Sunday, December 6, 2009

Early Look: WNY Losses Not Indicative

Here's No. 8 in a series taking an early look at conference teams. Up, now ...

Loyola (0-2, 4-4)

The Greyhounds fell victim to the pratfalls of the Western New York trip over the weekend, losing 70-65 at Canisius on Friday and 77-57 to Niagara today (Sunday).

Brett Harvey, off to a good start, had his first tough result of the year shooting 2-of-11 for just five points in 32 minutes against the quickness of Niagara. Another Greyhound, 6-10 center Shane Walker also struggled, committing six turnovers in the contest.

The good news is that last year's leading scorer in the conference, junior guard Jamal Barney made his first start and had a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds.

On the year, Walker has been solid, averaging 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds and fills a gap for inside play the team was lacking a year ago.

Insight: The western swing is never easy, and not only is Niagara very good but Canisius is much improved. The Greyhounds are still looking like a solid team who should get better as the season progresses.

No comments: