Patriots’ conference season opens Thursday

In the short time that the St. Catharine College Patriots have been in the Mid-South Conference, now in their third year, a few rivalries with teams in close proximity have already developed. None of the conference games provide more buzz, however, than when the name Georgetown comes up on the schedule.

“No doubt about it,” said SC coach J.T. Burton who will lead St. Catharine against the visiting Tigers Thursday in the second game of a women’s / men’s doubleheader that begins at 6:00. “People ask even before the season starts when we are going to play Georgetown. It creates a lot of excitement.”
Actually, the Patriots have already played Georgetown this season in a non-conference game. That came in the Tigers’ tournament in early November when they topped Burton’s bunch78-66. The Patriots’ mentor hopes his team learned from that first encounter.
“We have to make our free throws and rebound the basketball,” said Burton. In the first meeting the Patriots were outrebounded 53-40 and made just nine of 22 from the charity stripe.
Georgetown will bring an 8-0 record into the conference opener while the Patriots’ ledger stood at 2-1 as they entered Monday’s game at McKendree University in Illinois.
“We have many new players but they know Georgetown,” added Burton. “They know that they are one of the best teams in the country every year.”
The Patriot women obviously understand that the conference opener is a huge opportunity for them, also. “Georgetown is one of the top teams every year in the conference,” said St. Catharine coach Lena Bramblett. “They have a rich tradition and being the first game of the conference makes it a big game, both for us and the guys.”
Bramblett’s team owned a 4-3 record going into Tuesday’s game at home against IU-Southeast. Georgetown will bring a 4-4 record into Thursday’s contest.
“We need to play with emotion like we did against Asbury (a 91-72 win),” added Bramblett. “And we need consistency for 40 minutes. We have to play hard every possession.”
Both the Patriot men and women look to be bolstered by a huge crowd in Lourdes Hall that is typical for the Georgetown visit. They also look to “White-Out” the Tigers as they are asking all the student and fans to wear white shirts to the game. “It is a show of unity and support for both of our teams,” said Bramblett of the White-Out.”

         Bring a toy
   to Thursday’s game
Not only can you see exciting college basketball Thursday but you also have an opportunity to help local children. The St. Catharine students in the Success in College class will be collecting toys at the door to make a better Christmas for local children. Anyone who brings a toy to the game will only pay $3 instead of the normal $5 admission.