Stars aiming to keep momentum
With two weeks left in the regular season, the South Arkansas Community College men’s basketball team finds itself in the middle of a heated race for the Region 2 crown.
The Stars (9-8, 2-3) head to region-leading Arkansas Mid-South to start the second half of the region schedule today trailing three schools by one game and the Greyhounds by two games.
Last month, the Stars won their first region game in nearly three years when they upended Arkansas-Cossatot 86-80.
Then just over a week ago, the Stars delivered a landmark victory by downing two-time defending Region 2 champion SAU Tech 72-64.
For coach Cam Robinson, defense was the key to the Stars’ success.
“Just trying to match the physicality that they bring as two-time conference champions,” Robinson said. “They came in with a lot of experience and obviously the size that we don’t have, so we just needed to match it and make them have to work for shots.
“It was one of the best games we played all year. Everything was clicking. Defensively, limiting them to one shot for the majority of the game and just capitalizing and executing on a lot of plays. Our defense was top notch. They were down one of their better players, but we had to take advantage of the guys they had out there and we did that.”
The Stars also made the game a White Out for fans, making it an electric atmosphere.
“The atmosphere was one of the best ones I’ve been a part of in my coaching career so far,” Robinson said. “We had the White Out. The students came and made it a big deal. The community got involved, which was one of the biggest impacts on the whole game where people are coming out to support the team.
“The crowd is growing each game, and that definitely made a difference even though there were SAU Tech supporters there. They just made the whole game one of the better ones we’ll have atmosphere-wise this season.”
Both of the Stars’ region wins have come on Thursday games, but they have been unable to build off that success in their Saturday games.
“Mentality-wise, we’re probably at our best right now as a team where everybody’s locked in together, not that we’ve had any selfishness, but just being on the same page on trying to do whatever it takes to win,” Robinson said. “Against Mid-South, we had the mentality, but we were a few small things away from completing that task. We got to Cossatot, and we brought it that
game in the second half. When it came to NorthArk, I think a little bit was we were confident and happy about getting the game on Thursday. We came out strong, we just didn’t finish the deal. They outworked us toward the end of the game.
“That got us hungry and the expectation of the SAU Tech game brought it to where that they were more locked in and ready to go. Saturday was similar to the week before where we were happy and comfortable with the win on Thursday and didn’t finish out the deal on Saturday. We really just didn’t come ready to play.
“That’s just the tale of the tape right now. We’ve been great starting it off, but we haven’t been doing a good job of sealing the deal on that. That’s something we’ve really been emphasizing after Saturday’s game is finishing the deal and playing like champions are supposed to play.
“Champions aren’t part-time teams. They don’t win one day a week and think they’ve won a championship. That’s what we’re working on now.”
Last year, the Stars went winless in region play with all of their losses being by more than double digits, so while SouthArk has taken a step forward, sustaining that success is another step Robinson has talked with the team about.
“Outside of the game on Saturday, the losses we’ve been having are losses on things that we can fix, so we’re heading in the right direction,” Robinson said.
“I asked a couple of players that were on the team last year that if they ever would’ve thought that we would be saying, ‘We’re playing for first place at this point of the season,’ it would probably be crazy. Winning is hard, but being a champion is even harder. We’re saying we have what it takes to be a champion, we’re just trying to put it all together.”
After topping SAU Tech, the Stars fell in lopsided fashion at National Park.
“Just going back and looking at the film, we necessarily didn’t play bad. If you look at the score, you would be like, ‘Oh man, they really dropped the ball,’” Robinson said. “Offensively, we just didn’t bring it. Defensively, we were there for the most part. We did a good job of guarding them. They were making tough shots and missing a lot of tough shots as well.
“It’s just once we got to the offensive end, we stopped playing like we have been playing offensively and we struggled. Once it got to the second half, they took advantage of us not being able to make shots and they started making everything. We weren’t mentally in position to win that game.”
Since returning to the team at the start of the semester, former Junction City standout Jerrodney Tubbs has made a big impact with the Stars, registering double figures in three of five region games, including a near double-double of 19 points and nine rebounds against SAU Tech.
“He’s been big,” Robinson said. “Probably the biggest thing that he’s brought that nobody will see unless you pay attention is confidence. One thing he has is self-confidence and the sense of belief that you can’t worry about the size you have or how fast you can move. He feels he can make an impact in the game.
“One thing he’s been doing is closing off the baseline, getting those strong rebounds. He’s helping us close out games by getting us second-chance points.
“Even though we didn’t get the job done against Mid-South, what got us back in the game was if we missed a floater or an open three. He was on the other side getting those rebounds and getting us putbacks.
“That’s kind of been the thing.
He made two big threes, one in the first half and one in the second half that really sealed the deal against SAU Tech.
“He’s a willing passer, so if you try to double team him, he’s able to find the guys that are open. He can move better than what you think he can, so he’s been giving us a little bit of everything. He’s getting better, and we’re making adjustments as a team to be able to use him so we can keep him in the game a tad bit longer.”
With Tubbs’ return, the Stars’ scoring load has become even more balanced, but one constant has been the play of sophomore point guard E.J. Anderson, who leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game along with 3.3 assists per game.
“He’s been consistent,” Robinson said. “With Tubbs coming in, it’s taken some of that workload off of him to where we don’t have to depend on him as much scoring-wise. He’s been keeping the boat afloat and making timely shots.
“He’s getting in the paint and making tough shots and making free throws. He’s coming up big. His points aren’t as flashy or splashy as it was in the first semester with a lot of deep threes, now he’s just taking what the defense gives him and when the offense needs to score, he’s taking it.
“He’s still got a lot more in the tank. Right now, we’ve really been having a big team effort.”
With the arrival of the second half of region play, the Stars find themselves in a position they haven’t been in with regards to their possible postseason fortunes.
For Robinson, the Stars’ mantra is a simple one.
“One game at a time and now it’s just that feeling of revenge,” Robinson said. “Our first game is against Mid-South and now every game is personal because we need to win every game for seeding purposes.
“We also have to be aware that the first time each team came in, they underestimated us and they’re going to be giving us a bigger shot now.
“We’ve become a little bit of a target, so we have to be able to give the energy and the fight that the teams are going to be giving us because you have the SAU Tech’s and Cossatot’s that want to show that the first time was a fluke, so we’ve got to come at them hard.
“We’ve got to be willing to take those punches that are going to come us at now because we’ve been exposed and shown that we are a team that deserves some respect now. We just have to bring it and not bow away from the fight.”