Pride Bested by Cardinals in GLIAC/GLVC Challenge Finale
LIBERTY, MO. –- The Purdue University Northwest men’s basketball team was unable to come up with a victory Saturday in the finale of the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge, as they were defeated by the William Jewell Cardinals 99-83. Junior Durante Lee paced the Pride with 16 points and pulled down five rebounds.
PNW was able to jump out to a 7-4 lead early after a bucket from Richard Robertson. The Cardinals took the lead back and never relinquished it as they put up 57 first-half points. Guard Keith Hayes finished with 22 points in 32 minutes as the Black and Gold had no answers for the senior guard.
Freshman guard Dean Tate had another strong performance in his second career college game, as he scored 15 points and corralled five rebounds. Robertson nearly earned a double-double after recording 13 points and eight rebounds. PNW also got ten points from another freshman in Anthony Barnard, who also pulled down eight rebounds.
“We’re never going to be happy with a loss, but we had spurts today where we showed a lot of growth from our first game. Our second half focus on the defensive end was much better, and we got to the paint and created easier shots for each other,” coach Boomer Roberts said after the contest.
“Defensively, we need to be more consistent and trust that each guy will do his job, and that only comes with time. We’re playing five freshmen and everything we’re teaching is new to all our guys, so we’re a work in progress. But we’ve got hungry guys who won’t back down from challenges, so we’ll watch the film, learn, and keep getting better,” Roberts emphasized.
The Pride will return to Hammond Wednesday as they play their first home contest of 2018-19 against Lincoln Christian at 7 pm (CST). Tickets for the matchup inside the Fitness and Recreation Center are $6 for adults and $4 for kids and can be purchased at the ticket booth.
