By Nick Bond
Despite a promising preseason, the Pride was unable to carry the success it had in games that do not count into games that do, dropping their first game of the regular season to Holy Cross, 61-47. Proving to be the death knell for the Pride was its difficulty producing any scoring outside of Antoine Agudio, who lead all scorers with 28, but was also the only member of the Pride with more than five points. Distribution of the scoring load was not a problem for the Pride’s counterparts, the Crusaders, who had 3 players in double digits.
Much like last week’s exhibition game against Northwood University, the Pride began the game strongly, grabbing the lead thrice in the first 13 minutes. Unfortunately, also much like last week, poor shooting and turnovers in the remaining portion of the half were the catalyst for another run by a Pride opponent, this time a 15-5 run to end the half, which finished with the Crusaders ahead 33-24.
The run continued into the second half with an 11-3 disparity in the first 8 minutes. It was this now 17-point lead that would prove to be insurmountable for the Pride, especially with their decidedly poor shooting, which was a dismal 22.7% for the half.
Also playing a key factor in the defeat was the inability of the forwards to maintain a presence inside, as the Crusaders out-rebounded the Pride 45-34, with Holy Cross Forward Alex van der Bann leading all players with 15, who added 10 points for a double-double, while Frosh Forward Charles lead the Pride with 9 rebounds.
Some of the few bright spots for the Pride in the half were its improved performance at the line, where they converted 9 of 14 chances, and its ability to clamp down on turnovers, as they had a turnover differential of zero for the game. Also, although the Pride only had 5 field goals in the second half, 4 of them came from behind the arc, and all of those came off the hands of Aguido.
Aguido looked strong throughout and give the Pride a point a reference of reference for how to create shots and score in tough situations. As was mentioned previously, his 28 points led all scorers and he also added 3 rebounds on the night. His 80% performance at the charity stripe was also an important point to move forward from as the season moves along. Pride Head Coach Tom Pecora was pleased but not surprised by the senior’s magnificent output, saying “Antoine was Antoine” and that “contributions from veterans” was important to the team’s success.
This however also involves the rest of the team figuring out how to get the ball in the basket more consistently, as the other four starters went a troublesome 2-18 for 9 points. Players off the bench faired only slightly better, contributing 10 points on 2-8 shooting. Coach Pecora was not overly concerned about the performance, saying that the poor shooting was likely due to “first game jitters”.
Practice will assuredly be a time to work towards the Pride’s next game, 4pm this Saturday against Manhattan at the Mack Sports Complex. The game will also be televised live on Fox Sports New York.