In Friday night???s game against Texas-Pan American, we played very solid and were able to win by 16. As I said in my last entry, this game was going to be a big challenge for our team. It was a test to see whether we came back from a big win and still play with that same focus during the next game. It was also a good test because the atmosphere and crowd attendance was almost non-existent to what we saw at Georgia Tech. The victory proved that we could play through all of that and still come out victorious.

Saturday night???s game against Missouri State, however, was the opposite in every way from Texas-Pan American and even Georgia Tech. It marked our team???s first opportunity to play for a championship in front of a very festive Missouri State crowd. We faced a little adversity playing without our starting point guard (and my roommate), Dwayne Johnson, after going down with an injury the previous game. We came out during the beginning of game not playing very well, but still staying even and went into halftime only down six points - which we all considered a gift with how horribly we played during the first half. During the second half, though, we completely lost focus and Missouri State went on a 27-4 run. We ended losing the game by 27 points.

I put much of blame of the loss on my shoulders. In my eyes, I played the worst game of my career. I went 5 for 20 from the field, had four rebounds, six turnovers and was non-existent on the defensive end - letting their post players have anything they wanted. As the team leader, it is my job to lead by example and play at my highest level during every game. During this game, I failed to do so and thus helped to add on to our poor performance on Saturday night. Don???t get me wrong - Missouri State is a very good team. But I don???t think that they are 27 points better than us. The loss was embarrassing.

The night we got back from Missouri, I couldn???t go to sleep because I was still thinking about how we had played. It wasn???t until I spoke with my father the next day that I finally started to get over the loss. He told me that every player and every team have bad days and bad performances. Rather than dwelling on the defeat, I should learn from it so it won???t happen again and start shifting my focus and energy toward our next upcoming game.

During the Missouri State game, I also became the school???s all-time leading scorer. The record is a nice accomplishment, but a little bittersweet. I just wish it would have come in a more competitive game.

This weekend is our home opener against USC Upstate. After being on the road for the past two weekends, it will definitely be a good feeling to play on our home court. It is important for us to establish dominance at home because history has shown that championship teams have had great records at home. It is also a chance to redeem ourselves after a disappointing showing this past weekend. Wish us luck!

Before I go I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I also want to thank all the people that have invited me to share Thanksgiving with their families. Thanksgiving is always a hard holiday for me being from out of state and not getting a chance to spend it with my family back in New Jersey. (Many of us on the team that can???t go home because of the short break are getting together at a coach???s house this year.) All of you help to ease that. Thank you again.

Everyone have a great holiday and until next time???.

Kyle Hines - #42