January 17, 2006
SPORTS
1/18 1/21 1/25 1/28 2/1 2/4
Homecoming2/8 2/11 2/15 All women’s games begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men at 7 p.m. Offense carries men’s team in conference/tourney play
“So far, so good,” conceded Coach Alton Lister when reviewing the start of his team. The Mesa Community College men’s basketball team has begun their 2005-06 season with an 11-3 record (as of Jan. 10) and is currently undefeated at home in the Theo J. Heap Gymnasium.
However, the squad did begin their season on the road in November, when they traveled to the Elks Tip-off Tournament. Held in San Jacinto, California, the Thunderbirds faired well, winning three of their four games. They also traveled to Yuma for the inaugural Wells Fargo Classic hosted by Arizona Western Community College on Jan. 3 and 4. Mesa defeated both its opponents, Gogebic Community College and Fort Huachuca.
Yet, the biggest game of the young season has to be the upset of the College of Southern Idaho. Ranked No. 4 in the NJCAA division I preseason poll, CSI was behind by eight at the midway point and failed to overtake Mesa, losing 75-82. Leading the Thunderbirds that evening was forward Derek Bailey with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals. Also chipping in was Gabe Freeman and Dennis Coleman with 15 and 18 points, respectively.
Freeman and Coleman, in addition to sophomore guard Arturo Donzella, have been pegged by Lister as key members of the team. “They’ve probably been the most consistent players night in and night out. And then everybody else pretty much feeds off those three guys right there,” Lister said.
Leading the team in scoring, Freeman has surpassed his coach’s expectations and deserves the praise after not playing basketball for a year while attending Southern Utah University.
Approaching the midway point of the season, Mesa will look to continue their consistency as they take on their conference foes. Lister does believe there is also room for improvement, mentioning, “The biggest thing for us is sustaining leads and (not) playing down to opponents, and when we have teams on the ropes, to go ahead and take them out.”
The next home game for Mesa will be Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m. against a highly ranked Cochise Community College squad.