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Saint Leo Just Misses Chances

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By BART O'CONNELL, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 7, 2008

ST. LEO - Sometimes the most uneasy place to be for a basketball team is on the verge of greatness, the cusp of respect.

For all the growing optimism, confidence and competitive attitudes around Saint Leo's men's and women's teams, Saturday's Sunshine State Conference openers for both showed how razor-thin the difference can be between winning and losing, even against the best teams.

The Lions women (7-5, 0-1 SSC) lost 69-64 to Rollins in overtime at the Bowman Center, in large part because of free-throw shooting, something Saint Leo's players practice frequently. About three hours later, the men (6-5, 0-1) suffered a similar fate - losing 95-88 to the fourth-ranked Tars, once again in overtime.

In both games, the anticipation and importance of beating Rollins, one of the best programs in the Sunshine State Conference, could be heard in the vocal pleas from women's coach Chanita Olds and men's coach Mike Madagan. While both were frustrated after each game, they also were encouraged by the efforts they saw.

"We had good looks. We had the right people taking them," said Lions coach Mike Madagan of the final seconds in his game. "Sometimes they go in and you're the hero, and sometimes they miss and you've got to get a stop."

"I told them in the locker room to keep their heads up, you battled well," Olds said. "We have to do a better job on the boards, executing our free throws. The mistakes that we made are correctable mistakes."

The women sliced their way through Rollins' usually stingy defense throughout Saturday's early game. Forwards Melissa Guerero and Amanda Holloway led a dynamic scoring attack underneath the basket, finishing with 21 and 14 points, respectively.

But the aforementioned mistakes, mainly being outshot at the free-throw line 26-10, were the difference. The Lions were 2-for-4 at the line in the waning seconds of regulation.

"If we would've iced those, the game would have been done," Guerero said.

Rollins, which shot 31.3 percent from the field, made 23 of its free throws in the second half and overtime, most off of fouls underneath the basket.

"You're dealing with 18- to 21-, 22-year-olds, and their minds are just going and going, and when you see somebody attacking the basket, you're instinct is you've got to stop them. Sometimes players just forget the fundamental part of stopping them."

The men outshot Rollins, a rarity for any Tars opponent, led offensively by Dusty Driggs (23 points) and Jordan Prais (22 points, 13 rebounds). Kyle Rowland and Jonathan Banks combined to make five 3-pointers and add another dimension to the Lions' attack.

"That's what I think was they key," Madagan said. "I think that's a big step for us."

But Saint Leo missed two shots which would've given them a late lead in regulation, and reigning SSC Player of the Year Jonny Reibel, held to 2 points in regulation, scored nine in overtime, including a 3-pointer which capped an 11-2 run, Rollins' only significant scoring run in the game. The Tars scored 28 points in OT, nearly matching their first-half total (30).

"I think losing any way would have been frustrating, because I felt we were the better team coming in," Prais said. "I still think we're the better team, but they pulled it out by the hair of their chinny chin chin. I can't wait to play them again."

Correspondent Bart O'Connell

can be reached at

boconnell@pop.tampatrib.com.

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