Just when it looked like Northern Illinois had turned the corner . . .
Another 18 percent shooting half. Another loss. Another headache for coach Brian Hammel.
”God made me greedy. I want the perfect game,” Hammel said just minutes after his Huskies had blown a 35-20 halftime lead Saturday against Cleveland State and lost 71-55. ”But God also gave me a short memory. I hope to forget about this in 24 hours.”
Fifteen hours later, watching tape of Monday night`s opponent, Akron, Hammel hadn`t forgotten about the night before.
It was the opener on a four-game homestand, and Northern, coming off road victories at Eastern Illinois and Loyola, was in the thick of the Mid-Continent Conference race for second place.
But after a dominating first half, the wheels came off. The open shots hit anything but net. By the end of the second 20 minutes, the Huskies had missed 23 of 28 shots.
”Unfortunately, it`s going to take a little longer than 24 hours to forget that game,” said Hammel, who hopes his club can rebound-literally-against Akron. ”Cleveland State only shot 36 percent, but when you shoot 18 percent in a half, 36 percent doesn`t seem all that bad. And you can`t give up 23 or 24 offensive rebounds and expect to win.”
Fatigue may have begun to set in on the Huskies (7-12, 4-5). Monday marks their fifth game in 10 nights. And with only nine players, two of whom-Randy Fens (elbow) and Brian Molis (ankle) are far from healthy-it doesn`t make matters any easier.
”We`ve tried putting Molis more inside, which isn`t his strength, just to get him in the game and limit his movement and cutting,” said Hammel.
”When he has to come out of the game, his ankle stiffens up. He`s almost to the point of really being frustrated.”
But Hammel and his staff aren`t frustrated with the effort they`re seeing.
”With the resiliency of this team,” said assistant coach Scott Duncan,
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”I expect them to come back.”