By Rusty Nixon
Correspondent
PLYMOUTH – It was a tough Saturday for Plymouth’s Pilgrims as they dropped a home contest to Elkhart Memorial – their final NLC game of the year – by a 61-51 final.
A big win on Tuesday over Penn was no indication of a sluggish Plymouth approach to the Chargers full court pressure. Memorial jumped out to a big early lead, and while the Pilgrims were able to recover and lead for a portion in the middle of the game it resulted in an Elkhart win.
“It’s a step back for us today but we get another chance to get back at it and improve in some areas,” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Bales. “We haven’t seen a lot of press this year and obviously we have some work to do with that. South Bend teams and anybody who gets ahold of this film – why wouldn’t you press us?”
The Chargers ran out to a 12 point early lead and weathered Plymouth runs in the second quarter and out of the locker room at half to extend their lead in the games final 3 minutes and take the win.
“Anybody watching today you can tell who set the tone, they came out very aggressive,” said Bales. “It’s very, very frustrating and very disappointing. How you let a team come into our house and set the tone that way is very disappointing from a Pilgrim standpoint.”
The Pilgrims wouldn’t go away without a fight coming from the bench. Jack Barron and Matt Friar provided a spark to the Plymouth attack and it was especially significant from Barron.
“He missed (practice) yesterday, he has the flu,” said Bales. “He comes out here and competes extremely hard. He put up a fight. That’s something we didn’t get early in the game. I thought our bench guys came out and gave us a great spark.”
Dimitri Giger had a big game for Memorial with a game high 17 points. It was not unexpected from the scouting report. Senior Charger guard Cameron Maxwell added the punch at the end that finished the game.
“When he (Giger) can cut across the lane freely and shoot open jump shots – he’s already a great player and we made him even better,” said Bales. “Just a lack of execution on our part but you have to give them credit.
“We were told not to leave Maxwell alone and two back to back possession he does what he’s done all year and shoot daggers. It’s very frustrating. It’s one thing to lose, it’s another to lose with a lack of intensity and I just can’t explain it.”
Plymouth (13-7) will face Glenn at home on Tuesday.
Score by Quarters
Elk. Mem. 17 33 42 61
Plymouth 5 29 40 51
Elkhart Memorial (61) -Maxwell 4 0-0 11, Giger 5 6-6 17, Baker 1 0-0 2, Kale 0 0-0 0 Gary 1 0-0 2, Rhodes 4 0-0 9, Bailey 6 0-0 13, O’Toole 3 1-1 7. Totals 24 8-11 61.
Plymouth (51) – Barron 0 0-0 0, Eveland 3 0-0 8, Yoder 3 1-2 7, Felke 2 2-2 7, Holloway 0 0-0 0, Anders 4 3-3 11, Friar 1 1-1 3, England 4 7-9 15. Totals 17 13-15 51.
3 Pt. FG – Plymouth 4-13 (Eveland 2), Memorial 5-11 (Maxwell 3).
Rebounds – Plymouth 13 (Eveland 6), Memorial 14 (Giger 7).
Assists – Plymouth 6 (Felke 3), Memorial 6 (Baker 2).
Steals – Plymouth 4 (England 2), Memorial 7 (Maxwell, Bailey 2).
Turnovers – Plymouth 11, Memorial 4.
Fouls (Fouled out) – Plymouth 13 (Anders), Memorial 17.
