Young Vikings Going Through a Steep Learning Curve

The Barstow men's basketball team consists of 9 freshmen. With such a young team, there are learning curves to be had. Similar to the first game of the season against Oxnard College, the Vikings dropped another winnable game as they fell to Cuyamaca College 81-88 at the Clash at the Canyons basketball tournament on Saturday. 

Unlike the season opener against Oxnard College where the Vikings trailed most of the game, against Cuyamaca, the team played controlled and appeared to be coasting towards their first victory of the season, or so they thought. 

With 5 minutes left in the second-half, Barstow was holding on to a 12-point lead. Rather than continue to add to the lead, the inexperience of the team started to show. In what the coaching describes as celebrating a little too early, the Coyotes went on a run and brought the score to a 75-75 tie. The momentum clearly shifting, along with turnovers and fouls, the Coyotes pulled off an improbable come from behind 81-88 win. 

Team captain Marc Docarmo played superb throughout the game. He led by example showing the younger players how to fight through adversity and to do your job without any excuses. Docarmo averaged 22 points per game, shot 50% from the floor, and was named on the all-tournament team. 

Javier Benito also had a very good weekend. After having a six turnover game in his first collegiate game, he made the adjustment and only had one turnover against Cuyamaca. Benito also averaged 3.5 assists and 12.5 points a game.

Prineko Kolaker also provided the team with a glimpse of what he can do. The 6' 1" guard hauled in 7.5 rebounds and 9.5 points. 

6'6 freshman Adrian Gonzalez from Spain led the team in rebounds averaging 10 per game. Gonzalez is still adjusting to the speed of the game, however, once he adjusts, the coaching staff is expecting for him to be more productive on the offensive side of the ball. 

Some of the positive takeaways from this weekend are 6 of the Vikings top 8 are shooting over 50% from the floor, with four averaging double figures and two others averaging 9-9.5 points. Also, despite the lack of height, Barstow has a +7 rebound margin over their opponents.

"We have to improve on our defense and take care of the ball," states head coach Gerry Wright. "Not only are we averaging 22 turnovers per game, we are also giving up double digit points off of those turnovers. We are fine offensively, we just need to clamp down on our defense."

The team is scheduled to travel to Miramar College on Wednesday. The staff continues to remind the players that winning is a process, it doesn't happen overnight. Embrace the grind, get better each day and the wins will come.