The Patriot men’s and women’s teams came into the season with high hopes as they have
gotten progressively better every year for the past few seasons. Headed into the home opener,
both Patriot coaches felt good about their chances to succeed in the Peach Belt Conference
(PBC) this season.
Men’s head coach Gary Edwards felt as though once the new players learned to work
alongside the four returning players, Evrik Gary, Robert Carpenter, Dustin Jones and Tyler Deihl,
the team would have the chance to become serious contenders.
“We are excited to start the season,” Edwards said. “Certainly, we have a good mix of
returning players. It’s started out slow in the preseason trying to get some of the new guys
acclimated. We have had a couple scrimmages under our belt that I think will help us going into
the season.”
One of the Patriot’s biggest problems over the last few seasons has been size. Now they have
a little more with newcomers Clark Major and Mykel Harris.Edwards was very big onMajor, the
6’10” centerfrom Pembroke Pines, Fla.
“I think Clark Major has a tremendous amount of potential,” Edwards said. “He’s our largest
player. He’s active; he’s got good feet and good touch around the basket. I think the sky is the
limit for him.”
Major has not disappointed thus far as he led the Patriot’s to a 72-49 home-opening victory
against Virginia University of Lynchburg (VUL). He scored 14 points and brought down 8
rebounds in 32 minutes of play.
The 6’7” Mykel Harris chipped in with 8 points in 14 minutes of the bench. The returners,
Gary, Deihl, Carpenter and Jones, combined for 30 points in the victory, despite struggling from
the field.
The Patriots only shot 40 percent from the field and got off to a slow start against VUL but
pulled away in the second half.
The Lady Pats have some newcomers as well, but with this team, it is more about the
returners. Like the men’s team though, chemistry will be a top priority.
Women’s head coach Kate Glusko said she thinks that chemistry is a strong point for this
year’s basketball team.
“I love this group of players,”Glusko said. “They have great attitudes, and they all have the
will to win.”
That chemistry and will showed in the home opener as five Patriots scored double figures in
a 98-42 win against Lynchburg.
Dee Gray and Briana Robinson, two returners, combined for 27 points in the victory while
newcomers Cy’erra Mills, Alexia Bell and Chelsea Dukes combined for 41.
The collective effort was also shown in other areas of the stat sheet as they racked up 24
assists as a team along with 51 rebounds and 38 points from turnovers in the win.
The Lady Pats have increased their record to 2-1 in the season while the men’s team moves
to 1-0. Both the men and women’s teams will go on the road for a two-game road trip before
opening the conference at home against Georgia College on Dec. 2.