Author: Sharen Cervantes
There’s something to be said about the end of every athletic season – the exhilaration of competition has worn off; the tedium of daily practice is a thing of the past; and the team can proudly show off (hopefully) a plethora of new medals, honors, trophies, and titles.
For Occidental’s Men’s Basketball team, the season’s close marked the end of over two dozen games, many of which were played while the rest of Oxy’s student body enjoyed a five-week respite from school and sports. The final two games of the season, played on Saturday, Feb. 21 and Tuesday, Feb. 25, respectively, saw the Tigers pitted against two household rivals: the University of La Verne and the University of Redlands. While Saturday’s game ended in a heady victory for Oxy, Tuesday’s game didn’t follow suit, and the Tigers ended the 2008-2009 season with a narrow 63-62 loss.
After four consecutive losses, the victory against La Verne two Saturdays ago revived the Tigers’ spirits and reinvigorated their hopes of coming away with more than just tired limbs. For those Tigers graduating in May, the game, played at Rush Gymnasium, was a second-to-last chance to strut their stuff on the court and earn the type of recognition hard work warrants. “As a senior, it would be great to finish off the season with a win,” Justin Goltz (senior) said. “It would be an even greater finish to come away with a winning record in the SCIACs.”
Though the game began on somewhat of a slow note with the Tigers down 9-0 during the first few minutes, Oxy managed to bounce back thanks to players Evan Shore and David Ostrow. Shore secured a two-point lead for the Tigers when he made a three-pointer on an assist from Ostrow.
Though the La Verne Leopards battled hard, almost reclaiming their initial lead at one point during the game, the Tigers held their own throughout, proving that they really are as fierce and strong as their name suggests. By the game’s end, the Tigers boasted a 67-54 victory over La Verne, improving to 7-6 in SCIAC play.
While they managed to crush La Verne, the team fared worse with a second opponent. Tuesday’s game, played on the Bulldogs’ court at the University of Redlands, ended on a sour note for the Tigers. Worse than the defeat itself is the margin by which the Tigers lost: a mere 1-point difference.
Player Peter Gierlach (junior) said in response to the loss: “It was disappointing that we lost such a close game.”
Disappointing indeed. For seniors Justin Goltz and Henry Meier, the defeat was probably felt the strongest considering Tuesday was the last time they took to the court as Occidental Tigers.
“I appreciated the Seniors’ hard work,” Evan Shore (junior) said. “I felt bad that we couldn’t end their career with a win.”Tuesday’s defeat may have been disheartening, but the players know how to keep things in perspective. The Tigers didn’t maintain a perfect track record this season – they won some games and lost others – but know that the real key to success is a positive attitude.
“Our season had its ups and downs from losing a lot of seniors last year, but we pulled together and had some good wins,” Sean Anderson (junior) said. “We had a terrific group of guys and because of that we won at CMS for the first time in a long time.”
While the Tigers would definitely have liked to have fared better during the season, especially during the last game, the Tigers see this season’s loss as an incentive to do better next year.
“The loss was a very disappointing and frustrating way to end the season,” Shore said. “Hopefully this feeling will carry over to next season so we can work off our disappointment and improve.”
Despite the defeat, none of the Tigers are really complaining (at least not audibly). Many see the trials of this season as a positive learning experience. “We would have liked to have won more games, but we learned a lot about ourselves and each other,” Anderson added. “Next year we should have a very strong team and look to contend for the SCIAC title.”
Keeping in mind these Tigers’ work ethic, preparation for next season will undoubtedly begin shortly.
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