The men’s basketball team is in rare form thus far in the opening month of the 2019-20 season. The Bucs have accumulated a 7-1 record with the only loss coming from ranked number four, Kansas 75-63.
“I thought we needed to be 7-1 to get where we want to go,” said head coach Steve Forbes, in regards to the season so far.
The Bucs are stacked this year with a plethora of experience with five seniors, six juniors and a sophomore. The Bucs also gained two new players with Charlie Weber (Owings, Maryland) and Damari Monsanto (Pembroke Pines, Florida).
The senior leadership is led by Tray Boyd III (Memphis, Tennessee), Jeremy Rodriguez (Santiago, Dominican Republic), Isaiah Tisdale (Lexington, Kentucky), Joe Hugley (Gaithersburg, Maryland) and Lucas N’Guessan (De Lier, Netherlands).
With strong leadership and experience the Bucs have been able to manage their overall record with just one loss. The Bucs have a strong offensive showing, outscoring their opponents 20 to 30 points. The season opener saw the Bucs win 79-50 over Newberry. The following two games saw two wins against Tenn-Martin 92-75, and Winthrop 61-58.
After the loss to Kansas, the Bucs accumulated a four-game winning streak. The latest game was a close one on the road in Little Rock, Arkansas, against the Trojans, where sophomore Daivien Williamson (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) led a comeback for the Bucs winning 67-63. Williamson totaled 14 points in the second half with an overall finish of a game high 20 points.
“We just had to stay relaxed and keep our composure,” said Williamson, in regards to the team’s final game plan in the second half.
It is still early in the season for the Bucs, but so far they are finding success on the court. Southern Conference play launches Dec. 4 at The Citadel and resumes New Year’s Day with a home game against Wofford. The Bucs also have several games with non-conference foes over the holiday break, including a game at LSU Dec. 18.
