Hoop Dawgs drop one to Wofford

The Bulldogs lost to Wofford 60-57 tonight. The Dawgs had a chance to send the game into overtime with 3.1 seconds left. Dustin Ware went to the free throw line down by two points. Ware made his first shot, but he missed the second. Essentially ending the game.

Ware's miss was bad, but he was 3 of 4 on the night from the line. The bigger problem was Jeremy Price and Chris Barnes' collective performance at the charity stripe. The two bangers went an epic fail 4 for 12 at the line. If you're looking for the key to failure, that's it.

The team also went 2-14 from the three point line. That obviously didn't help either, but that's just what our personnel is. A team without much of an outside shot.

The Good:

• This wasn't like the Winthrop debacle in Felton's first year. That team had 4 quality starters on it that stone cold quit and lost on effort by 20 points. This team played much tougher than that. They seem to have bought in, and they were mostly in a position to win the game. They just didn't make the open layups, free throws, dunks and three pointers to win it...easily.
  
  
• The team has come light years in terms of entry passes into the paint. That's significant because the bulk of our talent is inside, and we'll see a ton of zone.
  
  
• Travis Leslie looks like a different player. His stat line was impressive at 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers. That's right...no turnovers.
  
  
• Trey Thompkins had 14 points and 16 rebounds, and he managed to play the final 5 minutes or so with four fouls.

The Bad:

• The Free Throw shooting. 11 for 20 is pathetic.
  
  
• The crowd. I can't really bitch about this because I haven't been to many weeknight jobber games like this over the past 5+ years. But still, the attendance was really bad. We need the students to come back. Obviously, this game didn't sell any tickets.
  
  
• The three point shooting.

We are what we are. We're a team with a handful of quality inside guys who can play around the rim and get points, but we can't shoot free throws to fully leverage those opportunities.

We lack much of an outside shooter, and that's not a shock. Ware's stats probably look worse than his ability. He'll make more of his attempts once he settles down and takes a smarter shot. During this one, he put too many off balance leaners into the air from too far beyond his competency. We don't have a bomber to get the other out of zone so we're going to have nights like this if the 3 doesn't fall.

It is what it is. The team will look dramatically better when the transfer Gerald Robinson starts playing at the 2 guard next year. But that's not going to help right now.

It's still a product worth coming out to watch
We are playing smarter ball, and they were in a position to win the game. They just have to make more plays. It's not the eye gouging display of offensive ineptitude that we showed under Felton. It's a more watchable product. It's just going to be a work in progress for a while, and we'll have to roll with it for a while.

PWD