BASKETBALL: Shorthanded Chaps still roll to convincing victory

MC was only able to dress up seven players in the final home game of the fall semester as the team has been dealing with injuries and illness for a large part of the early season.

Even with just seven players, Strength 'N Motion was the one that had trouble keeping up with the Chaps.

Keonte Jones poured in a game-high 25 points to lead MC (12-1), Doug Young had 23, Trent Johnson and Xavier White each had 11, and Brison Waller added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Chaps only led 15-14 at the 10:36 mark of the first half before they closed it out with a 33-8 run to pull away.

"It was to be expected," said first-year MC coach Tra Arnold about the slow start. "We only had seven guys and we've had some tough practices. I'm glad with how we finished though.

"I tell them as long as we have five, that's what we're going to do. We're not going to let up. These guys have bought in."

Jones said depending on the competition, it's sometimes hard to get into a rhythm.

"We shouldn't take any team for granted, but we're working on that," he said. "We came out in the second half ready and juiced up. We had a pep talk and coach got in our ears and let us know not to take anything for granted."

Jones added that the Chaps are nowhere near their peak.

"We've been struggling with injuries a lot, so hopefully they'll get better," he said. "We haven't played our best game yet. We still have a lot to work on. We're not satisfied with anything, but we're working hard every day in practice. Hopefully, we'll play our best game when conference comes."

Arnold said he will likely have two players back in time for Thursday's game at Weatherford College, which is expected to be a much tougher test.

"That will be one of the best teams we've played," Arnold said. "It will be on the road and in a good environment, so it will kind of tell us where we're at with our seven guys. Hopefully, we get the other guys back. But everything is a test. With seven guys, we played three games last weekend, fought through a little bit of what we can call excuses. Some guys wore down a bit, which is not an excuse. Now, we don't have to play anything like that until March. The guys are responding and working hard. It's a long process."

Thursday's game will also be the last for MC until the Western Junior College Athletic Conference opener at Howard College on Jan. 7.

"Honestly, we need it with all the injuries we have," said Arnold of the lengthy break. "We'll practice most of the break, but we'll have some time off too. It's a little long but I've been doing this for 10 years, so I'm used to it."