Missouri Military Academy will have to put in some work before a long break.
The Colonels have one more game at 6 p.m. tonight at home against Christian (0-4) before not playing again until Jan. …
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Missouri Military Academy will have to put in some work before a long break.
The Colonels have one more game at 6 p.m. tonight at home against Christian (0-4) before not playing again until Jan. 9 at Columbia Independent due to Christmas break. They hope to snap a five-game losing streak after dropping a 62-32 home game to Silex on Monday.
MMA (1-5) beat the Owls (2-4) to open the season 49-47 on last-second free throws but lagged behind all night during the rematch. Silex had doubled up MMA on rebounds at the end of the third quarter and finished with a 38-23 advantage on the boards, which head coach Roger Siwak said definitely didn’t help after falling into an 18-4 first quarter hole. Siwak said making contact by boxing out is key to rebounding.
“It was a little bit of a size issue with some of our rotations, but mostly, it’s just we have to find a guy and hit him,” Siwak said. “We got to do a better job of blocking out.”
Siwak said the offense looked much different compared to the first meeting at Silex, starting with Nathan Dempsey only scoring two points along with four rebounds and four steals. Dempsey had 14 points last time and two other Colonels finished in double figures, but no Colonel scored into double figures on Monday. Joseph Roach was the closest at nine points after nailing three 3-pointers to counter Silex’s three players in double figures.
Bradley Thumbi followed Roach’s production with seven points and four rebounds and Ky-Mani Erskine had six points. Siwak said Roach has been shooting the ball better as of late and had his best game on Monday, but that isn’t going to be enough going forward.
“That made a big difference,” Siwak said. “We did not shoot it well and then we gave up some transition baskets that we should not give up.”
MMA started to move into an offensive rhythm in the second quarter when it hit three 3-pointers, including two of Roach’s and Thumbi’s that banked in. Still, the Colonels were down 36-17 at halftime after being outscored 18-4 in the first quarter because of some errant passes and unforced turnovers.
“We have some guys learning the game,” Siwak said. “This was our sixth game so we’re learning to pass on the perimeter, we’re learning what a good pass is and a bad pass, and we’re learning what an easy pass is and what a hard pass is. We’ve got to make those distinctions quickly during a game, and we’re learning that process.”
Siwak said mistakes are fine as long as the Colonels learn from them and don’t make the same mistake repeatedly. That should help the team trend upward.
There will be a challenge beyond an opposing team coming up for MMA as the team has its game against Christian and then two practices before Christmas break. Siwak said the Colonels won’t be able to gather again until Jan. 3 so these next practices need to be taken seriously.
“We have to make them competitive, we have to get up and down the floor, and we have to get shots up,” Siwak said. “When we come back, we have to get these guys back in the gym and get going right away.”
