By Robert Elkin
Winning ‘an away’ basketball game certainly gave the St. Francis College Terriers a big boost and confidence for the remainder of the schedule. Resting in last place in the 11-team Northeast Conference, the Terriers had teamwork going for them as they turned back Long Island University, 68-52, to win their third game of the season in 16 outings, including 1-3 in the league. Credit goes to an all-around team effort, led by Robert Hines, who scored a career high of 23 points from the forward position but at the same time he must cut down on his turnovers as he committed six. Coach Brian Nash was indeed proud of the effort the whole team put in, especially by Robert Hines, a junior and first year member of the Terriers. “Overall, we did a great job inside,” Nash said. “We (pulled down) offensive rebounds and got second shots. Our guys played with a lot of poise offensively. On the road it’s tough to do. LIU is a very good team. I’m proud of my guys. “Hines played good. He has to score for us. Our problem all year has been scoring. Robert has to consistently score for us. (Guard) Jamaal Womack also has to consistently score for us. And we have to try to get a third scorer. Robert should he one of the best offensive players in the league.” “We played more aggressive going to the basket and getting a lot of offensive rebounds and putting them back in,” Hines said. Hines has impressed everyone this season. He has a 14 point a game average through 16 contests, including four 20 point games, but at the same time he slipped to five and eight points on two different occasions. In one game, the 6’5” forward grabbed 10 rebounds. “He is one of the better guys I’ve seen this year and certainly one of the best newcomers in the league,” noted associate commissioner of the Northeast Conference Ron Ratner. “He’s big and he creates his own shots. He has an inside-out game and has some basketball smarts. I think he’s a very good player. He has all-star potential.” Hines provides the Terriers with rebounding and scoring. He tries to do whatever it takes to win. He worked hard during the pre-season to earn a starting position. For the first part of the season, winning was tough, especially with eight newcomers on the team. They are trying to figure out the system. “We started to work together but winning just didn’t happen,” Hines added. “We got ready for the Conference games. “I can’t wait until toward the end of February and into March when it’ll be tournament times.” After the completion of the regular schedule, action turns toward the post season league tournament, with the winner of it receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I tourney. Hines’ goal is for the team to get this far. He still must work on attacking the basket more and getting outside shots. A native of Trenton, New Jersey, Hines came to the downtown Brooklyn college from Arizona Western Community College, where he averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals in a two year basketball career. He made the first all-conference and all region teams as a freshman and then repeated as a sophomore. In the latter year, he was a member of the Junior College All-American team. During his high school days, he captured the Most Valuable Player award in the State championship tournament.
