Even in an 0-2 weekend, the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball team managed to grab a few small victories.
They'll look for a real one that will get them back into the win column and snap a five-game losing streak as they face the 0-4 Thompson Rivers University WolfPack in Week 4 of Canada West play Friday and Saturday night at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.
The Pronghorns fell to 1-5 following an 0-2 weekend in Brandon against the Bobcats, who handed Lethbridge 101-74 and 90-73 losses to up their losing streak to four games.
Still, Horns head coach Jemaine Small pointed to a few facets his charges can take forward into the first two of four straight home games, starting this weekend against the WolfPack.
"You have to give them credit, they're a good team,'' said Small of the Bobcats, who are now first in the Canada West at 5-1. "I think they're playing at their peak right now, which is interesting. I felt Friday night we let it get out of hand and we beat ourselves. But Saturday we played better, that's very important. They're averaging 100 points and we held them to 90 Saturday. So right now it's about the small wins and I think that was a win."
In Brandon, the Pronghorns managed to cut down their turnovers from 18 Friday to 15 Saturday.
"So it's the small victories and we're just trying to embrace that," said Small. "At the same, we know if we play them down the road we're going to adjust. We're just trying to focus on us."
The focus is now back home with the WolfPack beckoning at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.
"We're finding out about ourselves more," said Small. "The new guys are learning about the league now, how small the margin for error is and just the competition we play. They know they got their butts kicked a little bit and they learned (from) it. But the good thing now is we're home for the next four games and I think that's going to pay major dividends. I think we can only go up from here."
The Horns are 13th in the Canada West in offence with 77 points-per-game and are ranked 15th in defence with 90 points surrendered per game.
Lethbridge is led by Kymani Pollard, who is averaging 14.7 points-per-game, good for 21st in the Canada West. Pollard is shooting .478 from the field and averaging four assists per game, good for 10th in the Canada West. He is also shooting .448 from beyond the arc to lead the Pronghorns.
Jeff Rodehutskors is second in team scoring with 13.5 points-per-game and is shooting .593 from the field to sit third overall in the Canada West.
He and Jack-Henry Fox-Grey led the Horns in rebounds–per-game at 5.7.
Shae Gibb is third on the Pronghorns with 10.8 points-per-game. He's also second in assists with 23 and leads the team with 11 steals.
"We're building on togetherness and playing as a team," said Pollard, a second-year, six-foot-one guard who hails from Los Angeles. "On the second night (against Brandon), we really came together. They were on fire, but we came together the second night and we didn't back down. We continued to fight and fight and coming into these next four games at home, we're going to bring that aggression into practice and it's going to translate into the game. We talked to coach, figured things out and we're going to come out with passion."
The Pronghorns will face a winless WolfPack team this weekend, but have been tested through the first three weeks of the Canada West season against teams over .500, splitting the opening weekend against the 4-2 Victoria Vikes before dropping a pair to the Trinity Western Spartans (4-2). The Bobcats were 3-1 heading into last weekend.
"It is a test," said Small of the tough schedule right off the bat. "Victoria we obviously played at home, but playing those teams on the road is always harder. So I'm thankful for the things we've learned and we've found out about ourselves and I think that's equally important, that you find out about your own identity and make adjustments. Now you have reference to tell the guys 'Look, this is where we have to be better and if you don't, you pay the price and lose the game.'" I think we're turning in the right direction and I think the schedule gets a little easier."
The WolfPack is coming off 78-63 and 92-68 losses to the UBC Okanagan Heat last weekend.
Offensively, Thompson Rivers is 17th in the Canada West with 61.5 points-per-game, but are ninth defensively with 81.5 points given up per game.
The WolfPack is led by Denys Bachurin, who is averaging 13.3 points-per-game and 3.7 rebounds per game. He also has 18 assists and seven steals.
Asher Mayan is second on Thompson Rivers with 12.7 points-per-game. He also leads the WolfPack with 5.2 rebounds per game.
Simon Crossfield is shooting .420 from the field for the WolfPack and is also .500 from the three-point line, an average of 2.5 per game. He is also averaging 9.8 points-per-game.
"I was fortunate to see them play in the playoffs here last year," said Small. "They're a well-coached team and they're a team that plays like a team. They're very disciplined and they play as a team. More importantly, we know they're desperate and maybe they see us in a bad spot. So we know we're in for a fight and we're really going to have to come out and play a good 40 minutes and just try and build off what we've been learning."
After cutting down on turnovers last weekend in Brandon, Pollard said that remains the focus heading into this weekend.
"We did that in Brandon. We had less turnovers and were hitting more shots. Hitting more shots is definitely key to winning these games. Losing to Brandon, we barely hit shots, and that was the key to the games. Brandon hit more shots than us. So it's keeping key defensive stops and hitting more shots."
Game time Friday night is 6 p.m. for the women's game and 8 p.m. for the men.
The women's game goes at 5 p.m. Saturday with the men to follow at 7 p.m.
