring contributions from a number of guys in a number of different ways. The problem with that is that we don’t really have a go-to guy and sometimes it is difficult to figure out who has the hot hand on a particular night.

“As a result, we have to depend on offensive execution, great defense and great effort. When our offensive execution and our ability to not turn the ball over fails us, we struggle to score and win. We have been very consistent and solid defensively, which has enabled us to be in every game.” Given this opinion from Coach Shaw, and the tight games that the Engineers’ have found themselves in, which I believe suggests our men’s basketball team is right on the verge of some big wins.”

Senior electrical engineering major Dave Yaraschefski believes that the team can definitely turn the season around.

“We have a few things to work out, and we are a relatively young team, but we have seen how good we can be. Our conference is very well balanced, and there is not a game left on our schedule that we can’t win. It’s just a matter of going out there and getting it done. Our defense is great. We are leading the league in team defense, and holding opponents to a very low score. We need to work harder within our offense to get good shots, rebound better defensively, and limit our turnovers so that we can score more.”

When asked how the team stays motivated after close losses, Yaraschefski responded, “Motivation is not a problem when you are as competitive as the players on our team are. We know that we can be good, and we know that we should be winning these games that we are losing by a small margin. That is what drives us to continue to work hard in practice.

“From a personal standpoint, this is my senior year, and I simply don’t have that many games left. I have worked my whole life to get in the position I am, and I want to take advantage of every minute.”

Sophomore mechanical engineering major Joe Craycraft adds, “To stay motivated I just think about how many people actually get a chance to play sports in college, and about how lucky I am to get that opportunity.”

Despite a few disheartening setbacks in the win column, the men’s basketball team does boast a specific individual accomplishment in that one of its team members was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Player of the Month. Coach Shaw said, “Individually, Brian Bibb has had a great start to the year despite being a little inconsistent in terms of shooting and scoring. His rebounding has been phenomenal and he was named HCAC Athlete of the Month for November.”

During the month of November, senior civil engineering major Brian Bibb averaged 16.8 points and a league-high 12.5 rebounds per game. Bibb has continued to be a major threat offensively and off the glass in December by scoring 31 points and pulling in 16 rebounds versus Fontbonne University this past Monday night.

The Engineers also encourage fan support. Yaraschefski wrote, “There is nothing better than playing in front of a big crowd. When we go on the road, the fans at other schools are a huge factor, and we want to put that same pressure on the visiting team. Come often and scream loud, because it makes a difference!” The Engineers play Cincinnati-Clermont on Monday and Tri-State on Wednesday. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.