Men's Basketball Stumbles Out of the Gate
Written and submitted by Max Miesse
The Clark State Eagles are off to a rough start for the 2021 season. After four games, they sit at 0-4 including two conference losses to Hocking and Bryant & Stratton. The Eagles are losing by an average of nearly 17 points each game so far. To open the season, Clark State faced off with the Hocking Hawks. Scoring only 25 points in the first half, the Eagles finished with 66 points while the Hawks put up 86. Second year player Ryan Marchal led the team with 16 points in that game.
In the second game of the season, the Eagles took on the Golden Eagles from Kent State's Tuscarawas campus. It was the season opener for Kent State Tuscarawas, and sophomore Mike Wallace greeted them by putting up 26 points in a stellar effort, but it was not enough. Clark State fought hard and was in it all the way to the buzzer, but they were not able to get off a last second shot and the Eagles lost a heartbreaker, 77-78.
Following that game, Ancilla College came to town. The Chargers feature a high-powered offense averaging over 100 points per game, and the Eagles had a tough time keeping pace. The Chargers had five different players reach double-digit points for the game while shooting 53% from the field as a team. The Eagles shot spectacularly at the line, knocking down 73% of their 19 free throws, but ultimately came up well short in a 98-68 blowout.
Most recently, the Eagles took on the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats in a conference showdown. Marchal and Wallace put up 15 and 16 points respectively for the Eagles, while Jermayn Baxter turned in an extraordinary effort, racking up 27 points and securing five steals, while shooting 75% from the field. Unfortunately, the Eagles were severely out-rebounded by the Bobcats at a rate of 44 to 29, which resulted in many opportunities for Bryant & Stratton on offense. The final score in this game was 87-72, and the Eagles suffered their fourth consecutive loss.
With 12 games left on the schedule, there is plenty of time to get the ship back on track, but the urgency is setting in. This Saturday, jFebruary 13, Clark State looks to come up off the tarp in a conference matchup against Terra State. The game starts at 3 p.m. at Clark State.