PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It’s not uncommon that a long stretch without games will hurt a team. After only practicing and not going at game speed, the adjustment is just too much and the team struggles initially. Sometimes that team is never the same again the rest of the way. But for Brown, a long stretch in December without games might be just what the doctor ordered when the season is all said and done.
The Bears played a lot of games in a short time prior to having a long break for final exams and the holidays. They didn’t play a game for three weeks. Jesse Agel could have scheduled a game in that time, but felt it wasn’t a good move in a practical sense. After Monday night’s 72-71 overtime win over Wagner, there’s another reason that move looks good.
The Bears have some talent in their freshman class, and it’s shown already. Matt Sullivan has started every game thus far and shows the potential to be at least as good as older brother Peter. Andrew McCarthy has put up some good numbers thus far, with his 15-point effort on Monday (on 7-9 shooting from the field) being the latest example. And a player with lots of potential, Tucker Halpern, had his best game as a collegian, going for a career-high 22 points and six assists (with no turnovers).
Halpern missed time in preseason practice with the swine flu and a couple of other minor physical ailments. Add in that he’s a freshman, and it wasn’t surprising that he had some very good stretches along with some bad ones. He admits he had been frustrated at times, and part of that also comes from having high expectations for himself. But the long stretch of practice last month appears to have done wonders for him.
“It absolutely helped me,” Halpern said of the three-week stretch. “I got back into a rhythm. For the first ten games before the break, I wasn’t in a rhythm, it wasn’t all coming together. It finally felt much better after all the practices.”
Because Halpern has a good basketball I.Q. and can be a point-forward type, he can be a big X-factor for this team. He’s capable of scoring, especially with his jump shot, but he can handle and pass the ball at 6’8″. The Bears have struggled at times when pressed, but Halpern offers a potential solution to some of the issues there as another ball-handler and with his size.
Monday’s game was Halpern’s first start, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he stays there.
“He’s an extremely hard worker,” senior center Matt Mullery, who scored the winning basket, said of Halpern. “He’s fought through and he’s one of the more talented kids on our team.”
The Bears need someone to complement Mullery, who will draw plenty of attention given his offensive ability. As Mullery continues to become an even better passer, others can certainly benefit. Halpern is certainly one possibility, as are the Sullivan brothers. McCarthy could benefit inside as well and is active around the basket.
Adding to the need to complement Mullery is that he has had some games where he struggled to finish or has missed a couple of layups, and Monday night was one of them. It’s uncharacteristic, but it has happened. They won’t stop relying on him, though, and on Monday he rewarded them by getting two big buckets in overtime that included the game-winner.
“He’s the toughest guy,” Halpern said of Mullery. “He just leads by example. He never stops working hard, even when it’s not going his way. He just keeps going at it and we keep looking for him, and that’s why.”
Ivy League play is coming up after two more road games. While that looks to be a battle between Cornell and Harvard, the Bears could be a surprise team in terms of where they finish and could play spoiler late in the season as well. When they are able to get into the halfcourt set, they run their offense well and have done it against good defensive teams. The big areas of concern are defense and rebounding, and the latter was shown again Monday as Wagner out-rebounded them 40-34.
The Bears felt like they needed Monday night’s game and got it. They also felt like they needed to win a close game, which made the way they won this game better for them.
“In the last year or two we’ve lost a lot of close games,” Mullery said. “It felt good to finally come out on top of one of those. Who knows, it might be just what we need to go into Yale on a roll.”
