Whatcom Men’s basketball took on Motion College on Thursday, Dec. 8th coming in with a 3-3 record and a two-game losing streak. In a loss to Portland on Dec. 5th by a score of 97-82, the Orcas’ leading scorer Tawrence Shoffner was injured. Shoffner is averaging a conference-leading 23.6 points, 7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Whatcom fell short against South Puget Sound 94-80 in their first game without the current conference leader in scoring. Head Coach Alex Sommerfield isn’t worried about being able to replace the offensive production from Shoffner.
“It’s hard to replace someone who is leading the conference in scoring, but once we start moving the ball a little better, get some more balanced scoring, I’m not too worried about that,” says Coach Sommerfield.
A 16-6 run in the first half helped the Orcas claw back into striking distance after a slow start before halftime with the score at 45-37.
However, Motion College’s offense would be too much for the Orcas as they went on to lose 96-88 and fall to 3-4 on the season. Whatcom’s Carlos Bell controlled the glass as he snagged 18 rebounds and had 11 points as well. The Orcas grabbed a season-high 50 rebounds as a team in the game
Whatcom’s defense became the issue in the second half as the Orcas gave up 51 points in the half and trailed by as much as 19 points. So far this season, the Orcas are giving up 90.3 points per game which ranks 33rd out of 35 teams in the Northwest Conference.
“We can score the ball. Can we play defense? Defense is what we need to work on right now,” said Sommerfield.
The Orcas’ next game is a rematch against Motion College at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Dec.13th at home.
