Cougar Nation!

We had them! Both games this week, we had the victory in sight and we were unable to finish strong enough to achieve a win. The Walsh game on Tuesday was an eye-opener for the Cougars. Walsh came into the game ranked #2 in the nation with an impressive record of 14-1. There was a point to be made in this game and we were ready to make it. Before the game, a close friend of Coach Moore gave us a pre-game talk. He made a very good point that I will forever remember past my playing days. He instructed us to take a 10-second pause from warm-ups. He told us to stand still, close our eyes, and just pause and take in everything! He told us just to enjoy the smells of the popcorn, the sounds of the music and crowd and let the images of the game to run through our head in those ten seconds. That, to me, was an eye-opener. In middle school and high school before big games, my stomach would turn and I would have the butterflies like never before. I would not say that I lost those butterflies, but somewhere along the road they never quite showed up like they used too. When I paused for my 10 seconds before the Walsh game, those butterflies hit my stomach. The enjoyment of the game hit me again and an overall excitement filled me. The entire team seemed ready to play. In the first half, we came out and proved a point. We played our game and we played it very well. We controlled the ball and ended the half up by a point.

The second half of the Walsh game was very competitive. We stayed with them almost minute for minute. For around five minutes in the second half, Jordan Heatherly was unstoppable! He scored 10 points in seven possessions. In my opinion, this was Jordan’s best game of the year. That is why Heatherly (below right) is the Inside the Huddle Player of the Week. Then, with seven minutes to go, Walsh went on a run and we were not able to catch up. We had a chance to beat the #2 team in the nation, but unfortunately we were unable to finish the game.

Saturday’s game against UNOH (University of Northwestern Ohio) was defined perfectly by Coach Moore after the game, "You did not lose this game in the last three minutes of regulation - you lost this game in the first 20 minutes.” We came out Saturday flat. We did not have any passion and it was apparent by the way we played in the first twenty minutes. We turned the ball over and it felt like UNOH grabbed every single offensive rebound. At the half, we were down by 13. We knew what we had to do to win the game after our halftime talk with Coach. We battled the entire second half and with a powerful and much needed dunk by Adam Grimm we took the lead for the first time all game with 3 minutes to play. Again we found ourselves in a similar situation as the Walsh game. UNOH went on a small run only going up by 6 points and we were unable to come back. Coach could not have been more correct. Our play as a team in the first half had the ultimate effect on the outcome of the game.

This Saturday we play UNOH at home. It is going to be a game you do not want to miss. We as a team have something to prove. We also will host Cedarville on Tuedsay night, so you have plenty of opportunities to come out and support the team this week.

Lets Go Inside the Huddle:

Name: Jordan Heatherly

Number: 32

Year: Freshman (Athletically) Sophomore (Academically)

Major: Pre-Engineering

Nickname: The Lid, Goober (The Goob), Big J.

Hometown: Mason, OH

Favorite Place to Eat: Montgomery Inn - their BBQ ribs are world renown and The Lid is able to eat for free whenever he wants.

Favorite College Activity: Doing the Jerk (The dance move), Washing his car, and throwing snowballs.

Relationship Status: On Christmas Day, Jordan did not receive his Bumble Bee Transformer, but he did receive a friend. A Girl Friend. Her name is Lyndise Rogers and according to my sources she now claims the exclusive rights to The Goob. While the terms of her contract rights are unknown, we do know the contract has no expiration date unless Lyndise "Drops Him Like He’s Hot.”

One Quick Fact: Jordan once spiked a volleyball so hard Chuck Norris himself was in shock.

Peace!

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