The men’s basketball team opened its season with two losses in back-to-back away games against Rockhurst University and William Jewell College.

The Pride opened its season on Nov. 9 with a game against Rockhurst University in Liberty, Missouri.

Freshman guard Chase Rankin scored 14 points in 24 minutes during his first game, and junior forward Durante Lee was a perfect 5-5 from the field, scoring 11 points.

“It’s all about being confident. We play a fastpaced game, you just have to keep your poise. We have to let our defense dictate the game,” Lee said.

The Pride ultimately lost 103-73 to Rockhurst University.

Brian “Boomer” Roberts, men’s basketball head coach, said the team did not have the season opener he would have liked, attributing the loss to poor shooting.

“I think we are a better shooting team than we showed,” Roberts said. “Eventually the shots will fall.”

Roberts said he was pleased to see his team playing with more confidence during the Nov. 10 game against William Jewell College.

“When you’re playing five freshmen players in your top ten, it’s going to take some time to grow. You could see the difference in games one and two, they got rid of their jitters. It was a lot of the guys’ first college game,” Roberts said.

Rankin’s play from game one brought him off the bench and into game two much quicker, and he provided more as an offensive facilitator, leading the pride with four assists. Nearly all of the starters scored in double digits in the second game. The team shot 7 percent higher than their opening game and held their opponent under 100 points.

PNW fell to William Jewell 99-83. The team is currently 0-2.

Roberts said the team will come back with a new attitude during the season’s home opener against Lincoln Christian University in the Fitness Center at 7:00 p.m.