Yale boys basketball suffers first loss, but improvement, resiliency still evident

YALE — Learning the hard way has its rewards. Just ask the Yale boys basketball team.

"We've taken our lumps the last two seasons," Yale coach Garnett Kohler said. "But I think along the way, we kept getting better. We've had some kids that've put in a tremendous amount of time the last few years — and it's showing in their play."

The Bulldogs are off to a 6-1 start this season. They're scoring 57.4 points per game and boast an average margin of victory of 24.3.

"Our chemistry has been really well this year," senior Kaleb Gardner said. "I feel like our transition game, running the floor, knowing everybody's role and working to the best of (all) that has gotten us to where we are now."

Yale's rotation has developed into a well-balanced offensive attack.

"The good thing about us in this early going has been our depth," Kohler said. "We've had good depth and good bench play for the most part. Our ability to have different guys scoring for us at different points has really helped us … that's been our staple so far."

Three Bulldogs are averaging more than 10 points per game in Ryan Monarch (13.9), Jackson Kohler (10.7) and Connor Jakubiak (10.1). Four different players led the team in scoring in each of its first four contests.

But offensive versatility isn't enough to compete in the BWAC. The ability to score and defend in transition for 32 minutes is required. So the Bulldogs have embraced an up-tempo style of play.

"We like to hustle," junior Blake Barr said. "We've got to run the court and stay together. We're just a really good hustling team and we like to say we're the best conditioned."

That stamina was put to the test Thursday, as Yale welcomed the three-time defending BWAC champion in Croswell-Lexington. While the Bulldogs ultimately fell 67-52, signs of progress were there.

"I think we showed it tonight," Garnett Kohler said. "It's just our willingness to battle. Our willingness to compete. We have 14 guys — all of them show up every day to practice or games and just compete.

"Cros-Lex is a very talented team ... they exposed us on a few of our breakdowns. But I thought every time they made a run to try to bump (the lead) up 15 points or whatever, we battled back. We had some of that resiliency. I think that's going to pay dividends as we go through this season."

He credited that mentality to the team's leadership, which starts with a pair of seniors in Josh Craig and Lukas Kriesch.

"Josh is a phenomenal leader," Garnett Kohler said. "He's one of the best leaders I've ever coached. He really takes this team and puts it on his back. Then with a guy like Lukas, you don't see him on the court a lot, but the kid's a leader. Those two guys have really embodied that role."

While Thursday's loss snapped a six-game winning streak to begin the year, Yale is determined to learn from a hard lesson once again.

"(We have to) play as a team throughout the whole season," Barr said. "Through the ups and downs, we've got to stay together."

"We'll go back to the drawing board tomorrow," Garnett Kohler said. "The BWAC is rock solid this year. It's going to be a tough one every night ... our goal is to get better every day and continue our improvement."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.