Geoff Mott
Sports Scene
Boys basketball players from Ithaca suffered their first athletic competition loss since the baseball district finals last spring when they lost a 66-51 decision to Carrollton after starting the season 4-0.
While losing is entirely new to this group – four starting seniors in the lineup and nine team members overall played for the four-time state champion football team that hasn’t lost in 56 games – they fell into a small rut in January and lost three of four Tri-Valley – West games.
Coach Jim Thompson isn’t worried about this being a new trend. “I’ve got four seniors who are always ready and always prepared,” he said. “They know there is a sense of urgency, and they want to compete.
“[These losses] just fuel their fire. They have great leadership they’ve learned in football, and they are ready to step forward.”
Ithaca won its first four games by an average of 30 points. After the Carrollton loss, the Yellowjackets dropped a 65-64 decision to unbeaten Valley Lutheran before blasting Montabella 74-36. Michigan Lutheran Seminary then beat Ithaca 62-55 on the Yellowjackets’ home court before Ithaca responded with a 76-47 win over Breckenridge.
“We were well-conditioned from football, so there is no excuse there,” senior forward Logan Hessbrook said. “We’ve transitioned pretty well from football to basketball, and we have some great coaching to do it.”
Part of the success from football manifests itself in how the players approach basketball, Hessbrook said. “It’s a long season, so you have to keep your focus,” he said. “You take it a game at a time and keep working to get better.”
Hessbrook is relying on fellow seniors Travis Smith, Eli Villalobos, and Josh Hafner – along with talented sophomores Jake Smith and Spence DeMull – to make the necessary improvements to win that elusive district title this year.
“The regular season is here to get us ready, and with four seniors, we put that development on all of us,” Hessbrook said. “We don’t like to lose. This is fuel to our fire.”
The tough losses – especially to league opponents – are helping to season Thompson’s team for tough games that will come in March.
“The last four years with Valley Lutheran, Carrollton, Michigan Lutheran Seminary, and us … it’s a very difficult league,” Thompson said. “Anybody can win it, and your players learn how to fight for the wins.”
Thompson knows that every team will give Ithaca its best effort because of the success of Ithaca’s athletic program. “We always have a bullseye on our backs,” Thompson said. “But we’ve got a veteran group of guys who know what to do. They’ve been here. It’s easier as a coach when you have this much leadership.”