By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Parma — In one way or another, they’ve been talking all year about this, about this goal, about this mission, about how long it’s been since the Western boys basketball team has won a conference title.
Well, with Friday’s tilt at Northwest fast approaching, Western coach Ryan Mulnix said simply, “I don’t think we need to talk about it any more.”
Those who have followed the Panthers understand what’s at stake, and the kind of drought that can be erased with 32 minutes of good basketball.
It was 1995 when the Panthers last won a conference title.
With a win in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. tip at Northwest, the worst Western can do is share the I-8 Conference championship.
“I think it’s sunk in, everything that’s on the line,” Mulnix said. “And that’s why I think we’ve talked about it enough. It’s time to go play the game.”
The Panthers had a chance to secure their spot in history Tuesday night, but were upended by Harper Creek 54-53.
“It was tough, it really was,” Mulnix said of the one-point loss. “At the end of the day, though, it really doesn’t change anything for us. Truthfully, we’ve played better after losses all season. We’re a better team with our back against the wall. Secondly, we’ve played better on the road for some reason.”
“Right after the game ended, we were over it,” Mulnix added. “Harper Creek has been beating everyone. They may be the hottest team in the league right now. So we weren’t totally surprised. But when it ended, we were ready to move on.”
Tuesday’s loss, coupled with Marshall’s win the same night, put the two teams with identical 10-3 records in conference play, with 1-1 marks against one another.
Harper Creek can do Western a favor and beat Marshall, which, with a Panthers win, would give Western the title outright.
“But we’re not worrying about that at all,” Mulnix said. “We’re focused on what we have to do. We’d love the title by ourselves, but to be part of a championship is all we’re focused on.”
Western beat Northwest 46-26 Jan. 20, and asked about any big advantage heading into Friday’s game, Mulnix laughed.
“Yeah, we’re on the road,” he said. “I don’t know why we’ve been so much better on the road, but we have been.”
Western is 7-0 away from home, but has not beating Northwest in Jackson the past two years.
“For us, we have to execute better offensively,” Mulnix said. “On the defensive end, we were real strong in that first game. We got after it well. But offensively, we weren’t tough enough. We didn’t finish at the rim. We know they are going to foul and be physical. We have to be ready for it.”
And if they are, and if the Panthers take care of business against a Northwest team that has won three games all year, just what would it mean to Mulnix and this program?
“That a lot of the hard work we’ve put in has paid off,” he said. “We have kids who are committed to this. I think, doing things the right way, is so key. We’ve committed ourselves to defense. We’ve played the right way. We have a chance to really set the program in the right direction with this one.”
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports.
He’s also a Real Estate agent with Real Estate One, specializing with buyers and sellers throughout Michigan, from the Jackson area to metro Detroit. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu or by calling (313) 770-6365 with any inquiries.
