Injuries plague men’s basketball

The Rowan men’s basketball team has hit a snag in its pursuit of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) playoffs and NCAA tournament. Two seniors have been bitten with the injury bug for Rowan: scoring leader Tyson Hartnett and senior guard Allen Pritchett.

“We need to get healthy,” said head coach Joe Cassidy. “Tyson, Allen and [sophomore forward Steve Secula] haven’t been playing and we need them back.”

Hartnett, who averages 14.9 points a game and also leads the team in rebounds with 6.6 per game, got a hand infection when he fouled a Richard Stockton player two weeks ago. The foul was up high, causing Harnett to cut his hand on the player’s tooth during the 85-72 conference loss.

“For a week, it was really swelled up and I couldn’t move it,” Hartnett said. “[Monday] I wrapped it up and started practicing and hopefully it will be better for Wednesday’s game versus TCNJ.”

The following week, Pritchett suffered a calf contusion, a high ankle sprain and a concussion in the 94-76 win over conference opponent Rutgers-Camden.

“I’m all banged up,” Pritchett said. “The best thing I could do is rehab and try to get back as soon as possible. The way things are going, I’m moving pretty fast for the injuries I have.

“We have a good group of guys [in the trainer’s office] and they know what they are talking about. So it’s all up to me if I want to come in and put the work in to get back as fast as I can.”

Although Pritchett is putting the rehabilitation work in, he is unsure when he will be able to play.

“I want to be back every day but with them it could be a week or a couple weeks,” Pritchett said. “A high-ankle sprain is a nagging injury. I can play through the ankle sprain but the concussion and the contusion are kind of holding me back.”

During the times both Hartnett and Pritchett were absent, the Profs beat Rutgers-Camden, but then suffered a huge 85-61 loss to William Patterson, who is 20-1 on the season and 9-0 in the NJAC.

With only five games left to play, four of them being versus NJAC opponents, Rowan has to get healthy and start winning the conference games.

Rowan, Stockton, TCNJ and Kean are all within a game of each other for second place. Rowan will need to win their remaining games against those teams to hold the tie breakers for the playoffs.

Pritchett feels that the team needs to make “better, smarter decisions down the stretch.”

“[We have] shown we can do it offensively, but when it comes to defense, we lack,” Pritchett said.

Rowan faces TCNJ on Wednesday and Kean on Saturday. Rowan has beaten both teams already earlier this season, but both teams have gained some ground in the tight NJAC race for second place are are looking for payback.

“We beat TCNJ already and hopefully we will beat them again and the same thing with Kean at their court,” Hartnett said. “[The Kean game] will be a tight game and a tough crowd to play in front of. Hopefully we are healthy.”