The schedule says the Benedictine Cadets will be at The Corral tonight for a Region 3-AAA basketball game. South Effingham coach Jason Keeler hopes his team is ready for a fight, metaphorically speaking.
The Mustangs dropped to 0-6 in the region after a 52-27 loss to Richmond Hill on Friday. Zach Anderson led the Mustangs with 10 points. Sean Szad had 16 points for the Wildcats, who improved to 2-4 in the region.
The Cadets enter tonight with a 1-5 mark in the region — that one win came against South Effingham.
“We’re the team everybody looks at and says, ‘This is our chance to get a win,’” Keeler said. “It’s time for this team to play to its potential.”
He hopes his team can find it within themselves to do something about that.
“When things get tough, we don’t fight back,” Keeler said.
The first-year coach also is looking for one of the Mustangs to step up and assume a leadership role.
“At some point, they’re the ones who have to do it,” Keeler said. “We have to work twice as hard as other teams to be competitive.”
He also wants his team to take what they’ve done in practice and put it into play on the court.
“We’re not just playing with a lot of confidence,” Keeler said. “All you can do is to continue to work hard in practice and hope at some point they take it personally. That guy across from them is going to do everything he can to beat them. You in turn have to work harder than them.”
Keeler believes from what he’s seen that the young Mustangs team can be good, and sooner rather than later, in spite of their 6-13 record.
“It’s absolutely in them,” he said. “But it’s got to be them who bring it out of themselves. They’ve got to dig down into their souls and find that guy willing to hold themselves accountable. We’ve seen it in glimpses. They haven’t found it within themselves to play like that for an entire game.
“I expect a lot out of them,” Keeler said. “I hope they have expectations of themselves.”
South Effingham hosts BC at the conclusion of the Lady Mustangs-St. Vincent’s Academy game, which tips off at 6 p.m. The Lady Mustangs edged Richmond Hill 39-36 Friday night.
