Best darn sports column ever

Matt Helmus

Sports Editor

The streak is dead. After years (literally) of frustration the men’s basketball team whipped Olivet this past Saturday to end their conference-losing streak. It may be too soon to say that the slump is over but it is definitely great for the team to have a huge monkey off of its back.

The second half of the game saw the team play their best basketball of the season. The Scots went on a tear and were determined to finish out the game for a win. Earlier this year when the Scots would get back into a game they would seemingly hit a wall where a few mistakes would doom them. On Saturday the Scots not only maintained their composure toward the end of the game, they picked it up a notch to put the Comets away for good. Leading by 17 points the game became not only a win, but also a blowout.

If the Scots continue to play as they did in their big win they will prove that Coach Kohtala has made significant progress with this year’s team. The team does seem to be playing better each and every game. Even their loss earlier in the week to Tri State showed the Scots’ improvement. Although the Scots were down 72-57 at the half (!) they made a run to tie up the game before bowing out. They have now proved that they can finish off an opponent. The only way to go is up and that seems to be where the team is headed.

The next item of the docket is my first ever apology. The men’s tennis team did NOT begin play this past week. They have a preview in this week’s section. I’ll have to put the blame for this error on the quality AC website.

This brings up another thought that I have had all year. Some of you may not have noticed but the college neglected to bring back former Sports Information Direction Dave Girrard. This leaves the college undermanned in the Athletic Department. The coaches now are in charge of keeping their own statistics. This leaves the college behind most NCAA institutions. They no longer have someone in charge of keeping statistics, writing sports stories for release and being a contact person for sports information. I hope the college will seriously take a look at bringing in a Sport Information Director for next year. The athletic community strives to do their best to represent Alma College and the college should reciprocate and do what is best for the students.

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