Wieck remains upbeat

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The last time the Jimmie men’s basketball team played at home, Christmas was still nearly three weeks away.

When Jamestown College defeated Dickinson State Dec. 8 at the Civic Center, the Jimmies were 7-6. Three days later, they beat former coach Matt Murken’s Minot State team, which looks all the more impressive now since the Beavers have turned things around and are competitive in the NSIC, the toughest conference in NCAA Division II. That game was technically an exhibition, so it did not count in the Jimmies’ win-loss record, but it did illustrate what the Jimmies are capable of.

Since that win, however, the Jimmies have fallen on tough times. They’re just 1-6 in their last seven games and played last weekend without their two best players — Mark Hoge (18.9 ppg) and Davon Thomas (13.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg) — who were suspended for two games for violating team rules.

The talented juniors will be back in uniform this weekend, though, as Jamestown College hosts the Dakota Tip Off Classic. The Jimmies play Dakota State (13-5) Saturday night at 7 p.m. The winner of that one likely gets 20th-ranked Valley City State (14-4). The Vikings play Mayville State (5-13) at 3 p.m., just before the 17th-ranked Jimmie women play Dakota State.

After a long month-plus on and off the court, coach Justin Wieck remains upbeat about his team’s prospects.

“I still have a lot of confidence in our team. During the course of a season, it’s not always going to be smooth sailing. You have to be able to deal with issues that come up and for the most part we’ve done a pretty good job with that,” Wieck said. “We’re definitely excited to play at home again. The last six weeks schedule-wise have been unusual, definitely a challenge, but hopefully it’s made us better and now we can use it as a springboard here down the stretch.”

The Jimmies (8-12) will play seven of their last 10 games of the season at home and then host the Association of Independent Institutions Tournament in late February where the top two teams earn a trip to Branson, Mo., for nationals.

“There’s still a lot of things out there for us to accomplish. Our guys understand that, so there’s no lack of motivation at any level,” Wieck said. “We legitimately feel like we can make a run. I don’t think any of our players or coaches doubt that.”

The Jimmies are 5-2 at home, with the only losses coming to No. 2-ranked William Penn (19-1) and Viterbo, Wis. (12-8), and both easily could have been wins, further justifying Wieck’s upbeat analysis.

“We’ve played really well against quality teams and this weekend we’ll get an opportunity to play two more good teams, so hopefully we’re able to take advantage of it and get over that hump.”

Sun sports writer Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jimmies, basketball