Cards Fall In Warm Ups Against D-1 Opponents

By Alex Baumgardner

The Cardinals stepped into a challenge this week, jumping into Division I competition in exhibition games against the University of Michigan on Thursday and Miami of Ohio on Saturday.

Despite strong starts in both games, the Cards would eventually fall to Michigan 81-55, and 65-54 to Miami of Ohio.

In both games, the Cards finished the first half strong, entering halftime against Michigan down 34-30 – where they shot well as a team hitting 11-for-24 from the field, and 4-of-9 from beyond the three-point line – and  down to Miami of Ohio 27-26 after senior guard Lawrence Ross tipped in a missed free-throw from junior guard Avery Stephenson.

Second half scoring was a major problem for the Cards, though, as they shoot a combined 30 percent in the second half of both games. 

Senior guards Ross and Dante Williams both performed well against their D-I opponents.

The two preseason all-GLIAC selections each took a turn leading the Cards in scoring. Ross led all scorers against Michigan with 21 points on 7-14 shooting. 

Williams led the Cardinals against Miami of Ohio, finishing with 18 points, while Ross added 14, and grabbed a team-high of eight rebounds.

Despite getting off to a slow start in preseason play, the Cardinals are picked to finish fourth in the GLIAC conference.

The Cardinals have the rest of the week off, not starting the regular season until Nov. 22, when they travel to Wilberforce, Ohio to play Central State.

They start the season off on a three-game road trip, traveling to Northern Kentucky University, and Findlay, Ohio to start their GLIAC schedule against Findlay University.

Their first home game is scheduled for Dec. 7 against Hillsdale College at 4 p.m. in O’Neill Arena.