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Men's Basketball

Loss to UW-Eau Claire In Scots' Season Opener

ALMA, Mich. - Alma College men's basketball opened the 2006-07 campaign with a 69-61 loss to UW-Eau Claire in the first round of action at the Manchester Tip-Off Tournament in Manchester, Ind.

Senior Isaac Smith (Merrill) led the Scots with 20 points and nine rebounds, adding two assists and a steal while freshman Isaac Thaler (Middleville/Thornapple-Kellogg) added 14 points and five boards.

Alma trailed by five at halftime, 36-31 after missing each of five three-point attempts in the first half. As a team, the Scots shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half but came out cold in the second, shooting just 32 percent.

The Maroon and Cream had a 6-0 lead to open the game and it took nearly six minutes for UW-Eau Claire to pull ahead - and then the Blugolds never let go of the lead, leading by as many as seven points in the first stanza.

As the second half began, the Blugolds extended their lead to as many as 15 early in the second half but a young Scot squad pulled within two points on a Matt Brown (Midland) layup with five minutes remaining. An Isaac Thaler block on the other end of the court and a steal by the first-year player allowed the Scots the ball and a chance to tie the game, but Thaler was unable to convert.

Down the stretch, the Scots fouled as Alma fell behind by nine before Ryan DeHaan (Rockford) hit a three with 25 seconds remaining, but a UWEC layup at the other end secured victory for the Blugolds.

Alma returns to action Saturday (Nov. 18) at the Manchester Tip-Off Tournament to face the winner of Friday's Manchester vs. Eureka match-up.

Posted: Fri, November 17th, 2006 at 10:13PM

 

Since 2003, twenty-three Alma College students have won prestigious national fellowships, scholarships and awards, including 13 Fulbright fellowships and multiple Udall, Truman, Marshall and Gates-Cambridge scholarships.

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Coach Profile

Terry Smith

Terry Smith

Smith graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. in Physical Education in 1984. After graduating, Smith got his start in coaching when he was the boy’s basketball coach at Fulton High School while working as a teacher at Ithaca High School. From there he moved to Cedar Springs High School were he coached and taught and won his first district championship in 1987.

The following year, Coach Smith got his first taste of coaching in the college ranks when he was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Ferris State University and was part of the team that won a GLIAC Championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA DII Tournament.

After a year at FSU, Coach Smith left for Lake Superior State University where he served for three years as an assistant coach before being promoted to the head coach position in 1991. In five years time, Coach Smith had turned around the LSSU program. In 1996 his team won the first League Championship for LSSU since joining the GLIAC in 1978. During this time, Coach Smith also earned his M.A. in Physical Education from Central Michigan University.

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