USIU’s Swan Song Is Not a Happy One

U.S. International’s men’s basketball team--in its last game of the season and possibly its last game in history--played Monday like a team that wanted to go out in style, if not win.

The Gulls didn’t achieve the latter, losing 128-119 to the University of Missouri-Kansas City in front of 483 at Golden Hall. But they certainly accomplished the former, putting on an inspiring final performance in front of their largest home crowd this season.

USIU (2-26), which only practiced twice in the previous two weeks because of facilities problems, had its best shooting night (49% from the floor) of the season. Two Gull players, guards Jeff Polinsky (32 points) and Mitch Brown (19 points), had career games. And the nation’s leading scorer, Kevin Bradshaw, scored 43 points.

But all the inspiration in the world couldn’t stop the Kangaroos, who overcame a seven-point deficit at halftime by shooting 63% from the field in the second half. They were led by sophomore guard Ronnie Schmitz, who scored a game-high 51 points and buried eight of 17 three-point shots.

“We went out the way I’d like to see us,” USIU Coach Gary Zarecky said. “We gave it our best shot. We played a team that was very hot. I think there was emotion out there; a lot of intensity. But you don’t get an ‘A’ for effort at this level.”

A victory would have been nice for the Gulls, who ended the season with a four-game losing streak and a 1-12 mark at home. The 2-26 finish equals the second worst season in USIU’s 33-year history. The Gulls also wanted to go out victorious because nobody knows if basketball will be played at USIU again. The university filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, 11 games into the Gulls’ season. In January, USIU’s trustees terminated all sports programs.

“I don’t think we failed,” Zarecky said of his team. “We progressed to the best of our ability. (The players have) endured unbelievable distractions. They can now shed this season. They’ll be somewhere else next year.”

Polinsky, a freshman guard from Monte Vista High, might have improved his stock by shooting 14 of 22 from the floor, 4 of 9 from three-point range, as he rallied the Gulls all night. Polinsky, who was the fourth-leading scorer in the San Diego Section last year (24.6), had averaged less than 10 points a game through much of the season. His 32 points were a season high and backed a 22-point performance Feb. 26 against San Diego State.

After the Gulls trailed, 11-4, early, Polinsky hit three jumpers and keyed a 17-5 USIU run. Then Polinsky scored nine points as the Gulls closed out the first half with an 18-1 flurry, made up a 10-point deficit and built their biggest lead, 55-48, at halftime.

Polinsky, who had 18 at halftime, was also picking up the slack for Bradshaw, whose mother was in the stands watching him play for the first time in San Diego. Bradshaw, the NCAA’s top scorer who entered the game with 37.48 average, passed Hank Gathers (the Loyola Marymount player who died on court exactly one year earlier) and tied Southwest Louisiana’s Dwight Lamar (1,054) for 11th on the all-time single-season scoring list.

But Bradshaw made just one of his first six field-goal attempts and shot two airballs. He finished 14 of 30 from the field, two of seven from three-point range. Twelve of Brown’s season-high 19 points came in a second-half in which USIU shot 53% from the floor. But Schmitz and fellow Kangaroo guard Tony Dumas (40) proved to be hotter.