The Indian River Indians’ varsity basketball season is over. They ended the season on a high note by beating the Laurel Bulldogs 71-48 on Feb. 16 and finished with an 8-13 record.
The Indians’ win totals decreased from 15 down to 12 in the past two years, but they hadn’t previously fallen below .500.
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Keion Sturgis, above, goes up strong for two against Laurel in a 71-48 win on Friday, Feb. 16.Last year’s team went 12-11, and made the state tournament — as the team the year before had — but that was a veteran team.
Travis Irving, Curtis Chandler and Brian Bell shouldered much of the scoring load in a lineup that also started sophomore big-man Jeremy Purnell and freshman point-guard Tyree Oliver.
This year’s team had three freshman and two sophomores clock considerable minutes.
The Indians will graduate second-team All-Southern Conference selection Preston Irving, as well as Morgan Hunt, but have an opportunity to generally keep their team intact.
Irving and Morgan were two of five players that scored double-digits against the Bulldogs in their season-finale. Irving led all scorers with 16 points and added 10 rebounds (six offensive). Hunt added 10 and five steals.
Sophomore guard Jamar Manuel scored 10 points and freshmen Keion Sturgis and Deshawn Godwin both plunked down 11 points. Sturgis scored all 11 of his points in the first quarter on 4-5 shooting. He went 2-2 from beyond the three-point line but went 0-3 for the rest of the game.
Godwin found a knack for pressuring the ball and scoring points in transition. He finished the game with three steals and scored six of his 11 on fast-break opportunities. Purnell added nine points and seven boards in only his fourth game back from a broken hand. And Oliver made the whole thing go ’round. He scored only two points but added three assists, two steals and five rebounds with three offensive rebounds.
“Tyree really improved from last year,” Indians head coach Pat Kelly said. “He was able to really keep his focus and play aggressively.”
As a freshman, Oliver gained the experience necessary to return the next year and earn an honorable mention among All-Southern Conference honors. With that being said, Kelly is eager for next year, when each of his returning players will be a year older and a little wiser.
“This year we built the cornerstone of our program,” Kelly said. “They got a lot of experience playing a lot of minutes. And I think we have a pretty good nucleus.”
“They could be good, but they have to spend the extra time. You can’t just wish upon a star.” Kelly continued. “You’ve got to put in the work to make yourself better.”
“Next year we’ll be ready to go,” Purnell added. “We’ll be good. We’ve grown as a team. We just need to practice hard, and with a lot of time and effort we’ll improve.”
As of now, Kelly would return Oliver, Manuel and Godwin in the backcourt. Sturgis gives them some versatility to move inside and out. And they’d have good depth at forward with Purnell, Montre Andrews and Marlin Blue.
Kelly rewarded Blue for his diligence and hard work with playing time in the Laurel game, and he displayed his game. Blue pulled down five rebounds and scored on one of his three offensive rebounds. He also showed some defensive prowess by adding a blocked shot.
The Indians finished third in the Southern Conference this year, in a league with a lot of parity.
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Jeremy Purnell comes down with a rebound.Aside from Smyrna and Woodbridge, who led the Southern Conference with 18-4 and 15-7 overall records, respectively, all the other teams were very close. Smyrna and Woodbridge both finished the regular season with 10-2 records against other Southern Conference teams.
Indian River finished with a 7-4 record. Delmar went 5-6. And Lake Forest and Seaford both pulled up the rear at 4-8.
“There aren’t any gimmes in this league,” Kelly said. “Seaford didn’t win that many games this year and yet they almost beat Smyrna in their last game of the season.” (Smyrna edged Seaford out 89-82.)
Kelly often tells his team that “decisions are made every day. You can do three things: you can get better, stay the same or fall back.”
This off-season will provide his players ample opportunity to ponder that statement.