Bobby Martinez – Sports Reporter
Coming off a scare against Caldwell College where the Owls were, at one point, down 15 points in the first half and trailed majority of the game but managed to sneak away with a six point win, the Owls lit up the scoreboard against Pace University where they made 60 percent of their shots, defeating Pace by 35 points, 104-69.
Over the past three seasons, said Southern head coach Michael Donnelly, his team hadn’t played well heading into the Thanksgiving break, losing the past three seasons and to him, he understands some of the factors as to why his players haven’t played as well in a game leading to break.
“It was a great win,” said Donnelly. “We’re 6-0 and this has always been a tricky game since I’ve been here in terms of timing with the schedule and the holiday. We lost this game the last three years. So our senior [Luke Houston, Jose Cruz and Tylon Smith], they achieved a lot here, but that’s one thing they hadn’t achieved, winning before we left for Thanksgiving break.”
He added, “and it’s hard because we’ve played a lot of games in a short period time. We haven’t had a ton of practice time because of it and the campus is deserted. I understand they got one foot out the door. It was good to see the guys play much better in the second half.”
One might’ve thought seeing the Owls who are currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, the first home game would be packed by the Blue Crew and additional fans. But the Field House attendance in this game wasn’t as packed like it has been all last season. Smith, overtime, would mention how much his team feeds off the crowd’s energy in winning games and getting through tough droughts.
The Owls kicked off the game in a tempo that fans might not have been accustomed to seeing them play. Pace came out the gate much faster than the Owls giving them a five point lead four minutes into the game. The Owls were cold from the field in the opening minutes, but Houston rallied his players by scoring six points and tallying a few steal which led into points for the Owls. The Owls didn’t look back the entire game where they headed into the half with a 14 point lead, 45-31.
Last season, Pace defeated the Owls in overtime, 80-78. Donnelly said there was no revenge heading into this game despite losing last year around the same time.
“We talked about it,” he said, “but this is a completely different team [Pace]. I didn’t bring it up in the scouting report. I just used it as a reminder that this is a tricky time of the year and we got to stay focused.”
Up 30 with 8:31 left in the game, Donnelly went with a bigger lineup, subbing in both, Lucas Van Nes and Jack McCarthy. Both finished the game with a combined 14 points and three rebounds. Donnelly said he understands it does take time for those two players to fit his fast paced offense, but he said later on in the season, it’ll be important for those two to step it up for this team when their time is called.
“We’re so perimeter oriented.” said Donnelly. “So I know it takes time for them to get into a rhythm. But right now, our rotation is unbalanced because we are starting five guards. Then we have essentially five bigs off the bench. We are going to need more size when we play against more physical teams.”
He added, “It was good to see Lucas do things offensively. I want him to be better defensively, but he’ll get there. And Jack is progressing. It’s just being consistent with the little things because our guards are going to score. We just need our bigs to do all the dirty work and Jack is starting to that a little more consistently for us.”
The Owls would finish out the second half shooting 73 percent, 50 percent from 3-point territory scoring 59 points in the second half. Houston said he liked how his team managed to brush off their slow start and play much better as the game went on.
“I thought we played really well tonight,” said Houston who finished the game with 12 points, four assists and three rebounds. “We came out slow a little in the first half. But once we got into the swing of things, got some stops, we were able to put together a couple runs.”
He added, “I think we need to come out with a lot more energy. Play with much more enthusiasm, togetherness and chemistry, I think that will go a long way. Once we get that down, I think we got good things ahead of us.”
Check out more photos on the gallery page.
Photo Credit: Derek Torrellas
