January 2, 2009 | Box Score
Columbia, MO-The men's basketball team was excited about the second half of the season starting tonight allowing them to make a fresh start. After dropping eight consecutive games coming into tonight and posting a record of only 2-10, the Jackets were forced to take on a very good Columbia College (11-2) Cougar team. Graceland faced the Cougars in Daytona Beach late in November in the Mitsubishi Shootout in a game that Columbia won 81-55. Tonight the Jackets played a much more aggressive game and played their strongest defense of the season but struggled to score falling 79-58.
The Jackets had three scorers in double figures led by senior Matt Mullins (Burleson, TX) with 12. Jewel Carter (Kansas City, KS) added 11 and Freddy Franco (Roswell, NM) had 10.
"The score might not show it tonight but our effort was the best it's been all year," stated Coach Hamilton following the game. "Columbia is a very good team and we defended them well for 40 minutes. Tonight our shooting killed us. It's hard to play so well on one end of the floor and struggle so much on the other. The fact is however in basketball you have those rough nights from the floor where the ball just won't go in. There were many positives tonight to take from this game and we'll continue to the lay the foundation and build from where we are," finished Hamilton.
The Jackets are right back at it tomorrow night as they'll face William Woods University (4-8) at the Columbia College Cancer Classic in Columbia, MO at 4:00pm. Stay tuned to the Jacket athletics website for continuing coverage of the men's basketball team and all of Jacket athletics.
For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact:
Matt Shelton, Sports Information Director
(641) 784-5318
mshelton@graceland.edu
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