Phoenix tie-up Minnesota in Kennel

Many things come in twos, and luckily the Phoenix men's basketball team had a second half of basketball to show what it can do in its 77-52 exhibition win over the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs Oct. 31. The Phoenix won the opening tip and senior guard Troy Cotton quickly made a 3-pointer seconds into the game to quiet the Bulldogs bench and its traveling fans. The quick start might have also got the Phoenix too comfortable as it underestimated the talent of the Bulldogs. After keeping it close in the first 10 minutes, the Bulldogs quickly pulled out to a five point lead after Bulldogs sophomore guard Ryan Rasmussen made a couple 3-pointers. The Phoenix took back the lead before half, 28-24. "I think a lot of this was just being our first exhibition," junior guard Ramon Fletcher said. "I think we kind of under-estimated our opponent and once we realized they weren't going to back down we really had to pick it up." With 28 first-half points some might wonder who the scoring was going to come from after losing three key scorers from last year's team. "I'm not too concerned about it," senior forward Cordero Barkley said. "I think we got enough guys who are able and will score for us. I didn't think we got to see how much we can really score off our defense tonight, and it's still early so I'm really not too concerned about it." The Phoenix got off to a fast start in the second half going on a 19-8 run in the first six and a half minutes, to lead 47-32. Thirteen of Fletcher's team high 20 points came during this stretch. "It couldn't have worked out any better from a coaching stand point to have a game like this tonight," Phoenix Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "For us to not play well in the first half there are some defiant teaching points. During these exhibition games you want to learn about your team and I thought tonight we learned a lot. We just didn't respect our opponent from the start." The Phoenix also picked up its defense in the second half holding the Bulldogs to only 25 percent shooting and 26 percent for the game. The Phoenix also out rebounded the Bulldogs 45-30. "I thought we played hard, but I don't think we played with nearly the discipline that we need to and I think it really showed during the first half," Kowalczyk said. During the game the Phoenix freshman got there first taste of basketball at the collegiate level. Freshman forward Matt Smith started the game and scored five points while leading the team with seven rebounds. Freshman forward Troy Snyder got into the game for 18 minutes and scored nine points. According to Fletcher, the freshman will have to be a big part of the team and contribute on both ends of the floor. "We got a lot of weapons and a lot of versatility on the team," Fletcher said. "We had our freshman team in the game at the same time and they executed well. They got open shots, as well as getting open shots for each other." With one exhibition passed the Phoenix will take on St. Norbert Saturday Nov. 6 at the Kress Events Center to wrap up its exhibition play.