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Show EDITOR X BACK PACE Thursday, December 5, 2013 L Bryson Lester, r V 586-548- 8 r n !ly 0)!ivjuh 1 ' By BRYSON LESTER suunewssports football team was given The its first ever berth in the FCS Playoffs, but saw the season come to an abrupt end on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Sam Houston State Bearkats 51-- 20 d in their matchup in Texas. Huntsville, SUU will finish the season with an 8- -5 overall record, with a 5- -3 mark in Big Sky Conference, which put it in a tie for fourth place. The Bearkats 4- -3 (9-- 4, Southland Conference) will move on in the playoff bracket and take on S.E. Louisiana next Saturday. Head coach Ed Lamb said the team was disappointed after the loss, but there is a lot to look forward to from the experience. There were a lot- - oT guys that were really upset after the game, he said. I think, particularly, the seniors felt like it was such a great experience, but now, it (is) over. The finality of it (was hard). I dont think anybody was embarrassed, because we fought hard the whole game; we just lost to a better team. I think the young guys got a glimpse of the caliber of team that advances through the playoffs. ... So I think with the young guys, there was a resolve to get back to that point and be better. A full recap of the game against Sam Houston State can be found at first-roun- suunews.comnewssports. Looking back at this season, the kicked off with a big road victory over FBS opponent South Alabama with a Colton Cook field goal that sealed the deal. SUUs next fashion, as victory came in blow-othey defeated Fort Lewis at Eccles Coliseum by 49 points. The teams first loss came at the hands of Washington State out of in Pullman, Wash. The the Pac-1- 2 Cougars went on to finish the season d and had the 6, passing offense in the FBS. ut fifth-ranke- 6-- SUU was able to come out victorious in another thriller against Sacramento State the following week, forced overtime with a as the late drive and Cook once again sealed also pulled the game. The out another tight game at Northern Colorado that next weekend. suffered The next week, the another loss, this time at the hands of Big Sky opponent UC Davis. This loss was viewed as disappointing, since they were at home and coming off two huge victories. Lamb said the loss might have been disappointing, but the team was able to move on with no problems. I think the biggest part of that process was just focusing on the next opponent, and then as the season goes along and our players can see that UC Davis is not that bad of a team-- in fact, they finished 5- -3 in the conference, just like we did, so 1 think that helps a little bit with confidence. ... But after a win or a loss, we just look at the next opponent, he said. SUU split its next two matchups against Portland State and Eastern Washington, but after the loss to the Eagles, the coaching staff decided to make a change at quarterback, replacing Aaron Cantu with Mike Sharp. Lamb said the decision wasnt a difficult one and was the right move for the team at the time. It wasnt really difficult at all; in fact, it was the move that we had to make, he said. As we talked about it as a staff, we felt like some of the struggles that wed gone through on offense dictated that we had to do something different. Mike had a really good run there at the end of the Eastern Washington game ... and in the end, bringing Aaron back in was kind of the same situation. Mike came in and did an admirable job and really gave us a spark, and yet, when teams could start to game plan for him 100 percent, it wasnt the answer. This story continues online com. at suunews. I It r t S' p ... AS, i - SAMI WRIGHT UNIVERSITY JOURNAL The SUU offensive line, lines up at the line of scrimmage against NAU. The suffered a 0 loss in the first round of the Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. Sam playoffs against ds 51-2- Flippin Birds back in action after break By BRYSON LESTER suunewssports As Winter Break approaches and most students are planning their Winter Break, the SUU gymnastics team will be hard at work prepping for the season that is just a month away. The first event on the Flippin Birds schedule is the RedWhite Preview, which will take place on the first day of classes in the Spring semester. Jan. 6. The following week, SUU will travel to Salt Lake City to compete against the Utah Utes, BYU Cougars and Boise State Broncos at the John M. Huntsman Center. lone senior, Alyssa The Click, said right now she feels like the team is on the right track. I believe at this point, we're at the place we're supposed to be, she said. "We're just starting to start on our details through our routines, because last month is when we put the routines. So we're past the phase of just checking routines and working on what needs to be fixed to get the scores we want to see. Click, who has been a large part success for a lung of the time, missed a large part of the 2013 season when she went down with an knee injury. At this point, though, she says the recovery process is at a good place. At the moment, my knee's doing really well, she said. We're just waiting on my brace to come in. It was supposed to be here before fall break, and now its December, so that's because frustrating really it's postponing my complete comeback on bars, because I can do everything up to the dismount. I'm not allowed to do a dismount with my old brace; its sturdy, but not as good as the new one, apparently. will This season, the introduce seven new freshmen to the roster, and head coach Scott Bauman said he's seen nothing but good things from his new athletes. 'Theyre proving to me that they're truly, from top to bottom, one of the most talented freshmen he classes we've eer had. said. We have three stellar in that group w ith Tyler Bozzuto, Danielle Ramirez and Memory Shettles; those three are going to be very tough to beat. To come in as a freshman, especially in our program, which revolves around juniors and seniors, to be close to or making the lineup is amazing. See GYM, Page 13 A UNIVERSITY JOURNAL Marissa Robbins brings the ball of games in the LIU Turkey Classic. SUU suffered spent a loss at the hands of Georgia Tech Friday before upcourt against UVU Nov. 21. The the weekend in Brooklyn N.Y., after splitting a pair defeating tournament host LIU Brooklyn Saturday. SUU forward Women spend Thanksgiving in Brooklyn By JOSH MARTINEZ SUUnewsmartinez The SUU womens basketball team overall) split a pair of games in Brooklyn, N.Y. this past weekend in the LIU Turkey Classic tournament. SUU 57, LIU 44 Forward Carli Moreland scored seven points and pulled in 1 1 boards to help the womens team to a 57-- 44 win over LIU Brooklyn Saturday in the consolation game of the LIU Turkey Classic. SUU womens head coach JR Payne said her team was focused after the loss, despite a quick turnaround. I think our staff and our players did a really good job at focusing on LIU," she said. From the minute Georgia Tech ended, we were all about LIU. Moreland said the team used the Georgia Tech loss to their advantage against LIU Brooklyn. We that to take wanted disappointment (from the loss) and have it build a fire in us to go out, be aggressive ... and really take it to them, she said. (We wanted) to show (5- -2 JASMINE LEWIS i this tournament that we're here to play and were a contender for all teams. On the glass, SUU pulled down 39 boards, compared to LIU Brooklyns 33 rebounds. Moreland led all players, with 11 rebounds, while forward Cleandra Roberts and guard Letava Whippy each pulled in seven boards for the Blackbirds. SUU guard Drea Jones and forward Marissa Robbins both posted a game-hig- h 11 points, while Roberts led the Blackbirds with 10 points. Robbins' 11 points was a personal career-bes- t. offense took off with a The from Jones in the opening minutes of the first half. After a steady eight minutes, SUU k to take a used 17-- 12 lead. SUU took control with a 10- -2 run to end the first half with a 32-- 21 lead. After the break, LIU Brooklyn used a 10- -0 lead to 36-- 31 run to cut the in the opening minutes of the second. SUU guard Hailey Mandelko hit a a 41-- 31 to give the long lead with 13:41 remaining. back-to-bac- A layup from Marquelle lead with 12:02 remaining. Three minutes ran off the clock before Moreland lead to 48-- 32 extended the with 9:21 left to play. Ftmkgave the guard a 46-- 32 LIU Brooklyn fought to make the with 4:38 left in the game;, score 51-- 42 however, SUU wasnt finished. Robbins made a pair of free throws to score the first points in three minutes, which led win for the to a 57-- 44 GT 85, SUU 60 Jones had 13 points and five steals, but it was not enough Georgia Tech rolled past SUU 85-- 60 Friday afternoon as part of the LIU Turkey Classic tournament. 13 points, while Jones had a team-hig- h guard Tyaunna Marshall scored a game-hig- h 21 points for the Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets held a major advantage on the glass, as they out-- , 51-rebounded the 27. This story continues online com. at suunews.1 Mens hoops drop five straight. By BRYSON LESTER suunewssports The struggles of the SUU mens basketball team continued in its past two outings as it fell in both and has now lost five straight games. CSUN 84, SUU 57 switched some things up The Tuesday night in Northridge, Calif., but ended up with a loss at the hands of the Cal State Northridge Matadors 84-5- 7. in the The loss is the fifth-straight early season for the defeating Arizona Christian team's season opener. after in the SUU head coach Nick Robinson made significant changes to the teams starting lineup, electing to start four true freshman Guard Stephan Hicks was second to for the first time this season. Guards John Maxwell in scoring, finishing with 20. Northridge also had solid production Marshall, Trey Kennedy, McKay Anderson and Juwan Major were all part of the from their bench, with guard Aaron Parks starting five, while sophomore forward finishing with 14 points and forward Trevone Williams finishing with 11. Casey Oliverson was the lone The Matadors were able to distribute the who started. well and finished with 20 assists on 30 ball Kennedy carried the bulk of the scoring the made h baskets; they also a with career-higload for the finishing 48-2- 6. The biggest key, however, 17 points to go along with his three might have been Cal States shooting assists and two rebounds. Oliverson also had a solid night for SUU, pccentage, which was 50 percent. of 10 Despite Northridge starting the game finishing with a near double-doubl- e were with layups, the points and eight rebounds. from recoond with a to Matadors for the quick forward Starting Chris Nsenki for SUUs first points Stephen Maxwell finished the game with a guard of the double-doublnight. putting up 27 points and 13 in both categories. See FIVE, Page 13 rebounds, a game-hig- h non-freshn- back-to-bac- k e, SUU guard Chris Nsenki looks to drive the lane against UC Riverside (Left). Guard John Marshall dribbles the ball past a UC Riverside defender (Right). The mens team has suffered five straight losses so far this season. will take a break before returning to the court on Dec. 14 to host UNLV. The V. |