Volcanoes Can't Get Past Slam
May 27, 2014 - International Basketball League (IBL)
Vancouver Volcanoes News Release
Bellingham, WA - Missing pieces and lack of defense lead to a loss on the road for the Volcanoes who will take their game back to Clark College on Saturday versus the Flight.
Head Coach Joe Navarro said, "we know what we need to work on and we will go up there and play better defensively," before the Memorial Day match up, but the team just couldn't get the job done. "I don't think we gave up, I thought we played hard through the game, it's frustrating guys are playing out of position and Bellingham went on that run, when they make shots it kind of gets deflating. I am really proud of the way my guys played tonight," Navarro said proudly.
"We are without two of our point guards (Josh) Tarver, (Cedale) Doyle, Andre (Murray) and (Dan) Feast played a lot of the one spot today, and with our depleted roster I thought we came up here and played really well. With the guys on the bench, they really showed me a lot. We were without seven guys, four of them are All Stars. But it is good to see our guys play different positions, like 6'6" F Adam Herman is playing a lot of the three with us right now, he was more of a natural four in college. I think his size is going to be better at the next level if he is playing the three. He is a 20 and 10 kid, he does whatever he wants on the basketball court, I saw him for two years at Concordia, he is super efficient and one heck of a player," Coach Navarro boasts. Certainly, one to watch and may break into the In the Game Watch List soon with these types of numbers.
6'2" G Andre Murray . Added 18 points with 6 assists, but even his crafty ways of getting to the basket weren't enough to take what would have been their first win in three games against the home team. "When you build chemistry with a certain group of guys it affects all of you, guys had to play more minutes but it was a good effort overall and we'll be alright. These losses are behind us and day by day we get better. The Slam came prepared, there are holes in our defense and we will be ready when the next time comes," the All Star stated with clear intent on winning the next time these two teams meet up.
6'10" C Calvin Hampton lead all scoring for the Volcanoes with 21 points, adding 10 rebounds for his fourth double double on the season, showing emotion once again on the court in the loss. Newcomer Herman also put up a double double with 20 points and 10 boards to show for his efforts, along with an impressive slam dunk in the Slams house which got some cheers from the crowd in the third quarter. "Individually it went well, but we came here to get a win, that is our main focus so we have to fix some things on the defensive end and get back to it. We will come back home be aggressive, and we will be ready to play basketball. This game is a lot faster, it is a transition to pro for me, but it's been good," the IBL Rookie shared.
The Slam pulled away in the fourth and there was no turning back, taking a convincing win 127-110. "They make shots and they make a lot of them, defensively we tried to do a bunch of different things with them, but when Jacob and Mo are shooting it the way they shot it, they are really good. We didn't rebound the ball defensively as well as we should and we gave them a lot of second chance opportunities." Coach Navarro admitted about his team's effort tonight up north.
"We have Seattle on Saturday, we are going to concentrate on ourselves, and work on our defensive rotations. I was talking to Coach Hunter at halftime, you put in the offensive system in and then you work on your defensive system at the mid way point of the season and we are at that point. Our offensive looks really good, now we have to concentrate on our defensive schemes."
Action for the team continues at home Saturday, May 31st against the Seattle Flight, featuring a halftime show by the Volcanoes Dancers with special guests. Admission at the door at Clark College Adults $7, Students under 18 and Seniors over 65 $3, Children Age 7 & under FREE!
International Basketball League Stories from May 27, 2014
- Volcanoes Can't Get Past Slam - Vancouver Volcanoes
- Anderson Near-Perfect for Slam in 127-110 Win over Vancouver - Bellingham Slam
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