USIU Coach Unhappy After 91-82 Victory

Gary Zarecky watched his U.S. International University men’s basketball team lose most of a 24-point lead. Then Zarecky lost his patience, followed by his voice.

About the only thing in the win column for the Gulls was a 91-82 victory over Southern Utah State at Golden Hall Monday night. And that wasn’t much to look at.

“That was shabby,” Zarecky said. “But there are reasons for it. We’ve run into the layoff doldrums. We’ve played twice in the last 19 days.

“We seem to have lost the intensity you need at the end of the season. Ninety percent of the teams are playing for something like a league championship. But despite not playing for a league title or an NCAA berth, (the players) still have to know they have to play to win.”

The Gulls (9-14) rolled out to a 48-31 lead at the half and increased that to 64-40 with 14:20 remaining on a basket inside by Demetrius Laffitte. But then it was a downhill slide for USIU, whose coach lost his voice about midway though the second half.

The Thunderbirds (8-16) outscored USIU, 7-2, to pull within 66-47. The game became uglier when the Gulls’ Eddie Hodges got in a pushing match with the Thunderbirds’ Randy Simkins and then hit Simkins with a left cross. Hodges was called for a foul and a flagrant foul and was ejected from the game and will also have to sit out the Gulls’ next game.

Laffitte had 20 second-half points and finished with a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds.