Yellow Jackets encounter stinging defeat against Ohio Dominican Panthers

By Lauren Vargas

The Cedarville’s men’s basketball fan base walked away a little less confident this past Thursday, January 23, as, in a devastating turn of events, their team fell to the Ohio Dominican Panthers 68-51.

Both teams started strong, and fans knew an exciting game was afoot. Ohio Dominican ramped up their energy and pace within the first few minutes of the game and quickly sank multiple consecutive baskets.

The Jackets, not wanting to be outdone, swept in with three-pointers of their own, evening out the score. Top scorer number 22, Tymoteusz Pszczola, bodied his way to the net on multiple occasions.

However, the attempts on the Jacket’s part were not enough. This, combined with an excess of unchanneled energy, earned Cedarville multiple fouls and handed the Panthers free throws.

Cedarville was always right at the net, boarding rebound after rebound from the Panthers’ shot attempts. Unfortunately, it was not enough to counter Ohio Dominican’s ever-evolving strategy, and the Jackets struggled to get the ball in the net.

“The deficit, the hole that we were in, was a product of just not being able to make some shots,” Coach Rob Jones said.

The Panthers had scoring consistency, and in the end, that’s what counted. Ohio Dominican made one last push and scored a bucket right as the clock signaled the end of the half, leaving the Jackets in deeper frustration.

Rejuvenated, they continued to put pressure on the Panthers. As if by providence, the Jackets had their own shot at some free throws, this time getting nothing but net. Fortunately for the Panthers, pressure refined their gameplay, and with equal vigor, they made several more shots successfully. 

“The more that we missed outside shots, they really tightened up their defense, and there were just not a lot of free lanes in getting to the rim,” Jones said.

The Panthers were hungry for blood and ultimately walked away with the victory, leaving the Cedarville men’s team searching for a way to adapt.

“We got to find some fluidity and rhythm in terms of our offense. Some of that is lineups and guys that are playing together, and some of that is just confidence in seeing the ball go in the basket,” Jones said. “We’ll continue to evaluate those things, we’ll get back in the gym, and continue to work at it.”

Although a stinging loss for the Yellow Jackets, improvement is hopefully on its way as they prepare for next week’s encounter with Hillsdale Chargers.

Lauren Vargas is a freshman biology student with a minor in Spanish, and a sports writer for Cedars. She’s an avid weightlifter and loves watching movies in her free time.

Photo by Preston Cavin