Men’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball had two home games this week to continue Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play. On Thursday, against New Mexico State University (NMSU), the Redhawks, 0-5 in the WAC, were defeated by the Aggies, 3-1 in the WAC, by a final score of 60-87.

The Redhawks struggled in the first half, shooting 27 percent for all shooting attempts, leaving a halftime score of 24-50 in favor of NMSU New Mexico. The Redhawks looked much better in the second half, shooting a much-improved 50 percent from the floor. showed much improvement for field goal attempts as the Redhawks scored for 50 percent of their attempts.

The first half deficit was too much for the Redhawks to overcome, they were defeated at the Redhawk Center by a final score of 60-87. Junior Delante Jones led the scoreboards for the Redhawks with 18 points. Junior Myles Carter added 13 points of his own.

“New Mexico State played really, really well tonight,” Head Coach Jim Hayford said in a postgame press conference. “We’re having to gain some valuable experience right now and the hardest part of experience is gaining it.”

During a post-game press conference, Hayford acknowledged the importance of team chemistry when dealing with injuries, such as Junior Matej Kavas who is out with a knee injury. He said the team must adapt and step up in times of difficulty while improving together as a team.

On Saturday, the Redhawks faced the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) who are 2-3 in the WAC and came up short at their second home game of the week. UTRGV would defeat the Redhawks, 67-62.

Against UTRGV, there were nine lead changes throughout the game. Carter led the game with a career high of 28 points in addition to collecting nearly half the Redhawk rebounds, hauling in 15 rebounds out of the team’s collective 33.

“It’s growing pains, we are a young team with a young bench and people have to step up,” Carter said in a postgame press conference. “If one guy is out of sync, it hurts the team.”

The Redhawks will continue WAC play in Chicago on Jan. 24.

Men’s Tennis

Men’s tennis kicked off their first matches of 2019 against Portland State University (PSU) at University of Oregon on Saturday and continued against the University of Oregon on Sunday.

The team would collectively lose to the Vikings 6-1 over all competitions. Junior Alex Chan took a singles victory for the Redhawks in three sets: 5-7, 6-1, 10-7. The Vikings would dominate the three doubles
matches played.

The following day, Seattle U fell 0-7 in both singles and doubles to ranked number 32, Oregon. Despite two defeats this weekend, competitions against PAC-12 teams are valuable experience before conference play.

Men’s tennis will face PSU again on Feb. 2.

Alexandro may be reached at
[email protected]