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The Lorian

Sports

April 23, 2015

coachs corner

Graham Slam

2015 NBA
bad awards
W
Ryan Graham
sports editor

photo by Katherine edwards

Sophomore centerfielder Cole Reeg rounds third during the Duhawks 4-3 win over Wartburg on Friday. Over
the first two games of the series, Reeg went 5-for-8 with an RBI and scored three runs.

Duhawks in the homestretch

Loras holds off a pair of
late-inning rallies to complete
sweep of cross-town rivals

Schwoebel picked up the win to improve to 7-1 on the season.

The sixth inning proved to be fertile ground again for the Duhawks in
Game 2, as Walsh and sophomore
by Katie Truesdale | sportswriter
Nolan Ritter each drove in runs, and
The Duhawks completed the sweep senior Anthony Flattery scored on
of their cross-town rivals Tuesday af- a wild pitch. Loras hung on for the
ternoon, fending off a pair of late-in- 7-6 victory to complete the sweep of
ning comeback attempts to earn the UD. Senior Will Petrosky picked up
victories, 9-7 and 7-6.
the win.
The Spartans grabbed an early
Last weekend, the Duhawks took
lead in Game 1, bringing in two runs on No. 13 Wartburg, and the Iowa
on three hits in the bottom of the Conference leaders didnt disappoint.
second. Junior Patrick Walsh drove The Knights took the series 3-1.
sophomore Cole Reeg home in the
After a slow start in Game 1 on
top of the third to bring Loras within Friday, the Duhawks were down one
a run. The Duhawk bats exploded in against the Knights when Reeg anthe top of the 6th, cranking out eight swered with a solo home run to tie
runs on seven hits to go ahead, 9-2.
the game. On the mound, Schwoebel
The Spartans answered the of- limited the Knights to three runs and
fensive assault in the bottom of the picked off three runners at first.
seventh, rallying for five runs before
Despite trailing late in the game,
eventually falling 9-7. Senior Adam Flattery brought in two runs on a single
to tie the game, 3-3. A walk brought in
the winning run for the Duhawks.
Loras 9, Dubuque 7
In Game 2, the Duhawks failed
(Tuesday, April 21st)
to take advantage of their momen r
h
e
Loras.....................001 008 0 9 11 3
tum. The Duhawks were done in by
Dubuque............. 200 000 5 7 8 1
a huge six-run sixth inning from the
Loras: Patrick Walsh 2-3, 3 rbi, run
Knights, who were able to hang on for
UD: Daniel Casanova 2-3, 2 rbi, 2 runs
the 10-6 victory.
WP: Adam Schwoebel 6.2 ip, 4 er, 3 so, bb
We were in every game for the
LP: Josh Eastman 5.2 ip, 7 er, 5 so, 2 bb
most part, said sophomore second
baseman Luke Leibforth. We had
Loras 7, Dubuque 6
guys on base almost every inning, but
(Tuesday, April 21st)
couldnt come up with those two-out
r
h
e
hits that can break open a game. We
Loras....................000 024 100
7 12 2
really only had three bad innings the
Dubuque.............000 103 020 6 6 1
whole weekend. They unfortunately
Loras: Nolan Ritter 3-4, 2 rbi, run
were too much to overcome.
Dubuque: Dalton Garst 3-5, rbi, run
In Game 3, junior Alex Steines
WP: Will Petrosky 5.0 ip, 2 er, 6 so, 5 bb
took the mound, to face his former
LP: Trent Van Egtern 5.1 ip, 6 er, so, 3 bb

teammates. The Wartburg transfer

held tough for seven-plus innings
before getting roughed up in the top
of the eighth.
After a two-RBI single by sophomore right fielder Tony Heiser sent
the game into extra innings, the
Wartburg offense exploded, scoring
seven runs in the top of the frame.
The Duhawks were held scoreless
in the bottom of the eighth and lost
Game 3, 10-3.
The Knights offense stayed hot in
Game 4, tallying seven runs in the
first two innings of the game. The
Duhawks were never able to respond,
and fell 9-3.
Our biggest weakness would have
to be consistency said Leibforth.
We can go out there and score four
runs in an inning, then take the field
and let up five. Weve have to learn to
bury teams and let them know they
have no chance of getting back into
the game.
After Tuesdays double-header, the
Duhawks sit at 17-14 and 11-9 in the
Iowa Conference. Their next test will
take place this Friday and Saturday
at home where theyll take on Buena
Vista (20-11, 10-10 IIAC) in back-toback double-headers.

Iowa Conference Standings

(Through Tuesdays games)
Team.......................... IIAC Overall
1. Wartburg (10)..................17-7 27-8
2. Luther............................ 12-8 17-15
3. Coe ...............................14-10 22-11
4. Loras....................... 11-9 17-14
5. Buena Vista.................. 10-10 20-11
6. Central ............................9-11 13-18
7. Dubuque......................... 6-14 11-21
8. Simpson..........................5-15 9-22

elcome friends, to the annual

NBA Bad Awards.
Every year around playoff
time, I like to take a look back at the
regular season and reflect on all the
bad weve witnessed over the past
six months. This season did not
disappoint. Without any further ado,
here are your 2015 winners.
n LVP (Least Valuable Player):
Lance Stephenson, Hornets

When the Hornets brought in

Lance Stephenson, they thought they were getting their
long-term answer at the two-guard spot a long, rangy,
playmaking guard with the ability to defend, rebound
and take over late in games. What they got instead, was
a 6-foot-5, flailing turnover machine who forgot how to
hold a basketball. A year after leading the league in tripledoubles with Indiana, Stephensons output has dropped
in virtually every category. After beginning the year as a
starter, he was benched after 25 games. On the season, he
averaged only 8.2 points per game, shot 17 percent from
three, and led his team in turnovers. His -0.9 total win
shares is the worst in the NBA.
n Least Outstanding Team: New

n Vinny Del Negro Award: Erik Spoelstra, Heat (37-45)

The worst coach of the year award goes to head coach

of the Miami Heat and Bruno Mars stunt-double, Erik
Spoelstra.
There is absolutely no excuse. None. This is the Eastern
Conference were talking about here. The BROOKLYN
NETS made the playoffs. Sure, Chris Bosh went down
with an injury, big deal. You still had Dwyane Wade, Luol
Deng, a hungry Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic (for
the last 26 games of the season). Theres no way in hell
you shouldve finished 27th in scoring offense.
Its funny what happens when the best player in the
world isnt on your team anymore.
n Kwame Brown Award: Dante

Its tournament time

Loras defeats St. Ambrose
for the first time in a decade

by Drew Brashaw | asst. sports editor

The Duhawks finished out their

2014-15 regular season slate on Sunday, earning a split at home against
Augustana and St. Ambrose. While
the Duhawks found themselves at the
wrong end of a 9-0 sweep at the hands
of Augustana in the morning action,
Loras had plenty to celebrate at the
end of the day.
With a 5-4 victory on Sunday afternoon, the Duhawks notched their first
win over St. Ambrose in the last decade, and head coach Karl Stubbens
first against the Bees in his time at the
helm for Loras.
It feels amazing, Stubben said.
Weve been so close, so many times,

for so many years. Its nice to get

across the finish line on this one.
The Dickhut sisters led the way to
the Duhawk victory, with senior Elizabeth defeating St. Ambroses Griffin
Rasche (6-3, 6-2), and sophomore
Jessica toppling Sam Rochkus (0-6,
6-1, 15-13) in their singles matches.
The Dickhuts also claimed victory in
their No. 1 doubles match, defeating
Allie Deroo and Emily Daniels by a
score of 8-1.
St. Ambrose is a scholarship
granting program, Stubben said,
So getting anything off of them is an
achievement, let alone a team victory.
Its a huge step forward.
The Duhawks (7-9, 3-4 IIAC) will
look to carry their momentum into
the Iowa Conference Tournament this
weekend in Cedar Rapids. Theyll take
on Central (10-7, 4-3 IIAC) on Friday,

and Coe (19-6, 7-0 IIAC) on Saturday.

The seniors are realizing that the
end is near, and the others are rallying around that, said Stubben. I
expect a better performance than the
one we had against Central in the fall.
I think were a little tougher now,
more resilient. If were indeed good
enough to beat them, well do it.
The Duhawks fell to Central and
Coe by a combined score of 16-2 earlier this season.
Its difficult to physically prepare
for a squad (Coe) that accomplished
and deep, Stubben said. But we know
what to concentrate on, and thats to be
both as physically relaxed and mentally dialed in as possible. If were ready,
willing, and able to play our best, most
aggressive tennis of the year, we can
create opportunities. Thats what we
want and what were ready to get.

Exum, Jazz

The Kwame Brown award goes to the most

underwhelming rookie. This year, that was Dante Exum.
For the guy selected fifth overall in last years draft,
2015 was a year to forget. He played in all 82 games, but
averaged only 4.8 points and 2.4 assists in 22.2 minutes
per game. The problem, for the 19-year-old, is that hes
not particularly good at anything. He cant really shoot
his 34.9 field goal percentage is third to last among
rookies; hes not a good distributor his 2.4 assists per
game rank 73rd among point guards; and despite his long
frame, hes been exposed time and again on the defensive
end. At a certain point, the Bobs have to ask What
would ya say you do here?
n Rashard Lewis Award: Kobe

womens tennis

York Knicks (17-65)

I know the Timberwolves technically had a worse

record, but Andrew Wiggins and that island of misfit toys
pale in comparison to the Hindenburg disaster that was
the 2014-15 New York Knickerbockers. Dont be trying
to backtrack and pretend this a rebuilding year, Phil
Jackson. We all know what really happened here. You
legitimately thought this team was going to be good. You
thought sad-Carmelo and the ghost of Amare Stoudemire
could figure out the triangle offense. Howd that work
out for you? I could sit here and rattle off a bunch of sad
Knicks statistics to prove my point but this is all you
really need to know in their last game of the season, the
Knicks starting lineup was: Tim Hardaway Jr., Langston
Galloway (who?), Cole Aldrich, Lance Thomas and Jason
Smith. They lost to the Pistons by 22.

Bryant, Lakers

The worst contract of the year award goes to Kobe

Bryant, who essentially made $23.5 million to be one of
the balcony hecklers from the Muppets this season.
Even if Kobe doesnt get injured these last two seasons,
that contract was a terrible idea. Do you know what
happens when you give a 36-year-old, injury prone
former superstar a two-year, $48.5 million contract? You
get to start the season with Carlos Boozer as your starting
power forward. The Lakers, a team in desperate need of
fresh bodies, had no room under the salary cap to sign
any. Oh, and Kobes salary goes up to $25 million next
season, so that should be fun.
Lightning Round: Lets go!
n JaVale McGee Award (Biggest Knucklehead):
Nick Swaggy P Young, Lakers.
n Sam Cassel Award (Ugliest Player): Joakim Noah, Bulls.
n Derrick Rose Award (Most Tragic Injury): Kobe
Bryant, Lakers.
n Angry Mummy Award: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota.
n Stupidest Decision from the Commissioners
Office: Jerseys with sleeves. Quit that.
n Player I Hate the Most Award: Josh Smith, Rockets.

Its always been Josh Smith.

n Sad White Guy Award: Cameron

Bairstow, Bulls.

I just wanted to give Cameron Bairstow an award.

Everybody deserves an award.