Author: Gil Alcaraz
The men’s basketball season is underway, and the Tigers are looking to start off strong and to get some early wins under their belts.
Coming off a year in which the Tigers fell short of the SCIAC championship and a trip to the playoffs, they have high hopes for returning to SCIAC dominance. The Tigers won the championship in the ’06-’07 and ’07-’08 seasons, and have booked themselves trips to the NCAA tournament in both those years, as well as in the ’05-’06 season.
Head Coach Brian Newhall feels that his team can make a comeback stronger than last year. When asked how he thinks the team has been playing so far, he said that “[the] season is off to a good start . . . things [are] back on track with a strong recruiting class and Huston Conti returning from a year abroad.”
The team has been practicing as well as playing hard, and, according to Newhall, there is “excellent competition at practice every day.” His hopes are high that the Tigers can return to their winning ways and find a way back to the NCAA tournament.
The Tigers brought in a strong recruiting class consisting of eight first-years, two of which have already earned themselves starting spots on the varsity team.
Deshun McCoy (first-year) and Eric Leider (first-year) have been a good scoring duo so far, along with the senior leadership of Huston Conti (senior), who is returning from a year over-seas. These three players combined have averaged just under 45 points a game. The other two starters, Sean Anderson (senior) and Jack Hanley (sophomore), have been consistent and good contributors so far this season. Other players that have made contributions in the first few games are David Ostrow (senior), Peter Gierlach (senior) and Jake Copithorne (sophomore).
Newhall feels that the Conti, McCoy and Leider triple-threat will be a force to be reckoned with when the conference games roll around. “[They have] added much needed fire power,” he said.
To help his team prepare for one of the most competitive SCIAC schedules in recent years, Newhall has scheduled 11 rigorous non-conference games during which the Tigers will be able to hone their skills and come together as a team.
The first of these games was an exhibition game against University of San Diego, in which they lost. Their next game was against Azusa Pacific, which they also lost, with a score of 57-74.
Their last two games, however, have been much more successful. On Nov. 20, the Tigers took a trip to play against West Coast Baptist. Carried by the electrifying shooting of guard Conti, who scored 32 points that night, Oxy was able to come away with a dominant victory, 85-66.
With their home opener on Nov. 24, the Tigers hosted American Sports University. Conti was again the Tigers’ leader in points, contributing 19, while both McCoy and Leider also contributed 16 points each.McCoy, a native of Los Angeles, has had a terrific impact on an Oxy team that lacked a sparkplug player and scoring potential last season.
“We are a really young and very talented team with a great coaching staff,” McCoy said. “Now we have to work towards bettering our team chemistry, which will make us a force to be reckoned with.”
Their past two games have shown that they have the talent and potential to put up a fight for the SCIAC championship.
Newhall’s main goals for the season are to win the conference championship, as well as the conference tournament, at season’s end, and to earn him and his team a spot in the NCAA tournament.
The Tigers’ next home game will be on Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Rush Gym against prior-competitor West Coast Baptist.
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