Depleted Trojans Taking Their Lumps

Illness and injury are making the start of the season a challenge for Lely head coach Fritz Jacques. Playing without his starting backcourt on Thursday, December 7, Jacques saw his Trojans go down at home, 55-52, to Aubrey Rogers, despite a strong first half.

After enjoying a lead of 7-10 points throughout the first half, Aubrey Rogers was able to flip the script on the Trojans in the second half. The Patriots (3-2) pressured the Trojans guards before they brought the ball across midcourt in the second half and it paid dividends. 

“Man, we’re turning the ball over too much,” Fritz Jacques said after the game, “we’ve been doing that all season.”

The Trojans miss their solid backcourt from last season, Dave Louidor and Mark Belizaire. This season’s starting guards are Lovence Valcin and Richard Obas.

“Lovence and Richard,” Jacques said, "they've been starting all year. One’s out with a knee, one has a fever. “Lovence is our leading scorer. Richard is right there, he's our second leading scorer. They’re the guys that handle the rock.”

Illness has run through the Trojans roster. Their roster was deeply depleted in a lopsided 72-32 loss at Lehigh on Wednesday, December 6.

"I had six guys out,” Jacques said, "one of our guys got sick at the Naples game (November 30), and it's just running through our team right now.”

Another of Jacques’ top players, Jayce Cora, who’s been sick, probably shouldn’t have been playing against Aubrey Rogers. The rangy junior still managed six points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots. He also brought the crowd - and his teammates - to their feet with a rim rattling dunk.

“Jayce hasn’t played for two nights,” Jacques said, "I didn't want to play him that much but he kept telling me he was all right.”

Senior Marvell Jean Pierre was Lely’s leading scorer against the Patriots with 10 points. Junior Wally Monpremier filled up the score sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a blocked shot.

Aubrey Rogers’ Muhammad Yusuf was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. Dylan Lash scored 12 and Jackson Rose 11 for the Patriots.

Jacques is being patient with his team, whose record stands at 1-4.

“These guys are learning the hard way,” Jacques said. “We've just got to keep chopping the wood. We can't cry about it because next week we’ve got big rivalry games against Palmetto Ridge and Golden Gate, and we've got a well-coached Seacrest team, so we've got to figure it out. A lot of these guys are learning. They've got to protect the ball like it was a baby. If it's a newborn baby you're not just going to throw it anyway, right? You're going to be very careful with it. That's what they've got to learn about basketball. We have to play defense on this team and rebound. And once they learn those things, I think we'll be alright.”

Lely traveled to Palmetto Ridge on Tuesday, after the Coastal Breeze News deadline, then travel to Golden Gate Thursday, and host Seacrest on Friday.