Crusaders drop final exhibition game at Kennesaw State
Posted by The Skyliner on November 18th, 2009Billy Cannada
Staff Writer
After playing a tough preseason schedule, the North Greenville men’s basketball team feels confident going into the regular season.
“We are expecting to win and break records this year,” forward Kyler Vitko, junior business administration said. “Getting 20 wins is our lowest goal. We are too good this year to set our goals low.”
The Crusaders tipped off the regular season on Monday against Toccoa Falls in Hayes Gymnasium. Results from this game were not available at press time.
In the last preseason game, the Crusaders were not able to hold on to their halftime lead as Kennesaw State rallied in the second half to capture an 89-79 win. North Greenville led most of the first half and part of the second half but was unable to steal a win on the road against the Owls, who recently completed the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I status.
Head coach Chad Lister said he was impressed with his team’s performance and believes his players did some promising things on Friday night.
“We were able to lead for a good part of the game and we played with a lot of intensity,” Lister said. “Kennesaw is a very talented team, and we were able to hold our own against them.”
North Greenville was led by center Paul Harrison, sophomore health promotion and wellness, who had 31 points and nine rebounds in the contest. Other top scorers included forward Luke Lattimer, sophomore sport management, who netted 16 points, and Vitko, who finished the game with 14 points.
“We were pretty confident going into the game because everyone has had some college experience,” Vitko said. “We played well the first half, but we were not able to come out with the same intensity in the second half.”
Another impressive scoring night for Harrison has the Crusaders believing that they have a go-to guy on offense. Harrison, who led the Crusaders in scoring last season, said that he wants to do whatever he can to put North Greenville in a position to win.
“I don’t view myself as a scoring leader,” Harrison said. “I just want to do whatever it takes for the team to win. If that means scoring a lot of points, getting rebounds or assists, that’s what I have to do.”
Lister believes that Harrison is going to play a key role in the offense this year, and that he will be a big part of North Greenville’s success.
“Paul has matured a lot since last season,” Lister said. “We are looking to get the ball into Paul’s hands on each possession and do a good job of utilizing him on offense.”
North Greenville has also been getting quite a push from their lone senior in this pre-season. Vitko, who is surrounded by freshmen and sophomores on this young Crusader team, believes he needs to step up and be a leader this season.
“Being the only senior on the team, I need to step up and lead by example,” Vitko said. “ I don’t need to tell them what to do, but I can’t let the younger guys see me slacking (on the court).”
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 10