Early in the 2005 season, the Rensselaer men’s basketball team has played RPI’s brand of hoops: hustle, rebound, defend, and miss shots. After just three games, the Red Hawks are fortunate to stand at 1-2 after shooting just 33 percent from the field over the same span. RPI has managed to average just 57.7 points per game compared to their opponents 64.3.
“It’s not so much our shooting, but rather an inability to score,” Head Coach Mike Griffin said of his team’s offensive woes. “We are shooting well, but we are failing to finish around the basket as well.”
This alarming trend was most evident in the Red Hawks’ most recent loss, a 72-61 defeat on Sunday, November 27, at the hands of Williams College. RPI, who trailed just 34-30 at the half, shot a dismal 2-17 to open the game’s second session, and quickly found themselves down double digits.
RPI narrowed the lead down to seven with just under six minutes to go, but Williams’ Casey Gibbons hit one of his five three-pointers to get the lead back to 10. The Ephs, who shot over 50 percent from the field and were 8-14 from beyond the arc, would cruise the rest of the way for the victory.
The lone positive in the contest for RPI was rebounding. The Red Hawks out-rebounded one of the most successful programs in Division III. RPI grabbed 48 boards compared to 34 for Williams, which has made more Final Four appearances than any other team since 1994. Rensselaer, however, trailed in every other statistical category.
“We played hard,” Griffin said. “You can’t win without that, but we made it look like a shooting drill for them. We failed to put any pressure on them mentally.”
Tom Schneider, who was named Liberty League Forward of the Week, led RPI with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 caroms. He is averaging 14.3 points and 10 rebounds for the season, but Griffin and the Red Hawks still need more from their big forward.
“We need Tom to be one of the best in the league,” Griffin, now in his 11th year as coach, said. “He can and needs to be at least First Team All-Conference for us to be successful. Being Player of the Year is not out of his reach.”
The extended scoring drought the Red Hawks experienced against Williams was unfortunately not a rarity for RPI. Against Gettysburg in the championship game of the Gettysburg Tip-Off Tournament on November 19, Rensselaer shot just 3-22 in the first half, committed 10 turnovers, allowing the Bullets to go on a 36-6 run. The Red Hawks would eventually fall in a 69-51 rout.
“I was very disappointed with our play against Gettysburg,” Griffin said. “I thought we would be very competitive. It was a tough away game, but this team has played a lot of big road games. That shouldn’t affect this team, but it obviously did.”
RPI’s lone win came on November 18 against Neumann College. The Red Hawks still struggled from the field, but triumphed 61-52 in what Griffin called a “ragged opening game.”
The biggest concern for Griffin is his players’ confidence, and if the Red Hawks’ continue to struggle from the field, the hoop may only start to get smaller for RPI.
“We have to break out of this and nail some shots,” Griffin said. “We have been encouraging aggressive play in practice to force guys to make shots with the contact and play through the foul.”
Griffin is also hoping to get more balance, but more importantly, more production offensively from the rest of his team. After Schneider, only senior guards Neal Wesson and Paul Halas, and sophomore forward Graham Gordon, are averaging more than seven points a contest.
RPI has won 31 games in the two seasons, but only two of those wins occurred when the Red Hawks’ scored 61 points or less, which is all they mustered against Williams last Sunday. Griffin believes his team must score in the high 60s or low 70s in order to be successful, but RPI’s struggling should get a boost.
Senior forward Matt Zepernick has only practiced 10 times since returning from a bone bruise on his knee, and senior guard and sixth man Joe Johnson has only practiced seven times since the men’s soccer team finished play.
The RPI offense will need a quick jolt as they prepare to travel to Kings Point today and Mount Saint Mary’s on Saturday. Kings Point is currently averaging 80 points a game while Mount Saint Mary’s is posting 90-plus a contest.
