Monarchs Race Past Jackrabbits, Win First Round of CBI Tournament
Participating in the College Basketball Invitational does not provide the same amount of excitement or glory as playing in the NCAA tournament or the NIT. Still, any type of postseason competition can go a long way in team development, as Richard Ross said, “Getting a win in the postseason is big for the young guys.”
Ross promises that he and the rest of the team will maintain the diligent mindset that has carried them through the highs-and-lows of the regular season, “We just have to keep everything in perspective. We have to keep up with the daily grind.”
The Monarchs are not content in playing here, as Ross said on behalf of the team, “Obviously, any team, our main goal is to make it to the NCAA tournament. You don’t work your butt off all year round to make it to the CBI.”
But Ross still wants to make the most out of every remaining basketball game. “I mean, this is a good tournament. If you look around in the field, there’s a lot of good teams here. So you’ve just got to take advantage of the opportunity [that is] given because these days of playing college basketball are limited.”
South Dakota State entered the contest with the edge on paper. They had a 19-12 record, reached the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, and have more experience. However, the starting lineup was missing two of their guards Jake Bittle and Chad White, due to injuries, but head coach Scott Nagy refused to use that as an excuse for the 72-65 defeat. “We lost the game in the first half; our ball handling was a weakness; we were gassed and out prepared.”
The Monarchs went on a 26-8 run in the middle of the first half and went into half time with a 48-33 lead.
Despite the favorable lead, Jones was well aware of South Dakota’s persistence and physicality, and he knew that they would continually attack the interior on multiple angles and repeatedly apply pressure on Ross. South Dakota’s tactics started to pay off as they crept their way back into the game, tying the game at 58 with nine minutes remaining.
The game was an open contest for both teams until Dimitri Batten hit a clutch three-pointer that gave the Monarchs a 65-63 lead with 4:27 remaining, and South Dakota was unable to respond with their counter-attack. Jones states that “this was a type of game that we would have lost a few months ago,” he was happy with his squad’s resolve and development. He attributes the final decisive minutes to their ability to grab offensive rebounds, “We weren’t able to make field goals consistently, but offensive rebounds gave us more chances.”
Old Dominion will host Radford Monday, March 24.
