By Travis Smola
Vicksburg head basketball coach Rob Johnson likes to joke his team is giving him more gray hairs. It’s hard to argue with him, considering how so many games have come down to the wire.
“Every night it’s a battle,” Johnson said after the boys held on the last few minutes for a narrow 60-55 win over Edwardsburg on the road. “I love that, but I wish it was a little easier.”
What’s hard on the coach makes for great fun for the fans, however. The boys have an 8-10 record, but many of their losses could have gone either way. The team lost a one-point heartbreaker to Dowagiac, 72-71, and dropped another game against Edwardsburg, 74-68, in overtime.
Their victories seem to always be by only a few points. The first game of February was a 59-53 home victory over Sturgis.
On any given night, one never knows who will have a huge game on this Bulldogs roster. Then there are other nights where the team manages to spread the ball. Against Edwardsburg, Deondre Lovell led the way with 18 points, Blake Rankin had 16 and Brendan Lovell had 15.
Johnson was pleased to see that kind of balance offensively and noted the Eddies are a scrappy team. The two teams each had their share of runs that was answered in turn by the other side.
There should be plenty more exciting moments for Bulldog basketball as tournament play gets underway in the early part of March.