Postseason questions

What now for the Columbia College Cougars?

On Wednesday, the Cougars reappeared in the NAIA national rankings for the first time since January, pulling down the 21st spot in the poll.

“I thought we practiced really hard yesterday and played really well on Tuesday,” Cougars coach Bob Burchard said of his team, which had won eight of its past nine games.

But on Thursday at the Arena at Southwell Complex, the Cougars were dumped out of the American Midwest Conference tournament semifinals by McKendree College 83-72. More troubling, a victory could have given the the Cougars a better chance at making the NAIA National Tournament.

A win would have sent the Cougars to Springfield, Ill., to face Illinois-Springfield in the conference championship game. That game would have determined who would have received the AMC’s automatic berth to the tournament, after the two teams tied for the regular season title. Instead, the Cougars (24-8) will be forced to wait until March 8, the day the tournament brackets are released, to learn their fate.

“I don’t think my season is over,” Cougars forward Bryant Chambly said. “In my mind I know we’re going to the tournament.”

If Chambly is correct and the Cougars make the tournament, there will be a lot of things that will have to be addressed.

Trailing in the second half, the Cougars offense changed. Instead of playing team-oriented basketball, Columbia College’s offense often degraded into a one-on-five attack, with each player looking for his own shot. Numerous times in the second half, Columbia College players had bewildered looks on their faces after another missed opportunity on offense.

“When you’re down late, sometimes you are dependent on making miracle plays,” Cougars guard Terrance Smith said. “We tried to play too hard, tried to do too much. We let that overcome playing smart.”

The Cougars problems weren’t limited to the offensive end, however. On Thursday, they never figured out how to defend the perimeter. Guards Bryant Lyles and Mark Stovall combined for 35 points and routinely penetrated Columbia College’s defense.

“It’s always difficult when the guards can drive and penetrate,” Chambly said.

After the guards passed the basketball, McKendree (19-13) forward Mike Strobbe had his way around the basket, scoring 22 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Seven of those rebounds were offensive, further hindering the Cougars.

“We’d make stops, but once the ball went up, he’d lean on our big guys,” Smith said of Strobbe. “Unfortunately, when we play teams with decent big men and guys that attack, we have trouble. If we don’t adjust, it will be one and done like last year.”

Smith referred to last season’s 77-50 loss to Mountain State in the first round of the national tournament.

Burchard said he thinks his team will get a chance to improve on last year’s results.

“I think our chances are good to make the tournament,” Burchard said. “We’ll just wait and see.”