Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter how much a team loses or wins a game by.
It only counts as one in the standings.
That's the message Eric Magdanz has for his MacEwan's men's basketball team after they were on the wrong side of a blowout defeat their last time up, falling 98-65 to Lethbridge last Saturday.
"For the way our record works, a loss is a loss. It doesn't matter the differential," he stressed. "If you lose in overtime or you get blown out, at the end of the day a loss is a loss. For us, we're taking it that way.
"We're moving on to the next game and realizing we're still on the path we need to be to try to compete and get a spot in playoffs. For us, that's just a learning opportunity that we can move on from."
How they learn from the defeat is crucial as the Griffins aim to improve upon a 1-3 record during a weekend visit to the University of Manitoba (Friday, 7p.m. MT and Saturday, 6 p.m. MT – both games on Canada West TV).
"We're going to go in and see a Manitoba team that plays a similar pace and style to what we saw with Lethbridge," said Magdanz of the 3-1 Bisons. "They get up and down the floor a lot. They shoot the ball really well. So, we're going to have to defend.
"I think this past weekend gave us an opportunity to see some of those weaknesses and give us an opportunity to work on it this week to make sure we're better prepared to stop the ball."
A positive takeaway from the past weekend is the play of two newcomers in coming off the bench. On Friday, it was Lincoln Anderson igniting the offence with 22 points in just 17 minutes of action. Then it was Liban Yousef's turn on Saturday, leading the team with 11 points in just 15 minutes.
Have they earned larger roles with the Griffins moving forward?
"I think the roles on our team are ever changing," said Magdanz. "We're still trying to figure it out. Every single time you play well it's going to give you a bigger opportunity to try and go do it again. So, definitely with them playing well last weekend they're going to get an opportunity and hopefully it carries through to practice this week. You'll see their roles increase if that's the case."