Once the pain subsides, of course.
“This is a part of coaching sports: You walk away from that thing 1-2, and knowing how well we played, to come away with that record, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” first-year coach Clint Sargent said.
“(But) I think we’re right there. A breakthrough is coming. In my opinion, the program can get back to where we want it to be. We need to learn, in every which way, from the close losses … and that’s taking place. But the question marks of what this was going to be maybe a month ago, I think they’re being answered.”
After blasting Princeton in their opener, the Raiders lost, 77-74, to eventual champion Bradley in the semifinals and fell to South Florida, 73-72, in the third-place game Sunday.
Both setbacks, though, easily could have been flipped.
They took a one-point lead against South Florida on Jack Doumbia’s jumper near the foul line with 6.8 seconds to go, but they lost on a contested 15-footer from the baseline with 0.4 seconds left.
They were tied with Bradley, 71-all, with two minutes to go. But the Braves took control on a hurried 3-pointer that banked in as the shot clock was expiring.
Sargent said he thought he could’ve managed the last four minutes against Bradley better (his team had a three-point lead), but despite rehashing the South Florida finish (over and over), there was nothing he could do differently.
“I had to kill timeouts throughout the second half, just to give our guys rest (from playing three games in four days). We got to the final stretch, and that’s my only regret — not having one at the end where (Doumbia) makes that, and we can call one and get our defense set,” Sargent said.
The Raiders, though, had been trained for that situation — not allowing penetration, forcing the ball away from the lane and challenging the shooter.
That’s exactly how it unfolded, but star guard Jayden Reid made a tough shot.
“I’m sitting here wanting more for our players. I want them to feel the fruit of their labor because they’re doing everything we’re asking them to do. They’re pouring it out. And there’s no doubt, in time, the wins will come,” Sargent said.
SHUTTING ‘EM DOWN: The Raiders’ defense was solid. They held Ivy League preseason player of the year Caden Pierce to six points on 2-of-7 shooting.
They also smothered Duke Deen, the preseason Missouri Valley Conference player of the year. He had 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
“Our guys were ready for the challenge in both those match-ups,” Sargent said.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: The Raiders were trying to win their first in-season tourney away from home since capturing the San Juan Shootout title Dec. 20-22, 2008.
They beat Oral Roberts, 59-46; South Florida, 60-43; and Murray State, 57-41.
NOTABLE EFFORTS: Doumbia had 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 10 rebounds against South Florida, and fellow sub Solomon Callaghan had 14 points, going 3 of 5 from 3.
But Brandon Noel looked tuckered out against South Florida.
Averaging 23 points and 8.9 rebounds and shooting 57.3% from the field, he finished with five points on 1-of-7 shooting and six boards. He also had made 22 straight free throws over four games before three second-half misses.
CHAMPS CROWNED: Bradley beat Middle Tennessee, 80-69, in the finals. The Braves shot 50% from the field, went 10 of 22 on 3′s and were 12 of 12 on foul shots.
MTSU, South Florida and Texas State went 2-1, while Princeton and Ohio were 1-2 and Portland 0-3.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Air Force at Wright State, 7 p.m., 101.5, 1410
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