Exhibition game gives hope to basketball fans
Kevin Bryce
Issue date: 11/9/09 Section: Sports
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It was a great game with a strong win of 75-39.
Newcomer, junior forward Jay Couisnard started the game off right.
He won the tip and dropped three shots from behind the arc to put the first 9 points on the board for the Roos.
Head Coach Matt Brown is proud to have Couisnard playing and leading the team as a captain.
"When [Jay's] on the floor he makes everybody better," Brown said. "Just because of the speed of his game, the way he passes, the way he defends and most importantly the way he leads."
Couisnard credits a lot of his ability on the floor to his teammates.
"Everybody is on attack mode," Couisnard said. "So that makes the game a lot easier too with the penetrating and then the pass to the open man. On the penetrate and kick it's not that hard to make a wide open shot."
In the opening minutes, UMKC was fighting jitters and let some small, avoidable errors occur.
"We've got a lot of new players who had this as their first Division-1 college game," junior forward Spencer Johnson said. "We're going to have a few mistakes, but it's just first time jitters. But really I think after this first game everyone's going to be prepared to play and everyone's going to be more focused for the next game."
UMKC had a strong defense that worked as a unit and held Bethel to only 16 points in the first half. The defensive effort allowed the men to shine on offense.
Freshman forward Fred Chatmon showed up and brought four points to the table with three minutes left in the half.
After his two quick baskets he fought strong for an offensive board and dropped another to bring his tally to six.
UMKC shot an overall 43.1 percent from field goal range, and 73.3 percent from the free-throw line.
"Everyone on this team is more dedicated than last year," Couisnard said. "Whenever they have a chance you always find one of us in the gym getting in those extra shots, preparing themselves before practice and during practice just for the game time situation."
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