After traveling to Great Bend, Kansas on Nov. 11 and 12 to compete in the Western Inn Classic Tournament, the Wilbur Wright Rams fell to the Oakton Community College Owls in a very up-tempo game on Nov. 15.
The Rams' trip to Kansas didn’t go exactly the way that they hoped for. The first game of the tournament was a 95-41 loss to the Barton (Kansas) Cougars. For the Rams it was a game where the offense could not get going, resulting in their leading scorer only having 11 points and shooting just 4-11 from the field. The Cougars, on the other hand, were very consistent all game long, shooting 48% compared to Wright's 25%.
In the second game of the tournament, the Rams shot the ball much better and played a better overall game, but it wasn’t enough to get past the Hutchinson (Kansas) Dragons. The Rams shooting percentage skyrocketed in the second game going from 25% to 43.6%. Overall, the Rams shot a higher percentage than the Dragons, but still couldn’t pull it out and lost 112-89. Despite the loss, the Rams have a huge bright spot emerging on their team in freshman point guard Don McCurdy. In the Loss, McCurdy was able to score a career high 44 points, he shot 13/19 from the field, and made a whopping 13 3’s in 16 attempts.
In Tuesday’s game against Oakton, head coach Carlos Thomas went with the hot hand and started McCurdy for his second straight start, and only his second start of the season. While his shooting numbers weren't as impressive as they were in Kansas, Don was still able to contribute to the team and scored 12 points for the Rams, including two 3-pointers.
It was a fast-paced start to the game for both teams, with both teams seeming to have a set game plan. For the Rams, their style of play consisted of running the floor every chance they had to drive to the lane and look for the 3-point man. If his shot wasn’t open, he would work back around the perimeter, until they would try to cut to the lane again. This was working for the Rams early, and they would either convert the chances they had or get to the line to shoot free throws.
The Owls had a completely different approach than the Rams, they were using their size advantage down low, and were constantly backing the Rams down to the basket. Both big men for the Owls had a great day.
The star of the first half for the Rams was Tim Odeyungbo. Coming into the season, Thomas said that he was the player to look out for. So far this season he has lived up to the praise from the coach and put forth yet another strong outing against the Owls. Throughout the first ten minutes of Tuesday night's loss, Odeyungbo seemed unstoppable, being responsible for 11 of Wright's first 16 points. Every shot he took felt like it was going in.
Thomas wanted the Rams to play slow to end the half, but the Rams found themselves turning the ball over and making simple mistakes on both ends of the court. These mistakes lead to a 7-2 run for Oakton and a 35-29 Owls lead going into the half.
3-point shooting was very strong for the Rams, and they came out of the half setting up two screen plays for shooting guard Payton Branch who nailed both of the long-range shots. On the other side, the Owls found themselves doing the same thing they did in the first half, getting the ball to the paint and using their height difference. The Rams were having trouble defending them, constantly switching between David Lucas, Adrian Pelszynski, and Anthony Carty.
After the early 3-pointers from Payton Branch, the Rams were having a tough time getting shots to fall. Following the 3-pointers, the Owls responded with a 10-2 run, extending their lead to 53-39. Seeing this, Thomas called a timeout to try and stop the bleeding. Coming out of the timeout the Rams had easy looks around the basket, but couldn’t capitalize.
The Rams turned to the 3-point shot late in the game to cut into the Owls' lead, and they found success in doing so. Guard Javaris Stfort was key in those efforts. He took three 3-pointers on consecutive possessions and made all three of them, cutting the lead down to 69-60.
Wesley Woods nearly turned the game in the Rams' favor, getting to the lane for an and-one for the Rams. The Owls didn't help themselves here, receiving a technical foul for contesting the call, getting the Rams an extra two free throws
The Rams fought back to trail by just eight with 2:25 left in the game. Despite fighting back from a 14-point deficit game late in the game, the Rams ran out of time yet again and lost to the Owls 79-70.
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