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FTC Men’s Basketball Looks to Turn Around 0-3 Start

FTC Senior Luc Exil lines up at the foul line  (Photo: S. Mountain)

 

By Sydney Mountain

 

This past weekend the men’s basketball team traveled to Scranton, Pennsylvania, to play in the Penn State Scranton Men’s Basketball Tip-Off Tournament. Along with the Sound, host Penn State Scranton, Central Penn College, and Bucks County Community College participated in the event. The weekend was filled with excitement as the two-day tournament held games for both the men’s and women’s teams. 

 

The Sound came into this tournament after a heartbreaking 79-68 loss against Atlantis University on November 8th, where they had an impressive second-half comeback but ultimately came up short. The team carried that loss into practice for the rest of the week. “Our preparation leading up to the tournament was good. We watched and studied film and focused on the defensive end mostly in practice,” said starting point guard Tyler Bond. 

 

Bond is a key contributor to the Sound offensively and defensively and was an excellent recruit for the Sound. The freshman shows potential and gets the team and fans excited about what he can do on the court. The freshman is averaging 7pts/g, 4.3 rebs/g, and 3.7 a/g, showing he will be a challenge to guard for opponents. 

 

On Friday, November 11th, the Sound kicked off their weekend with an 8 pm game against the tournament hosts, Penn State Scranton. The Lions came out strong, shooting well. Within the first five minutes, Penn State Scranton’s Macio Robinson scored his 1,000th career collegiate point, and the game stopped to acknowledge this accomplishment. At half-time, the Sound was down by 3 in this intense, back-and-forth battle. 

 

The Sound looked a little tired in the second half, and it cost them. Missed box-outs turned into second-chance points, bad closeouts became made shots, and offensive struggles turned into an 18-point victory for the Lions, sending the Sound into the consolation game the next day. 

 

Tip-Off Tournament in Scranton, PA   (Photo: S. Mountain)

 

The Sound went back into action the following day, November 12th, at 1 pm for the consolation game against Central Penn. FTC started well in this game, having 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and less than 10 turnovers in the first half. The Sound went into the second half leading 41-36 but grew a little too comfortable as Central Penn slowly started to climb their way back into the game. The regulation period ended in a 69-69 tie, sending the game into overtime. Central Penn’s comeback provided a major momentum swing for the Knights as they carried the victory away from the Sound 81-78.

Freshman forward Douglas Adams summed up the issues, saying, “We need to play better defense as a team and make the extra pass on offense. Plus, we need to rebound better.”

 

The Sound are back in action this week:

Thursday, November 17th @ 7 pm:  Touro College in the Sound Arena. 

Saturday, November 19th @ 5 pm:  Great Bay Community College in the Sound Arena.

Sunday, November 20th @ 5:15 pm: @ King’s College **first conference game of the season.

 

The FTC Record will live broadcast the home games.

 

Check out FTC Athletics for the full-season schedule and stats.

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