Excuses up for fans; Cowboys deserve support (12/1)

Posted November 30, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Filed Under Sports | Leave a Comment

By ALEX HICKEY
AMERICAN PRESS

As I discovered Friday night, McNeese State basketball fans and cheerleaders have a tradition of standing and clapping until the Cowboys put in their first bucket of the game.

It must have felt like they were at a Texas A&M football game, because for a while it looked like they might have to stand for the duration.

After two scoreless minutes passed, only the hardiest few remained on their feet. Understandable — when you sign up for such a tradition, you’re probably thinking, “I’ll be standing for 45 seconds, tops.”

Another two scoreless minutes passed. The donut made the resemblance to a Aggies football game even more uncanny.

Finally, with 15:54 left in the first half, Patrick Richard hit a 3-pointer to break the ice and usher a minor roar that was followed by a giant sigh of relief.

Slow starts have the danger of forming into a habit for this Cowboy team, which started in a 16-0 hole at TCU in its last game before coming home. Fortunately for McNeese, Florida Atlantic was no great shakes from the field and managed to go up only 6-0 before Richard’s trey put the Cowboys on track.

What really matters, of course, is how you finish. Or at least how you rally. By the end of the half, McNeese took the lead against Mike Jarvis’ Owls and never relinquished it.

McNeese fans finally had plenty of reason to stand at the buzzer after a 72-68 win over a tough opponent. Problem was, there were not enough fans in the building to enjoy it.

A mere 350 souls ventured to Burton Coliseum to watch McNeese’s home opener, and it’s likely the janitors were included in that figure. That’s lousy attendance for a high school game between two lousy teams.

Considering the circumstances, I’m willing to let fans slide by with valid excuses.

It was Thanksgiving weekend. Barbe and Westlake had important playoff games. An old friend came in from out of town. There was an earthquake. Locusts! (I may have borrowed liberally from John Belushi’s sewer monologue in “The Blues Brothers” in this paragraph.)

However, now that we’re though the Thanksgiving phase, it’s time to be done with excuses and jump on the Cowboy bandwagon. Certainly, the weekly cribbage game can be pushed back if it conflicts with McNeese’s schedule.

Maybe you’ve heard this story before and are a bit skeptical about embracing McNeese basketball but my eyes don’t lie. This Cowboys team looks good enough to emerge as a Southland Conference contender if it continues developing as the season progresses.

I’m willing to bet Jarvis didn’t think he’d be in for the battle he got Friday, as his team’s previous losses had come against Arizona, No. 24 Davidson and James Madison of the always-tough Colonial Athletic Association. He was so frustrated after the game that he didn’t even bother talking to the Florida Atlantic radio guy who flew all the way from Boca Raton to watch a miserable 34.9 percent shooting performance by the Owls.

Defense and height will take this team a long way this season. Center Kleon Penn has the ability to affect a game even when he isn’t blocking shots because his mere presence keeps opposing teams out of the lane.

Foul trouble kept him from a monster game against the Owls, even if two of his four fouls were clean blocks.

The best example of how Penn changes a game came on a different kind of turnover. A Florida Atlantic guard dribbled into the lane before seeing Penn, then froze in his tracks after he forgot to continue dribbling. Traveling, McNeese ball.

Coach Dave Simmons said a key to the season will be finding someone who can fill in the defensive void for Penn when he needs to go to the bench for a breather. Backup Elbryan Neal possesses a better offensive touch and is a strong rebounder, but isn’t quite as intimidating in the post as the 6-foot-11, 275-pound Penn.

What will make the difference this season is whether McNeese’s offense can keep up with its stifling defense. Friday night showed some hope that it could happen, as the Cowboys went from committing 11 turnovers in the first half to only three in the second half. Put two halves like that together and you’ve got an extremely difficult team to beat.

Question is, will you be there to see it?

•

ALEX HICKEY covers McNeese State athletics. E-mail him at ahickey@americanpress.com.

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Comments

What's on your mind?

Use this form to comment on the article above. This box is not intended to be a forum for readers to ask questions of the newspaper staff, but to express their thoughts about the article. To contact the News department, e-mail news@americanpress.com.