The Mid-Majority

The Mid-Majority Truth, justice and college basketball. http://www.compupants.com/ Copyright 2004-11 http://www.midmajority.com/ en-us <![CDATA[Driveway Basketball: Bucknell at Holy Cross]]> Tim Delehaunty http://www.midmajority.com/p/2687

Game #8-605: Bucknell Bison at Holy Cross CrusadersFebruary 18, 2012 4:00 pm
Hart Recreation Center
BBState Stats/Recap
Ian and I came once again to the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass., on top of the hill where it always feels four or five degrees colder than the rest of the city. We walked past the statue of Bob Cousy to see Holy Cross host Bucknell. Ian limped slightly (and sometimes tragically), having fallen that morning while he and I played one on one in the driveway.

We Holy Cross fans didnt quite know what to expect. A three-game winning streak suggested that perhaps the Crusaders were finally fulfilling preseason expectations. But a win over Bucknell? The Bison were coming off their first league loss, a squeaker with Lehigh. They would be primed. And the score of the first Holy Cross-Bucknell game four weeks ago was 74-41.

And after Mike Muscala, the reigning player of the year in the Patriot League, scored first on an easy left-handed post move, Crusader fans looked at each other: uh-oh. We knew that a strategy to beat the Bison might be to give Muscala his and shut down everyone else, but this looked a little easy.

However, Justin Burrell, Holy Crosss freshman point guard, answered with a three-pointer from the wing and then another from straightaway. Eric Obeysekere entered the game and blocked Muscalas next attempt, and suddenly Holy Cross was off to the races on a run of 17 unanswered points. During the stretch, the Crusaders gave up only one offensive rebound to the bigger and stronger Bison. And Bucknell looked to have left their transition legs on the bus, as Mike Cavatiao and Jordan Stevens beat the Bison defenders down the floor to find good shots.

Holy Cross led 17-2. Along the Bucknell sideline at the under-12 timeout, the look on coach Dave Paulsens face showed that everything he could have feared was happening.

But for the next several minutes, both teams produced empty trips on offense. The full house in the Hart Center was quiet. With shock? Nerves? I looked up with six minutes to go in the half and whispered to Ian: If Holy Cross can get hot again, we might be able to end it here. Of course, it would only take a small Bucknell run to knock down enough of the lead to make Holy Crosss dazzling 17-point run for naught. Neither team surged. And despite the ridiculous-looking halftime score, 28-10, the game felt up for grabs.

We made a break for the concession stand for fried dough and popcorn. The cashiers eyes went wide when we told him the score. He counted our change and slammed the cash drawer shut. 18 is not enough, he said.

Bucknell came out in the second half ready to grind. The Bison pounded the offensive boards and ran hard back to the defensive end. Bryan Cohen, the Bison captain, made two jump shots and blanketed Holy Cross leading scorer Devin Brown on defense. Brown would never be a factor. And while Holy Crosss half-court sets did not produce shots for Brown or anybody else, Bucknell guards Bryson Johnson and Cameron Ayers found holes in the Crusaders man-to-man. In five minutes, Bucknell cut the Holy Cross lead in half.

The basketball averages were coming back into balance. Or, what seemed more likely to the anxious Crusader winter homecoming flock, Holy Cross was undergoing its most recent nervous breakdown in a season of sanitarium-inducing efforts.

This much was clear: in the low post, Muscala had his way.

Muscala looks as unassuming as a 6-foot-11 human being can. During the pregame shootaround, Ian had tried to locate him. But with his warm-up top snapped to his throat and his shoulders slightly hunched, Muscala was somehow easy to miss. During the game, he is unmistakable. When he receives a pass on the block, he holds the ball under his chin with his feet and his elbows wide. He can turn equally well to his left or his right to create a shot. This is the move that fathers, especially those who grew up watching Kevin McHale, try to teach their sons on blacktopped driveways.

Muscala worked his way through the young Crusader bangers, fouling out first junior Phil Beans and then freshman Taylor Abt. Holy Cross fans were furious with the officiating. Stop protecting Muscala! screeched one during the under-12 timeout.

But the Crusaders did not fold. Eric Obeysekere - providing the most effective defense on Muscala by rotating off his own man when the Bucknell big man turned to the hoop - blocked a shot, igniting a fast break which Burrell finished with a behind-the-back pass to Jordan Stevens for a dunk. Ian did a little dance. Holy Cross led 42-27.

A slashing layup by Ayers and a Muscala offensive rebound and dunk made it 44-35 with 4:45 left.

Holy Cross ran the shot clock down on each of its possessions. Burrell, the smallest player on either roster at 5-foot-9, backed the ball out and made his best A.A.U.-inspired moves against the entire Bison defense. It was an unlikely offensive strategy. In fact it was no strategy at all; Holy Cross could not pierce Bucknells man-to-man. But Burrell plays his own version of blacktop basketball, the kind a kid plays when the adults are not around: chancy, unconventional, spectacular. The freshman did just enough - one time making a floater in the lane, and another time drawing a foul after which he converted both free throws.

Still behind by a half dozen, Bucknell employed the inevitable strategy of fouling Holy Cross to stop the clock. The Crusaders missed the front ends of one-and-ones, while Ayers and Johnson each made threes.

In the final minute, a missile by Ayers for three points after a missed Holy Cross foul shot cut the lead to two points, as close as Bucknell had been since the opening minutes. On the ensuing inbound play, Devin Brown collided with Steven Kaspar as both players lunged for the ball. The foul was assigned to the Bisons Kaspar with 1.5 seconds left. Brown missed both free throws, but Bucknell could do nothing with the rebound. Holy Cross had escaped, 54-52.

We filed out past the Cousy statue. Crusader fans had witnessed a satisfying win, an unlikely win, but no one could believe wed seen anything that changed the power structure in the Patriot League.

Back in the driveway, Ian and I resumed our game. In my lifetime of playing sports, Ian has risen to the status of my all-time foe. The hitter to whom I have given up the most home runs, the striker against whom I have surrendered the most goals, the sprinter who always nips me at the tape. On this day he backed me down toward the basket, dribbling the ball. I played soft defense, hands at my side, pretending to be a Holy Cross forward with four fouls. I was ready to fall for any fake to give him an advantage. Ian held the ball under his chin, like Muscala. But he never pivoted. Instead, he executed an unorthodox slide step under my arm and spun the ball off the backboard and in.

I was picturing Muscala, but Ian played it like Burrell.

at HOLY CROSS 54, BUCKNELL 52
02/18/2012

BUCKNELL 20-8 (10-2) -- B. Cohen 2-5 0-0 4; M. Muscala 9-16 2-2 20; J. Willman 3-7 0-0 6; C. Ayers 3-7 0-0 7; B. Johnson 3-7 0-0 8; R. Hill 1-3 0-0 2; S. Kaspar 1-7 1-3 3; B. Fitzpatrick 0-1 0-0 0; B. Brackney 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-54 3-5 52.
HOLY CROSS 13-13 (7-5) -- D. Brown 1-4 2-4 4; J. Burrell 5-13 3-4 15; D. Dudzinski 2-8 3-5 7; R. Evans 2-7 0-0 4; M. Cavataio 4-6 0-0 9; E. Obeysekere 1-4 0-0 2; T. Abt 2-4 0-0 5; J. Stevens 2-4 0-0 5; D. Goens 0-0 0-0 0; P. Beans 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 20-52 8-13 54.

Three-point goals: BUCK 3-15 (B. Cohen 0-2; B. Johnson 2-5; M. Muscula 0-1; C. Ayers 1-3; R. Hill 0-1; S. Kaspar 0-3), HC 6-19 (M. Cavataio 1-2; D. Brown 0-3; R. Evans 0-1; J. Stevens 1-3; P. Beans 1-1; D. Dudzinski 0-2; J. Burrell 2-4; T. Abt 1-3); Rebounds: BUCK 30 (M. Muscula 10), HC 31 (D. Dudzinski 7); Assists: BUCK 12 (R. Hill 3), HC 13 (D. Goens 5); Total Fouls -- BUCK 15, HC 13; Fouled Out: BUCK-None; HC-P. Beans.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:09:00 -0400 <![CDATA[On Planning]]> Ian McCormick http://www.midmajority.com/p/2686

Game #8-604: Florida A&M Rattlers at South Carolina State BulldogsFebruary 20, 2012 7:30 pm
SHM Memorial Center
BBState Stats/Recap
Less than a week into the season, I began to make plans for attending my first games of the season. So I sent Kyle a message using The Form to get my Bally Club password that I had forgotten from when the Bally Club message board was first started. Kyle got back to me fairly quickly, which was good because at the time I did not know that you had to add a game to the wishlist in advance of recapping it. I had thought that the wishlist/"I Will" list people were talking about had to do with figuring out who was covering which game. Fortunately, I was able to get this taken care of and added my first game at the Citadel several hours before tip-off.

I then soon after added the Charleston Classic games I went to the following day, and planned for the rest of the season. Earlier when I had down time from my internship I plotted the upcoming basketball season and what games I would attend at all levels. For the Division I games I looked at StatSheets daily scoreboard, which allowed me to look at what games are available by state each day. From this plan, I put an initial total of 41 games on my I Will list.

A few times this season I have added a game not initially on my I Will list. When visiting family in North Carolina, I initially expected to attend a local high school American-style football playoff game. But earlier that afternoon I decided visiting historic Reynolds Coliseum for a NC State-Elon game would be a better thing to do, and added that game. In December I had expected to attend a junior college game as part of my internship, but I had already completed its requirements by that time which freed me to go to a game at Wofford. And like everybody else, I had to wait until later in the season to add a BracketBuster game. As I mentioned in my previous recap, I had considered Charleston Southern until I saw that Matt Cayuela would be covering it. As a result, it would be more beneficial to the 800 Games Project to go to Gardner-Webb instead.

Only one game that was on my original I Will list did I remove later from my schedule. That was a game between UNC Greensboro and Furman that was originally scheduled for noon. But Furman moved the game up to 3 PM for the SoCon Network broadcast, which conflicted with a game at 6 PM where my grad school South Carolina would face top-ranked Kentucky. So I removed the game from my I Will list, which would prevent an assignment from being missed and free someone else to potentially take the game (which nobody did). I hated missing Furman, especially after the great time I had a couple days earlier. So to replace that missed game, I chose an extra game at SC State tonight rather than a local junior college game like I had planned.

And yet despite although this time devoted to the project and planning it, I am not doing as much as Kyle ever did. For that matter, going into tonights game there were two others with more recaps than myself. This shows that while some people I know think I am crazy, there are others who have the same interests I do, which has made this project fun. There are times where school and volunteer duties conflict with being able to go to a game, but not much lately as I am still in the process of looking full-time job. I still schedule weekends around team loyalties, and will pick a non-Division I or high school game if it would be too expensive or out of the way to attend a Division I game. I also do not attend a game if it appears unlikely I will be able to see it in its entirety. I had considered going to a Gardner-Webb game after a game at Winthrop, but I thought it would be too much of a stretch to make a 7:30 tip-off when my game ended at 6:15 PM. It is over 60 miles to Gardner-Webb from Winthrop, so I decided it would be best to not try to rush to a game. When I am statistically tracking a game, I like to be able to do it from the start.

So I picked this game at S.C. State, and saw that Matt Cayuela was already planning on being there. While I wanted to get a game in that nobody else would be covering so we can get to 800 games, I began to look forward to this. I have encouraged us all to go to more games at HBCUs, and I was looking forward to reading another perspective on SC State basketball. But late in the womens game, I received a tweet from Matt saying that he was not able to make it to the game out of work. So even when another game is covered, it still often works out to attend the game as well. You can either have a great 800GP meetup, or help cover for somebody if they cant make it.

Tonight was Greek Night at SC State, which ensured a quality atmosphere with fraternities and sororities performing their stepping shows at halftime. But few Bulldog fans made it for the majority of the womens game that tipped off at 5:30 PM. Even much of the Marching 101 was missing until late in the first half of that game. The womens team of Florida A&M was able to take advantage of the weakened home court advantage and storm out to a double-digit lead midway through the first half. The SCSU women played much better in the second half as fans began to arrive for the mens game, but could not come all the way back from an 18 point deficit. FAMU clinched the game in bizarre fashion: the SCSU women had the ball with ten seconds to play and down four, but turned the ball over when a Bulldog running after a pass from a teammate collided with a referee. FAMU likely would have won anyway, but you dont want to lose the ball when an official gets in your way.

The mens game also figured to be tough for the Bulldogs. SCSU had lost all 12 MEAC games entering todays contest. SC State has only been averaging 1,000 fans per game, a number mostly carried through student support as community support for Bulldog basketball has been lacking with the teams decline in performance. SC State would look to be competitive in this one, and led most of the first half. The Greek step teams performed, and some students left after the halftime festivities (although I have seen worse).

After leading by five at halftime, SC State quickly gave up the lead in the second half. It looked for a moment that FAMU would then cruise to an easy victory. But SC State caught back up again, and the lead went back and forth in the last few minutes. The Bulldogs were up one with less than 30 seconds left when they hoisted a three that was missed. After several missed putbacks and offensive rebounds, eventually FAMU had to resort to fouling. But SC State missed the front end of the bonus, giving the Rattlers another chance. A 3-pointer with five seconds left would be missed by the Rattlers. But all game long SC State had missed on getting back defensively, and this allowed for a Rattler to glide in with the rebound and put in a layup that gave FAMU an 83-82 lead with a second left. All SCSU could do was throw up a wild shot that went off the scoreboard overhead, and the Bulldogs had lost another game. While I have no rooting interest in SCSU, I felt bad seeing the closest mid-major to me lose a heartbreaker that denied its first conference victory.

Hopefully while the Bulldogs came up short today at the end, our project will prevail at the end with 800 games. Planning is part of the process, and is why we must put our assignments on the I Will list in advance. Not counting the postseason games, I am likely going to attend Wednesdays game at the Citadel, Saturdays game at USC Upstate, and next Monday back at SC State. I also plan to add another game either Thursday or Saturday night to the mix, which will give me 45 recaps going into the postseason. Planning is both useful for us and the teams we follow to reach our goals at the end of the season.

FLORIDA A&M 83, at SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 82
02/20/2012

FLORIDA A&M 8-19 (6-7) -- D. Hanlen 5-9 4-6 18; A. Stevens 7-13 4-5 18; R. Lewis 5-8 0-0 12; Y. Crowder 2-6 0-0 4; C. Watson 4-6 3-3 11; A. Moore 5-11 2-3 15; N. Drayton 6-8 1-3 13; D. Bullard 3-7 0-0 6; J. Kennings 2-3 0-0 4; J. Dean 0-1 0-0 0; M. Teal 0-1 0-0 0; B. Hosley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-64 10-14 83.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 5-22 (0-13) -- B. Riley 10-20 4-4 24; D. Joint 4-9 0-1 10; K. Toombs 3-11 2-4 8; O. Sanders 5-11 4-5 14; J. Ikhinmwin 5-13 1-2 11; S. Barber 2-11 4-4 8; P. Bell 2-4 3-5 7; L. Radovic 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-80 18-25 82.

Three-point goals: FAMU 5-18 (A. Moore 3-9; C. Watson 0-2; R. Lewis 2-4; J. Kennings 0-1; D. Bullard 0-2), SCST 2-10 (K. Toombs 0-2; B. Riley 0-3; D. Joint 2-5); Rebounds: FAMU 32 (A. Stevens 13), SCST 44 (O. Sanders 10); Assists: FAMU 16 (A. Moore 5), SCST 14 (K. Toombs 6); Total Fouls -- FAMU 18, SCST 13; Fouled Out: FAMU-None; SCST-None.

]]> Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:27:00 -0400 <![CDATA[One More Saturday Night]]> Jennifer Ahearn http://www.midmajority.com/p/2685

Game #8-603: Columbia Lions at Pennsylvania QuakersFebruary 18, 2012 7:00 pm
The Palestra
BBState Stats/Recap

At this time of year, the factoid closest to the front of most people's minds about the Ivy League is the lack of a conference tournament. (Indeed, I wrote about this yesterday.) This state of affairs is a matter of frequent controversy among fans, though I admit to being pretty ambivalent about the whole thing. Conference tournaments are lots of fun, I'd definitely go if there was one, and I like the idea that "each team has a chance." Is that worth the cost in money, time, etc.? No idea.

The longer I follow the league, though, the more I am convinced that another of its quirks is actually much more significant -- the Friday/Saturday schedule of back-to-back games every weekend during the conference season.

I was thinking about this Saturday night when I watched the Quakers warm up in their away uniforms in the Palestra, which they wore while Columbia wore its home unis, meaning neither team would have to launder Friday night's uniforms on Saturday.

I was thinking about it again as both teams started the game moving slowly, committing ugly fouls and uglier turnovers. I knew both teams were capable of playing much, much better than this.

And I was thinking about it again when a personal, non-shooting foul was called, followed by a media timeout, during which the foul apparently morphed into a flagrant one. Who knows. If it's Saturday in the Ivy ... the most in-demand refs are probably working somewhere else.

However, even through fatigue and lack of focus, an Ivy Saturday can still contain moments of inspiration and precision.

Penn and Columbia stumbled into overtime, Penn largely thanks to the play of complementary players such as Steve Rennard and Columbia due to the efforts of Meiko Lyles and Mark Cisco. The teams were again tied with about three seconds remaining in overtime, and Penn was taking the ball out of bounds under the far basket. Miles Cartwright received the inbounds pass and sprinted across the midcourt line, where he stopped -- and Penn called its final timeout with 1.5 seconds remaining. I immediately, almost instinctively, questioned the wisdom of this decision. Why not let the thing play out before Columbia could set its defense? We all knew Zack Rosen was going to take the last shot.

Or not.

Instead Penn ran a play it had never practiced and that coach Jerome Allen freely admitted he'd copied from Butler's Brad Stevens. Rosen was in motion, but as a screener. Hot-shooting Rennard moved too, headed for his favored corner shooting angle. Cartwright threw a perfect lob over it all to a cutting Fran Dougherty, alone under the basket. He might as well have been in that layup line.

Columbia still had half a second on the clock but wasn't able to get a good look, and that was the end.

Get prepared, it's gonna be a party tonight.

at PENNSYLVANIA 61, COLUMBIA 59
02/18/2012

COLUMBIA 14-12 (3-7) -- I. Sykes 4-10 1-6 9; M. Lyles 5-9 4-4 17; B. Barbour 1-6 4-4 6; M. Cisco 4-12 4-6 12; A. Rosenberg 3-5 2-3 10; B. Staab 2-3 1-1 5; C. Crockett 3-6 0-0 9; V. Green 0-1 0-0 0; N. Springwater 0-1 0-0 0; C. Osetkowski 0-1 0-0 0; J. Daniels 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-45 15-18 59.
PENNSYLVANIA 15-11 (7-2) -- Z. Rosen 5-16 1-2 14; M. Cartwright 3-5 1-2 8; S. Rennard 5-6 0-0 13; R. Belcore 2-5 0-0 5; H. Brooks 3-5 0-0 6; F. Dougherty 3-4 0-0 6; M. Howlett 1-1 1-2 3; T. Bernardini 1-3 0-0 3; C. Crocker 0-0 0-0 0; M. Kukoc 1-2 0-0 3; S. Esprit 0-0 0-0 0; C. Gunter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 3-6 61.

Three-point goals: COLU 8-17 (C. Crockett 3-5; B. Barbour 0-1; M. Lyles 3-6; A. Rosenberg 2-4; N. Springwater 0-1), PENN 10-19 (T. Bernardini 1-2; R. Belcore 1-2; Z. Rosen 3-7; M. Cartwright 1-2; M. Kukoc 1-2; S. Rennard 3-4); Rebounds: COLU 25 (M. Cisco 6), PENN 24 (Z. Rosen 6); Assists: COLU 9 (B. Barbour 8), PENN 17 (Z. Rosen 5); Total Fouls -- COLU 13, PENN 19; Fouled Out: COLU-None; PENN-H. Brooks.

]]> Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:31:00 -0400 <![CDATA[My Personal Hell]]> John Willmott http://www.midmajority.com/p/2684

Game #8-602: Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks at Howard BisonFebruary 20, 2012 7:30 pm
Burr Gymnasium
BBState Stats/Recap

Last week, before taking in Howard's game against Bethune-Cookman, I had tweeted that I was taking in the "most lovingly disorganized sporting event there is." If you've been following along with some of the other recaps that have come out of Howard home games, you probably have some idea of what I'm talking about. Whether it was my experience with (maybe) free basketball or Thomas McCaffrey's adventures in poorly scheduled women's basketball games, going to a Howard basketball game has been an adventure this season. And that's not even mentioning the litany of other oddities that simply haven't made it into my recaps such as a pair of administrative technical fouls issued before each of the two games I've seen at the Burr.

Naturally then, as I was heading back to Burr Gymnasium tonight to see Howard's home finale against Maryland-Eastern Shore, my first thought was "what will go wrong tonight?"

If only I had any idea.

Having waited too long to buy a ticket online, I made certain to get onto the Howard University campus about 45 minutes early to ensure that I'd have a seat. Ticket in hand (which, by the way, stated that tip-off for the men was at 2 p.m., and the women at 6 p.m., when in fact the games were scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively. Oh, Howard), I went to grab a bite to eat before the game, planning to get to Burr just in time for tip-off.

I walked into Burr to find a seat only to discover......that there were still 11 minutes left in the preceding women's game. Somehow, it had taken all of two hours to play 29 minutes of untelevised women's basketball. I had realized that I'd probably have to do some waiting -- it seems a bit wishful to think the second game of a doubleheader will start exactly two hours after the first one starts -- but this was a bit ridiculous. Then again, this was a Howard home game we were talking about. For those playing along at home, this was a game listed to start at 2 p.m. on the tickets, but actually scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and was now being delayed until roughly 8:30 p.m. Oy.

After about an hour of waiting through a pretty poorly played women's game and warm-ups, UMES and Howard FINALLY got things going. It was then that I realized that the worst was not yet over. Sorry Mr. Petty, but tonight, the waiting was definitely NOT the hardest part.

No, that would be the game on the court, easily one of the ugliest I've seen. Neither team could seemingly hit the broad side of the barn for stretches of the game. The box score says that UMES was the better shooting team on the night, hitting 33.3 percent from the field, but I'm legitimately surprised it was even that high.

Credit where credit is due: it WAS a close game down the stretch, with Howard squeaking out a 53-51 win. But by that point, after all of the waiting and subpar basketball, I think we were all ready to just see it end.

The Burr strikes yet again. I'm oddly curious to see what it has in store for my next trip. Thankfully (or is it unfortunately?), we'll have to wait until next year to find out.

at HOWARD 53, MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE 51
02/20/2012

MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE 6-20 (3-10) -- R. Spencer 5-9 4-4 14; H. Haley 3-10 4-5 11; P. Woods 3-11 0-0 7; T. Hines 2-3 0-0 4; I. Pitt 3-8 2-2 8; L. Bell 1-5 2-2 4; P. Guillaume 0-2 0-0 0; M. Robertson 0-3 0-0 0; O. Kosile 1-1 1-1 3; G. Womack 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-54 13-14 51.
HOWARD 9-19 (6-9) -- S. Frazier 3-7 2-3 9; G. Andrews 3-11 2-2 10; O. Ellison 0-1 0-0 0; P. Okoroh 2-6 1-3 5; M. Phillips 1-6 5-6 8; C. Thompson 3-8 1-1 7; A. Leary 2-3 0-2 4; B. Ford 2-3 2-2 6; T. Lee 1-6 0-0 2; B. Bailey 0-1 0-0 0; T. Boyomo 1-3 0-0 2; C. Cuffee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-56 13-19 53.

Three-point goals: UMES 2-22 (H. Haley 1-7; M. Robertson 0-2; P. Guillaume 0-1; L. Bell 0-4; G. Womack 0-1; P. Woods 1-7), HOW 4-15 (G. Andrews 2-8; C. Thompson 0-2; T. Lee 0-1; M. Phillips 1-2; S. Frazier 1-2); Rebounds: UMES 34 (R. Spencer 9), HOW 31 (T. Boyomo 6); Assists: UMES 10 (L. Bell 3), HOW 8 (C. Thompson 3); Total Fouls -- UMES 18, HOW 14; Fouled Out: UMES-T. Hines; HOW-None.

]]> Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:32:00 -0400 <![CDATA[Control]]> Jennifer Ahearn http://www.midmajority.com/p/2683

Game #8-601: Cornell Big Red at Pennsylvania QuakersFebruary 17, 2012 7:00 pm
The Palestra
BBState Stats/Recap

On my own personal sportz-related crimes-against-English scale, on which the offenses range from "just trite" to "utterly senseless and inane," the one I heard most about Penn coming into Friday's game against Cornell fell pretty far towards the life imprisonment end: they "controlled their own destiny" in the Ivy League title race.

First, to be fair to the offenders (who will not be named), I'll offer an explanation. Penn lost to Harvard on Friday of last weekend*, missing their chance to get a win over the league leaders at home. Given the apparent talent gap between Harvard and the rest of the league, this seemed likely to be the end of the Quakers' hopes to win the Ivy championship and play in the NCAA tournament. However, on Saturday Harvard (somewhat unexpectedly) lost to Princeton, and suddenly Penn was only one loss behind Harvard in the standings. You can see where this is going: if Penn won out (which would include beating Harvard in Cambridge, and again in a playoff), even if Harvard didn't otherwise lose, Penn could win the Ivy.
So this is what it means to "control your own destiny." Which is dumb on a number of levels. Let's just look at the surface, without reference to basketball: if it's your destiny, how can you control it?

But OK, we can forgive some imprecise language, right? No need to get all pedantic. Penn controls the outcome of the Ivy title race -- right?

Well, no, of course not. Don't believe me? Skip back a couple of paragraphs, and note that the reason Penn allegedly "controlled their own destiny" in the first place is that ... Harvard lost to Princeton. Is Harvard likely to lose again? No. But they weren't likely to lose to Princeton, either. Any number of things could happen between now and the end of the Ivy season. Injuries. Cold shooting. Fired-up opponents. Does Penn control any of these things? Not in any meaningful use of the word "control."

Don't get me wrong: I'm happy that the experts think Penn's odds of winning the Ivy went from "small" to "slightly less small" on Saturday. But control? Please.

Maybe I'm just picking nits. But I'm imagining that I'm a coach trying to coax the right level of energy and focus from my team - I'm not sure I want the players thinking "the whole season's on the line!" until it actually is. Especially an Ivy team, where there's no conference tournament to be a safety valve for a panic-induced loss.

However, I should admit that Zack Rosen would probably laugh if he read this. As Penn came to the end of the back and forth game with Cornell on Friday (yes, a "game of runs" -- 5-10 years for that one on my personal sentencing table), the Quakers' senior captain either scored or assisted on 23 of his team's points in a row in order to give Penn the final lead in the game.

Okay, Zack, maybe I'll rethink my definition of "control."

* See excellent recaps here and here for all you need to know about that. And don't miss this fun story from Matt Norlander about his first trip to the Palestra that day, as a nice antidote to my complaining about lame sportswriters.

at PENNSYLVANIA 73, CORNELL 66
02/17/2012

CORNELL 10-13 (5-4) -- J. Gray 5-10 5-8 15; S. Miller 3-5 0-0 7; D. Ferry 5-10 3-3 17; C. Wroblewski 4-11 3-4 14; E. Chemerinski 2-3 3-3 7; D. Tarwater 2-5 0-0 4; G. Cancer 1-3 0-0 2; D. Cherry 0-0 0-0 0; D. LaMore 0-0 0-0 0; J. Figini 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 14-18 66.
PENNSYLVANIA 14-11 (6-2) -- Z. Rosen 8-17 4-4 25; R. Belcore 1-4 1-2 3; M. Cartwright 7-10 3-4 22; T. Bernardini 3-8 2-2 9; S. Rennard 1-4 0-0 3; F. Dougherty 1-1 0-1 2; C. Crocker 0-0 2-4 2; C. Gunter 0-0 1-2 1; H. Brooks 1-2 0-0 2; M. Howlett 2-2 0-0 4; M. Kukoc 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 13-19 73.

Three-point goals: CORN 8-18 (C. Wroblewski 3-5; J. Gray 0-3; D. Tarwater 0-1; G. Cancer 0-1; D. Ferry 4-7; S. Miller 1-1), PENN 12-22 (T. Bernardini 1-3; R. Belcore 0-2; Z. Rosen 5-10; M. Cartwright 5-6; S. Rennard 1-1); Rebounds: CORN 27 (D. Ferry 6), PENN 22 (R. Belcore 6); Assists: CORN 13 (J. Gray 4), PENN 16 (Z. Rosen 6); Total Fouls -- CORN 17, PENN 13; Fouled Out: CORN-None; PENN-None.

]]> Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:32:00 -0400 <![CDATA[Having a Rooting Interest]]> Bob Fisch http://www.midmajority.com/p/2682

Game #8-600: Lehigh Mountain Hawks at American EaglesFebruary 9, 2012 7:00 pm
Bender Arena
BBState Stats/Recap
The vast majority of the games that I have covered for the 800 games project have been games where I am simply a neutral observer, and had no rooting interest in the game. The only exception to this was the Kent State-Cleveland State game I attended back in November. I dont mind this, mainly because I love watching college basketball, and going to games in-person is a hobby of mine. However, this all changed Thursday night, when I watched the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks take-on the American University Eagles. It certainly felt weird watching the team on the road instead of home, but I was excited to finally see the Mountain Hawks play this year.

The game featured two teams tied for second place in the Patriot League. The game was important because the winner would have a one game lead for the right to host two tournament games instead of one. Seeing as American had yet to lose at home this year, it was crucial for them to come away with a victory. This game also featured the top two scorers in the Patriot League, Lehighs C.J. McCollum, and Americans Charles Hinkle. I was really excited to see both teams, and hoped to see a competitive match up, and a potential preview of a potential Patriot League Tournament semi-final.

When I got to the Bender Arena ticket window, I asked for a ticket in the visitors section. The cashier responded by asking me if I was sure, to which I responded Im positive. There was no way I was going to sit anywhere else for this game. When I walked in and took my seat, I noticed that there were quite a few students at the game, as well as the full cheerleading squad and band. This was quite a contrast to my last AU game, when the students were on spring break and therefore, attendance was lower.

The game started in favor of the Mountain Hawks. Fueled by five #superhoops, they raced out to an early 21-10 lead, prompting AU coach Jeff Jones to call time. I thought to myself This lead is anything but safe. And, I thought correctly. Tony Wroblicky scored six straight points for the Eagles, and AU went on a 30-15 run to take a 40-36 lead at the half.

It seemed like both teams were struggling to hit shots in the 2nd half. American was doing everything they could to give the game away, and Lehigh just couldnt convert on any opportunities. Led by McCollum, the Mountain Hawks scored 5 straight points to tie the game at 46. However, that would be as close as the Mountain Hawks would get. While the AU lead reached as high as eight late in the second half, Lehigh continued to press, and managed to force some turnovers and make the game close. An #omgdunx by Gabe Knutson, an AU turnover and a McCollum jumper cut the lead to four, and another turnover on the inbounds gave Lehigh a slim chance of hope. However, Lehigh failed to hit shots down the stretch, and AU hit their free-throws to make the final margin nine, 71-62. I was disappointed in the loss, especially because it seemed like there were chances to win down the stretch. However, I have a feeling that this wont be the last time these two teams play this season.

at AMERICAN 71, LEHIGH 62
02/09/2012

LEHIGH 18-7 (6-3) -- C. McCollum 11-29 5-5 30; M. McKnight 2-6 0-0 5; J. Hamilton 4-6 0-0 11; G. Knutson 4-8 0-0 8; J. Adams 1-3 0-1 2; H. Greiner 1-6 1-2 3; J. Maneri 1-2 0-0 2; A. D'Orazio 0-2 1-2 1; S. Cvrkalj 0-1 0-0 0; C. Schaefer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-63 7-10 62.
AMERICAN 16-8 (7-2) -- C. Hinkle 4-9 3-4 14; D. Munoz 3-9 2-2 11; T. Brewer 7-12 1-2 17; T. Wroblicky 8-13 2-2 18; S. McCormack 2-4 1-4 5; J. Schoof 1-6 0-0 2; R. Grafft 1-1 0-2 2; B. Jolivette 1-4 0-0 2; W. Simon II 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 9-16 71.

Three-point goals: LEH 7-21 (J. Adams 0-1; J. Hamilton 3-5; H. Greiner 0-3; C. McCollum 3-10; M. McKnight 1-2), AMER 8-17 (T. Brewer 2-3; C. Hinkle 3-6; B. Jolivette 0-1; D. Munoz 3-5; J. Schoof 0-2); Rebounds: LEH 23 (C. McCollum 9), AMER 40 (T. Wroblicky 17); Assists: LEH 11 (M. McKnight 4), AMER 14 (D. Munoz 5); Total Fouls -- LEH 15, AMER 13; Fouled Out: LEH-M. McKnight; AMER-None.

]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:47:00 -0400 <![CDATA[A Rivalry Renewed on the Hardwood]]> Bob Fisch http://www.midmajority.com/p/2681

Game #8-599: Lafayette Leopards at Lehigh Mountain HawksFebruary 18, 2012 4:00 pm
Stabler Arena
BBState Stats/Recap
While most of the mid-major world was involved with Brackbuster Saturday, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks hosted their rival Lafayette in Patriot League action. Given some of the match-ups that were selected, I was quite happy to take the trip to the Lehigh Valley to take in this matchup. This rivalry has its roots in football, as the two teams have met 147 times, making it longest rivalry played without an interruption. However, while football is the top rivalry, the schools are rivals in all sports. Recently, the mens basketball team has experienced success against their rivals, winning five of the previous six meetings, including the 2010 Patriot League Championship won at Lehigh.

This year, the two teams have gone in different directions. Lehigh entered the game with an 8-3 record in conference play, tied for second in the Patriot League. They were also coming off a buzzer-beating win at Bucknell, the first time a Patriot League won at Sojka Pavilion since 2010. Lafayette, on the other hand, entered the game losing their last two to Holy Cross and Bucknell.

There were two ceremonies before the game. First, Lehigh honored junior Gabe Knutson for becoming the latest member of the 1,000 point club, meaning that of the 10 players who have achieved that mark, two (the other being C.J. McCollum) are members of the active roster (and both still have one more year to go). All the members of the club were present for a pre-game ceremony honoring Knuston for his accomplishment, and all members got a nice round of applause before the seniors were introduced.

The second ceremony was Senior Day. This is an annual tradition throughout all of college sports, where the members of the graduating class are recognized for their contributions to the program over the last four years before their last home game. Lehigh honored a trio of seniors, John Adams, Jordan Hamilton, and Justin Maneri. The three were introduced before the game, and given a standing ovation by the crowd.

One of the things I noticed just before the tip was that there actually were people at the game. True, it was against Lafayette, but Lehigh has a reputation of being apathetic towards basketball, particularly among the student body. Ive given up trying to figure out the reason, but I think that the fact that Stabler Arena is located five miles on the other side of South Mountain has something to do with it, along with the general mindset of students. If students dont have their own car, they have to find a ride or take a bus (something that many simply dont want to do, especially during the winter months). As for the rest of the fan-base, Lehigh is simply a wrestling school, and while their matches are well attended, the remainder of the sports (except for football), are left in the dust. It really is a shame, because Lehigh basketball games are actually quite fun to attend, and for the most part, good to watch, especially recently. It seemed as if there were about 2,500 fans in attendance (the announced gate was 2,914), and Im sure the rivalry, along with the local sports talk station pumping up the game that morning contributed to the attendance spike. The students that were in attendance were loud throughout the game, with a number of chants, something that I couldnt remember happening often. My favorite occurred during a Lafayette free-throw attemept, where the students chanted Youre not gonna make it. No youre not gonna make it. Youre not gonna make it. Anymore. I cant remember who specifically was at the line for the Leopards, but he promptly missed both shots, causing the students to go nuts.

As for the game, Lehigh built on their momentum from their big win Thursday night. Maneri opened the scoring with a layup, and the Mountain Hawks opened the game on an 11-2 run. The lead reached as high as 12 before the Leopards got back into the game on the strength on an 11-4 run. The lead got down to three on a Dan Trist layup, but Lehigh responded with a 7-0 run to take a 38-28 lead at the half.

In the second half, Lehigh continued to build their lead. Lafayette pulled to within eight, but a 6-0 Mountain Hawk run pushed the lead back to double-digits. That would be as close as the Leopards would make it for the rest of the game. The lead continued to grow to 19, when Lehigh coach Brett Reed played the end of his bench, giving the entire team a chance to play. When reserve Corey Goodman scored, the Lehigh bench seemed to go nuts, as did much of the crowd. The final was 73-52. I left the game quite happy (a contrast from my previous Lehigh game against American). However, there is still plenty of work to be done for the Mountain Hawks to achieve their goal, a Patriot League Championship.

at LEHIGH 72, LAFAYETTE 53
02/18/2012

LAFAYETTE 11-16 (6-6) -- T. Johnson 5-8 2-2 12; R. Willen 7-16 0-0 16; J. Mower 0-5 0-0 0; R. Delaney 3-10 1-4 9; D. Trist 3-7 0-0 6; S. Hinrichs 2-5 0-0 5; N. Petkovich 1-5 0-0 3; L. Giese 0-3 0-0 0; L. Smith 0-1 0-0 0; J. Pelham 0-0 0-0 0; J. Detmer 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 21-61 5-8 53.
LEHIGH 21-7 (9-3) -- J. Adams 5-8 2-4 14; C. McCollum 10-18 1-1 22; M. McKnight 2-6 0-0 4; J. Hamilton 2-6 0-0 4; B. Bailey 3-5 0-0 7; G. Knutson 2-6 6-8 10; J. Maneri 4-5 1-2 9; C. Schaefer 0-1 0-0 0; H. Greiner 0-2 0-0 0; A. D'Orazio 0-0 0-0 0; S. Cvrkalj 0-0 0-0 0; C. Baltimore 0-0 0-0 0; C. Goodman 1-2 0-0 2; T. Staggers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 10-15 72.

Three-point goals: LAF 6-20 (T. Johnson 0-1; R. Delaney 2-5; J. Mower 0-2; N. Petkovich 1-4; R. Willen 2-4; L. Giese 0-1; J. Detmer 0-1; S. Hinrichs 1-2), LEH 4-17 (J. Adams 2-3; J. Hamilton 0-4; B. Bailey 1-2; H. Greiner 0-1; C. McCollum 1-4; M. McKnight 0-1; C. Goodman 0-1; C. Schaefer 0-1); Rebounds: LAF 26 (R. Delaney 6), LEH 38 (J. Adams 10); Assists: LAF 11 (T. Johnson 4), LEH 13 (M. McKnight 5); Total Fouls -- LAF 18, LEH 15; Fouled Out: LAF-L. Giese; LEH-None.

]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:45:00 -0400 <![CDATA[Kelvin Martin Night]]> Matt Cayuela http://www.midmajority.com/p/2680

Game #8-598: Wofford Terriers at Charleston Southern BuccaneersFebruary 18, 2012 7:00 pm
CSU Fieldhouse
BBState Stats/Recap
As I made my way down to Charleston Southern to see them host Wofford I was wondering how the Buccaneers would do on their Senior Night. I had just watched Coastal Carolina put up a lackluster performance for their seniors, and I was at Presbyterian on their Senior Night and it didnt end well for them either when the Blue Hose fell to Liberty.

I knew it would be a different kind of Senior Night for CSU, though, as they have a very young team and only one senior. That senior is the team leader Kelvin Martin who has been a joy to watch anytime I was able to catch a CSU game. Martin gave his all every time I saw him on both sides of the floor so I surely thought the Buccaneers would come out and want to win one for the heart and soul of the program.

I had plenty of time to get down to CSU and had some time to kill, so instead of going straight to North Charleston I headed to downtown Charleston for some food. There are tons of options and I usually plan for this type of thing better ahead of time, but I wasnt too sure where I wanted to go once I got down there. What was a beautiful day was turning cloudy as impending rain was slowly moving in. There were a good amount of people walking the streets, but once the first signs of rain came they all headed towards the restaurants or bars. This made finding a place to go that wasnt packed quite difficult. I remembered the Southend Brewery had an upstairs bar and figured not everyone would know about it. Luckily I was right and was able to get a seat, but the food and service I had left a lot to be desired.

While sitting at the bar I went to the Charleston Southern website just to quadruple check that I had the right game time. I noticed they had posted a fan advisory to get to the game early. Since I had showed up to
CSU late before I knew I wanted to get to the Bucdome early to secure a good spot. Weve already discussed at length how small the CSU Field House is, and while I had to go early to secure my seat today, hope is in the future as they announced a few days ago that a new arena is in the works.

When I got there about 50 minutes before gametime there were plenty of spots still available in the general admission. I had read how Ian McCormick and Joe Wright had sat in the front row and figured Id go the same route. The good part about being in the first row is that there is no one to get in your way of watch the action and you are literally three feet from the court.

The bad part is that since the general admission stands are so small youll probably have someones knee in your back the whole game.

As the game got closer more people wedged into the CSU Field House and the listed attendance of 971 was no exaggeration this time. I know many will laugh at that number, but I was happy to see that CSU really cared about the last game of the year and wanted to send Martin and the Bucs in their final home game.

Martin didnt disappoint on the night as he went out and had 15 points and 11 boards in the first half!! You could tell he was very pumped up on the night, but he didnt let his emotions get the best of him since he still played under control. Wofford didnt have much of a chance as CSU went on a big run sparked by Martins play and some big 3s from Jeremy Sexton. CSUs coach Barclay Radebaugh even used the first half to get time for some end of the bench players Greg Dorleus and Mitchell Deter, who got some big cheers when they checked in.

With the Buccaneers up 16 at the half I figured with it be tough for Wofford to make this a close one, but CSU has been prone to some cold streaks in the past so the possibility was there for a comeback. It didnt look that way though after Martin opened the half with a huge alley-oop dunk where his head almost hit the rim, and since hes only 64 thats quite the feat. Obviously the Bucdome started rocking at that point.

Wofford was able to narrow the lead down to eight with some strong play from Kevin Glitner, but the Terriers couldnt get any closer than that. Sexton hit a few more jumpers and Martin added some more crowd pleasing dunks to close the game. Martin ended up with a career high of 27 and I was glad to see such a steady player finish off his Senior Night with a great performance.

It's hard to believe I have already been to 50 games so far this year, and it amazes me even more that Kyle was able able to do over 100 on a yearly basis. While the CSU game wasn't competitive towards the end I'm glad it was my 50th. It was a fun time and a great atmosphere, all the things you can ask for when you go to Our Game.

at CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 77, WOFFORD 59
02/18/2012

WOFFORD 17-12 (10-6) -- K. Giltner 6-12 4-5 21; B. Loesing 4-14 5-7 13; K. Cochran 3-10 1-3 7; D. Crowell 3-4 2-3 8; A. Smith 1-2 0-0 2; L. Skinner 2-5 0-1 4; J. Byrd 0-1 1-2 1; D. Rinksalis 0-1 0-2 0; M. Steelman 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 20-50 13-23 59.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 17-10 (10-6) -- K. Martin 9-15 9-10 27; S. Nimley 1-8 5-6 8; P. Gombwer 1-5 0-1 2; A. Harper 4-11 2-2 10; J. Sexton 6-9 4-4 19; C. Grier 1-3 2-2 5; M. Muo 0-2 2-2 2; C. Bowen 0-2 0-2 0; S. Strickland 1-1 0-0 2; M. Deter 0-0 0-0 0; G. Dorleus 0-0 0-0 0; M. Kennedy 0-0 0-0 0; T. Odom 0-0 2-3 2. Totals 23-56 26-32 77.

Three-point goals: WOFF 6-23 (K. Giltner 5-9; M. Streelman 1-1; B. Loesing 0-7; K. Cochran 0-4; L. Skinner 0-2), CHSO 5-14 (J. Sexton 3-5; M. Muo 0-1; C. Grier 1-2; A. Harper 0-2; S. Nimley 1-3; P. Gombwer 0-1); Rebounds: WOFF 31 (K. Giltner 8), CHSO 35 (K. Martin 14); Assists: WOFF 7 (B. Loesing 5), CHSO 6 (S. Nimley 4); Total Fouls -- WOFF 23, CHSO 23; Fouled Out: WOFF-None; CHSO-None.

]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:43:00 -0400 <![CDATA[Unlucky Thirteen]]> Bob Fisch http://www.midmajority.com/p/2679

Game #8-597: New Hampshire Wildcats at Maryland-Baltimore County RetrieversFebruary 12, 2012 1:00 pm
UMBC Fieldhouse
BBState Stats/Recap
Last Sunday, I made the short drive north to Baltimore, MD, home of the UMBC Retrievers. I had first heard of UMBC back in the 2007-2008 season. While flipping through the different games on a Saturday afternoon, I came across an Ohio State game, playing a school that at the time I had never heard of (I was not as attentive to mid-majors as I am today). This school was UMBC, and they gave the Buckeyes quite a scare, coming close to a red-line upset and only losing by nine. Despite losing that game, Randy Monroes team won 24 games that year, an America East Championship, and made their first (and only) NCAA tournament appearance in school history. Things died down for the squad after that year, as they dipped to five wins a year ago, and entered last Sundays contest with New Hampshire with a 3-21 record, and two of those wins were against Towson and Binghamton (at least they are beating teams that they should be beating).

As I purchased my ticket, I noticed that my general admission ticket was numbered 13. While Im not overly superstitious, I had hoped that it would prove to be lucky for the Retrievers. The first thing I noticed was the lack of a student section. Outside of the band (which I was very impressed by), cheerleaders, and dance team, there were maybe 10-15 students there. The rest of the student section was filled with regular fans and their children. Im sure the teams record and the fact that it was a Sunday matinee game had something to do with it, but Im still surprised that more people werent in attendance.

At first, it seemed like things were going the Retrievers' way, and my thoughts about my ticket would not be an issue. After a Ferg Myrick #superhoop opened the scoring for UNH, UMBC went on an 11-0 run to take an early eight point lead. The lead reached as high as 10 midway through the first half, and I thought that things would go UMBCs way. However, the Wildcats fought back, cutting the lead down to four (28-24) at the half.

In the second half, the Wildcats continued their charge, taking the lead on an Alvin Abreu #superhoop. However, Chandler Thomas responded with a #superhoop of his own, putting the Retrievers back in front. The game remained close until a pair of Abreu free-throws gave the Wildcats an eight point lead with six minutes remaining. It seemed like UMBC was fading, but they did have one last run in them, cutting the lead down to one at 54-53. However, that would be as close as they would get. While the Retrievers had opportunities to complete their comeback, they were unable to convert, and the Wildcats hit their free-throws down the stretch to win 66-60. The game was much closer than I thought it would be, especially at the beginning. Hopefully, the Retrievers can find some better luck as the America East season winds down and the tournament begins.

NEW HAMPSHIRE 66, at MARYLAND-BALTIMORE COUNTY 60
02/12/2012

NEW HAMPSHIRE 10-14 (5-8) -- P. Konan 4-11 5-7 15; A. Abreu 4-12 5-6 15; C. Rhoads 3-7 1-5 8; B. Benson 6-12 4-4 16; F. Myrick 2-10 0-0 5; J. Bronner 2-2 0-1 5; J. Trotman 1-1 0-0 2; S. Morris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 15-23 66.
MARYLAND-BALTIMORE COUNTY 3-22 (2-11) -- C. Plummer 2-9 6-6 11; J. Getz 3-9 2-3 9; R. Cook 6-12 5-6 19; J. Lane 2-5 0-0 4; B. Neller 0-7 0-0 0; J. Wasco 4-6 0-0 8; C. Thomas 2-4 0-0 5; J. Wertz 1-3 0-0 2; N. Basalyga 0-0 0-0 0; Q. Jones 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 20-55 15-17 60.

Three-point goals: UNH 7-21 (A. Abreu 2-7; B. Benson 0-2; C. Rhoads 1-2; F. Myrick 1-5; P. Konan 2-4; J. Bronner 1-1), UMBC 5-18 (B. Neller 0-5; J. Wertz 0-1; C. Plummer 1-3; R. Cook 2-3; J. Getz 1-3; J. Lane 0-2; C. Thomas 1-1); Rebounds: UNH 37 (P. Konan 11), UMBC 28 (C. Plummer 7); Assists: UNH 7 (C. Rhoads 5), UMBC 6 (J. Getz 3); Total Fouls -- UNH 13, UMBC 19; Fouled Out: UNH-None; UMBC-R. Cook.

]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:38:00 -0400 <![CDATA[It Ends in a Loss for Kimbel]]> Matt Cayuela http://www.midmajority.com/p/2678

Game #8-596: Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Coastal Carolina ChanticleersFebruary 18, 2012 12:00 pm
Kimbel Arena
BBState Stats/Recap
Saturday really spoke a lot about Coastal Carolina and what the true rooting interests are for the school. The Chanticleer basketball team is coming off of two 28-win seasons, and despite not being as good as those teams, this seasons team is still solid with Red Line Upsets over Clemson and LSU. Saturday would be the final home game of the regular season and also would most likely be the last in the history of Kimbel Arena. It was also Senior Day where Jon Pack, Chris Gradnigo, Dexter Moore, Jordan Griffin and Willie Kirkland were all being honored.

With all of this going on youd think that CCU would have no problem getting students to the arena, but that was not the case. Only about 30 or 40 students were at the game against Tennessee Tech. They were even selling tickets in the student section which they normally only do during holiday breaks. Some may think the noon start time was the culprit, but the main reason was the Coastal Carolina baseball team was hosting ACC foe Virginia.

Now I know that people were excited to see a team from the ACC, but its not as if the baseball team never attracts big name opponents. This year alone in addition to hosting Virginia they have Boston College, NC State, Iowa, Virginia Tech, Pitt, Illinois, Ohio St, Michigan, and UConn all coming to town. There is no shortage of marquee matchups to see since CCU hosts 5 invitationals. The fact that the basketball game was at noon and the baseball game was at 2pm just emphasized the fact that basketball season is over in the minds of many at CCU.

Thats not to say Kimbel Arena was completely empty; the season ticket holders still came to root on their team for the final time this year. I have heard students that criticize the season ticket holders about how old they may be and how they bring nothing to the atmosphere, but at least they show up for every game and are the true diehard fans of CCU basketball.

Tennesse Tech would be the opponent for the Chanticleers in the Bracketbusters matchup. I was a bit disappointed in the selection of the Golden Eagles since I was hoping that CCU could get an in-state team like Wofford or nearby UNC-Wilmington. Those teams would have provided the opportunity for a much shorter road trip in the years to come whenever the Chants were to return the game. It was a good consolation though that Id be seeing Kevin Murphy, who dropped 50 earlier in the season.

Knowing about Murphy was the only knowledge I had for Tennessee Tech so I had no clue as to how competitive the game would be. When I saw TT had only beaten something called Wilberforce by one earlier in the season, my hopes were a bit wary on a decent game. That and the fact that CCU looked like they were going to blow out Tech when they stormed out to a 21 to 6 lead. The Golden Eagles had only made one field goal in the first 10 minutes and Murphy had yet to score.

It looked like it would be a successful Senior Day for the Chants, but Tech finally started making shots and ended up dominating the remainder of the half. Murphy started to get hot and had nine straight points for the Golden Eagles. A Zac Swansey 3 ended up tying the game going into halftime as the only two Tennessee Tech fans that seemed to be there were going crazy.

Not many of the CCU fans were expecting that big run by the Golden Eagles, so many thought the Chants would bounce right back coming out of halftime. While CCU was able to end their eight-minute field goal drought quickly, Tech was still firing on all cylinders. Five consecutive 3-pointers had TT up 10 in a hurry and later had the lead up to 59-43 after a Terrell Barnes put back.

Coastal did have some life left in them as Jon Pack didnt want to fall so easily on Senior Day. Despite his skillset limitations, the Coastal center had what was probably his best game as a Chanticleer with a career high tying 15 and 9 boards. He and the rest of the Chants cut the lead down to eight, but Jud Dillard took over and went on a personal seven-point spurt. Tennessee Tech sucked the life out of the already subdued Kimbel Arena and while CCU was able to get close in the final few minutes, the Golden Eagles were too far ahead and got the Bracketbuster victory.

The fact that Coastal had lost was merely an afterthought for the majority of the campus. That fact was driven home as I was leaving the arena and drove past the CCU baseball stadium. There was a party atmosphere surrounding the whole area, as trucks were parked along the outfield wall with people peeking over the fence to catch the game against Virginia. If only they had started their day a couple hundred feet over at Kimbel Arena, their other team could have gone out on a better note.

TENNESSEE TECH 77, at COASTAL CAROLINA 71
02/18/2012

TENNESSEE TECH 18-11 (9-6) -- K. Murphy 7-16 4-4 21; Z. Swansey 4-8 1-4 13; T. Barnes 1-1 3-4 5; J. Dillard 7-13 6-8 22; Z. Bailey 1-2 4-6 7; L. McMorrow 0-1 3-4 3; B. Inameti 1-1 1-2 3; J. McKay 1-1 1-2 3; D. Ogbe 0-0 0-0 0; C. Dunn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-44 23-34 77.
COASTAL CAROLINA 18-9 (11-5) -- K. Greenwood 3-12 4-4 11; J. Pack 6-9 3-8 15; A. Raffa 5-11 1-2 12; C. Gradnigo 4-12 2-2 12; S. McLaurin 6-7 0-0 12; B. Addey 0-1 0-0 0; W. Gillis 2-4 0-0 4; J. Griffin 0-2 0-0 0; D. Moore 2-3 0-0 5; C. Ashford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 10-16 71.

Three-point goals: TNT 10-18 (Z. Swansey 4-6; Z. Bailey 1-2; K. Murphy 3-5; J. Dillard 2-4; C. Dunn 0-1), CCU 5-16 (C. Gradnigo 2-6; A. Raffa 1-3; D. Moore 1-2; J. Griffin 0-2; K. Greenwood 1-2; W. Gillis 0-1); Rebounds: TNT 32 (K. Murphy 9), CCU 30 (J. Pack 9); Assists: TNT 10 (Z. Swansey 4), CCU 15 (K. Greenwood 8); Total Fouls -- TNT 22, CCU 23; Fouled Out: TNT-None; CCU-None.

]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:36:00 -0400