I shouldn’t have eaten tonight. That had to be what it was. I should have known this would happen. Tonight while watching the Bluejays take a nice lead into the locker room at halftime, I was eagerly awaiting a tasty burger and fries. We all ordered at the same time and others at my table received their food. But I was still sitting there with nothing. The waiter came up to me about five minutes later to tell me that my food was ready, but they took it out to some other table and they had already bit into it, so they were making me another one.
I got my food a little while later and dug into it just before the second half started. Again I contend that I shouldn’t have eaten because what I saw for the next 20 minutes was upsetting to my stomach and absolutely gut wrenching. But in the end the same story played out and the Jays go away with a win slipping through their hands.
It is getting harder and harder to find an excuse why the Bluejay basketball team can’t finish and win tough games on the road. And my lame excuse of eating isn’t sufficient to cover for this one. Going into the game, I actually thought the Jays could pull it out. They were due. I thought back to last season when Northern Iowa came to town to knock off the Jays and then a loss at Illinois St. Many were just sure (including myself) that playing a road game next at Bradley, who was on fire at the time, that there would be another L in the column. However, Antoine Young provided a spark needed for the Bluejays and they pretty much blew out the Braves on their home court. And tonight looked like the same deal for this season’s Bluejay team. At least the start was the same.
Creighton shot 75% from the field in the first half. I had not seen a percentage like that for a half since the stellar performance in the second half of a game against Wichita State a few years back when Nate Funk and crew could do no wrong the second half of that game and walked out winners. The first half, the Jays did what they needed to do—Get the ball inside, drive to the basket and hit timely shots when the ball went back outside. At the same time, the defense was stifling and New Mexico was forced to settle for outside shots that were not falling shooting just over 21% for the first half giving the Lobos their biggest deficit of the season at one point. I asked myself, “What team is this on the court? This isn’t the Creighton Bluejay team I have been used to seeing all season.”
The second half was a totally different story. The team that has been taking the court all season long came back. New Mexico decided they would start taking the ball to the basket and the Creighton defense just folded like an accordion and could not get a rebound being outrebounded 28-16 in the second half to go along with 18 turnovers for the game. It took the Bluejays patented play this season of going through a more than 10 minute (counting the last part of the first half) field goal drought, and by then the Lobos made a game out of it. The ball stayed around the outside of the arc for the most part and the inside dominance that occurred in the first half was gone. The winds were taken out of the sails and the Jays take another long trip back with a big L in their back pocket.
Darrington Hobson had a career day for the Lobos with a dominating double-double performance in the second half (19 pts., 11 rebounds) and finishing with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Oh and add in 6 assists for good measure. With the Bluejays only scoring 21 points in the second half, Hobson almost single-handedly got New Mexico the win. Just absolutely sick.
Many fans were skeptical that the Bluejays could get a win tonight and were content to get blown out. But instead of getting blown out, the game became winnable and just like Dayton, Michigan, Iona, and George Mason, slipped through the fingers. So what would have looked worse to Jays fans now: getting blown out or knowing that the same things that happened in the other road losses would happen? Either way a loss stinks. But I would have rather had the blowout than have my heart broken again. It would have been a lot easier to live with.
Now the only piece of the non-conference slate left is Tuesday night against Houston Baptist. It will probably be another recovery game before diving into conference play a week later. A season full of surprises. We may also see whether the fanbase is going to jump off the bandwagon or keep supporting this team. I know I will still support them. There is still a lot of season to go. You never know what might be next and I hope there is a different ending to this story.