By Aidan Mastandrea
Staff Writer
The College’s men's basketball team opened their season with a win against Goucher College on Nov. 8. Sophomore forward Matthew Solomon was the star of the show as his triple double led the Lions to a 76-66 win.
This was the first look at the new Lions, who lost many of their heavy contributors to graduation a year ago.
The first half was tightly contested. Goucher came out of the gates hot, hitting five out of nine 3-point attempts in the first half, while the College shot only 25% from the 3-point line in the half.
Even with the Lions offense not firing on all cylinders, a 3-pointer from fifth-year transfer James Beckwith had the College’s deficit at only two points heading into the halftime break.
The second half is when Solomon took over the game on all levels. He controlled the glass, scored inside and found open teammates for buckets. Goucher had no answer for the 6-foot-7 sophomore. Solomon finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists on the night, giving him a triple double.
The Lions’ head coach Matthew Goldsmith played a nine-man rotation, including having freshman guard David Alexandre log 24 minutes. Despite the lack of experience across the board, the College hung in and took Goucher's best punches.
Goucher stumbled and the Lions found their footing in the second half, gaining control of the game as the time ticked down. A late run from the Gophers made it interesting, but an exclamation point dunk by junior forward Matthew Okorie sealed the victory for the Lions.
The College will only look to improve as the season progresses and the players become more comfortable.
