Asked about his plans next season, Huibregtse grabbed his lower back and said, “It depends on this.”
He’s been gimpy all year, missing one game entirely because of back issues. And while he’s been a high performer at times — scoring 31 points while going 7 of 14 on 3′s in the first meeting with Purdue Fort Wayne — he’s been as streaky as the rest of the team.
“The back doesn’t allow him to get the high-intensity reps he needs in practice. I think that’s where the wear and tear has had an impact. He’s not 100%. He needs every edge he can get,” coach Clint Sargent said.
“He’s No. 1 or 2 on the (opponent’s) scouting report, and how he played against (PFW) the last time, you knew they were going to make him a focus. But he had an off night. And we struggled to help him out.”
Huibregtse, averaging 14.5 points, failed to score for the first time in 90 games, going 0 of 7 from the field in 32 minutes in an 87-64 road loss to the Mastodons on Wednesday.
He went 0 of 6 from 3 and had a streak of 32 consecutive games with a trey come to an end.
“It was one of those nights collectively where we could not find any rhythm,” Sargent said.
Brandon Noel had 25 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double this season (he had nine last year), and Jack Doumbia had 15 points and eight boards.
But several players have been fighting an illness this week, according to Sargent. Starting guard Logan Woods missed the trip because he was sick.
But even at full strength, the Raiders would’ve been hard-pressed to handle the preseason Horizon League co-favorites, who moved one game closer to first-place Cleveland State.
The Mastodons shot 48.3% from the field and made a steady parade to the foul line, going 25 of 31. They were so dominant that a brick-fest from 3 didn’t matter (they went 6 of 23).
The Raiders were a dreadful 42.1% from the floor, 4 of 22 on 3′s and 12 of 24 on free throws.
“Give them a lot of credit for how disruptive they were. We just had a hard time adjusting and finding something other than Brandon inside that could give us any consistency,” Sargent said.
“When you’re playing from behind, they’re a hard team because of their guard play. And we just couldn’t ever get to a threatening position in the second half, which is uncommon for us. We typically punch back.”
The Raiders fell to 12-13 overall and 6-8 in the HL, three games out of fourth with six to go.
The top four seeds earn a first-round bye and a quarterfinal home game in the HL tourney.
Cleveland State is 11-2, PFW 10-4, Milwaukee 9-4, Robert Morris 10-5, Youngstown State 8-5, Oakland 7-6, Northern Kentucky 6-7, Detroit Mercy 4-10, IU Indy 4-10 and Green Bay 0-13.
The standings don’t include the Youngstown State-Oakland game Thursday night.
“I still believe in our team and the toughness we have and the talent we have, but we’re just riddled with inconsistency,” Sargent said. “It’s just been who we are. It’s who we’ve been through the whole season.
“We’ve not won three in a row. Now, it’s every other (game). I’m searching for answers to find more consistency in everything we do. We’d better find it soon because we’re running out of time.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
IU Indy at Wright State, 7 p.m., 101.5, 1410
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