NU men's basketball finishes season 6-18

By Marshall Lee
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

In a disappointing season, the Norwich men's basketball team finished 6-18 (2-11 in the GNAC conference). The Cadets had many ups and downs during this long season. The Cadets finished the regular season on a six-game losing streak, which in turn eliminated the Cadets from the GNAC conference playoffs.

The Cadets could have made the playoff if they had won one of their last two games. In the first of their last two games the Cadets were defeated by Rivier College 82-76. During the game freshman guard Dominique Jones from Bridgeport, Conn.; sophomore forward Andy Miller from Fort Collins, Colo.; and freshman forward Marc Jones from Glendale, Ohio, each scored 16 points.

The team could have had a better season, but the loss of key players caused the Cadets to struggle throughout the season.

Dana Harris, 22, a junior from Springfield, Mass., said, "I don't think that the team was used to its fullest potential. We had so many secret weapons that didn't get utilized, and it just went to waste. I believe we could have won many more games than we did."

Many freshman players on the team struggled during this past season. Dominique Jones, a freshman guard from Bridgeport, CT., was the second leading scorer on the team at 11 points and 3.3 assists per game. Matt Johnson, a sophomore from Fishkill, NY, was the leading scorer on the team at 11.5 points per game.

Johnson said, "I think we were put in position to win many games, but we couldn't finish many games strong."

The Cadets were a very good defensive team, but they sometimes couldn't get it going on offensive. The team struggled to finish plays and put away other teams when they had them down.

In their final game of the season, the Cadets lost 82-49 to Western New England College (WNEC) on February 16, 2002.

The Cadets are now looking forward to next season by playing pick-up games. They also started a weight-training program to become stronger as a team and earn a place among the elite teams in the GNAC conference.

Harris and Johnson both agree, if things with the team had gone differently, the Cadets could have had a better season, and they would have made the playoffs.

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