A belated congratulations to Coach Fuline who picked up his 251st win Saturday at Ott to deservedly become Mount's all-time wins leader.  As fans do, sometimes we bellyache about a team or a game, but it is not lost on me (and most Raider hoops fans) the incredible job Fuline has done in Alliance.  He has created what we all thought was possible...a consistent top 25 program that's in the OAC hunt pretty much every year.  Even this year when things have been a little inconsistent they are still 4-0 in OAC play and will be contending for the OAC title hopefully.  He's built a culture and a program that talented local kids want to be a part of.

Mount grinds out a big win over Etta tonight.  5-0 in OAC now.  Very encouraging that Taylor and Casenhiser as freshmen were key contributors.  I assume Hudson is hurt?  Taylor hit 2 massive FT to take the lead after another bed crapping at the line right before that.  The team FT shooting continues to be a concern.  Taylor also had a couple huge offensive rebounds, steals and blocks.  He's gonna be a difference maker.  Poole 2.0

Mount dropped one to Berg on Saturday 75-71.  Both are now 5-1 along with Musky for the current three-way tie at the top.  Mount shot 3-17 from 3 while Berg shot 8-17, but mainly Berg just played well.  Their guards played very well with Harden scoring 30.  Parker/Farrington held Panning in check all day (2-7 FG).  Mount shot very well from the FT line (18-22).  It was a good game with Mount coming back from down 8 at half to take the lead.  But Berg just hit a couple more shots.  Off to Berea Wed.  Need to win that one to get back on track.  BW is now 3-3 in OAC play though so not a layup by any means.

One other thing I noted was that Taylor played 29 minutes.  Second only to Parker's 35. 

Mount routed BW tonight.  Up 25 at half, won by 30.  It will never not feel great to embarrass BW in any sport ever.

Musky notched a big win against Etta to keep pace at 6-1.  Berg dropped one in UH.  JCU is on the doorstep at 5-2 with Berg now.  That road win early in UH looks more and more valuable as JCU surges.

Doc -
Appreciate your personal and educated recaps on the games.
I am following/watching but need to resist the "Why/What the fudge" posts as the games progress.
Frustration with the free throw shooting (probably better than last year) and my perception of Parker's early foul trouble.
Some "Who are these guys?" in the lineup it seems to me, but happy to know that there is that depth ... now or for the future.
"Gotta love the Big Guy," but sure do hope Vaden develops after getting a little more of the Chow Hall and weight room.

Parker's foul trouble has been a theme all season.  It's frustrating because it's rarely him swiping for a steal or going for a crazy blocked shot attempt.  It's nearly always body contact defending a guy in the post.  It's like the old "they could call holding every play" in football...you could call a block on almost any post player defending a guy going to the basket in the paint.  There's always contact.  He seems to have bad luck on what they deem to be a foul when he's on defense versus when he's on offense.

Mount picks up the road win in Ada yesterday 76-61 to take sole possession of 1st place and remain undefeated on the road in conf play.  They were up 20 in the 1st half mainly because ONU just couldn't hit anything.  The Bears cut it to 11 by half thanks to some careless turnovers by Mount the last few minutes.

Second half Mount let ONU get as close as 6 I think, but it was mainly hanging around 8-10 for a good while.

Quick takeaways...Mount was again not great from 3 (4-14).  Parker hit a big 3 late to put a dagger in the Bears though.  FT shooting was very solid again (18-25). 

Hudson was out again and, to be honest since we're in the trust tree, Casenhiser (frosh) is the only guy playing I trust bringing the ball up against any pressure.  Not surprisingly he played a team high 34 minutes.  He responded with 15 pts (7-10 FG), 8 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl.  He's not big but he finishes around the hoop and has a nice midrange game.

Parker (23 pts) and Farrington (19 pts) both shot 70+% from the floor.  ONU's bigs were overmatched all afternoon. 

Mount maintains solo first place moving to 8-1 with a 78-72 win.  JCU and Berg remain 1 game back.  Musky gave the Raiders fits in the first half.  Davis torched them for 21 pts not making it hard to see how he leads the OAC in scoring.  The Fish were getting to the rim way too easily and shot north of 50% in the first half leading by 6. 

Fuline I assume got into his guys at half because Davis had 2 pts in the 2nd half and Musky shot around 30% after the break.  Something I always give Fuline credit for is he has no issues shifting minutes to meet the opponent's plan.  They were defending like crazy in the 2nd half.  Someone like Moore saw his minutes up because he's long and athletic defending.  McCartney was giving him good minutes so he played more also.  I like that about Fuline.  He rides what is working. 

Etta lost to Cap so Mount better be ready to go against the Crusaders errr Comets on Saturday.

Late to posting bc I was traveling but Mount escapes Bexley and retains sole possession of 1st place.  A game up.  I listened to 2/3 and watched the last 1/3.  Mount dominated the first half largely bc Cap shot terribly.  In the 2nd half Mount shot poorly and Cap woke up.  Parker scored close to the buzzer to allow them to set up their D w Varden in the game and he deflected the last ditch shot.

the Raiders seem to be following the path of the gridiron boys.  Gritty, close wins...but wins none the less.  Huge stretch coming up with @Etta (better than their record), Wilma (never easy for MU), JCU (top contender), Ott, @Muskie, @Heidy (3-4-5  in the OAC)

It's going to be a tough stretch.  The BanJo is IMO the toughest place to play in the conference.  JCU is red hot right now.  And all the rest of those teams have good guards that cause problems.  If you would have told me they'd be 9-1 in OAC play I would have said you were crazy.  I thought there was too much parity this year for the Raiders to put up that type of start so credit to them.  They've been grinding out tough wins all season in conference play a lot those games without their starting PG.  Parker and Farrington are just so big that it seems to cause problems for pretty much anyone they play.  When those two stay out of foul trouble they're tough to stop.   

Vaden will be an All-American type defender by the end of his Purple Raider career.

But, I'll never understand why a team that is so bad at shooting 3P consistently shoots up 3 after 3

Big W for Mount tonight, especially without Farrington

Farrington wasn't even there so I assume he's sick.  Mount moves to 7-0 on the road in conf.  Ugly, ugly first half but they locked in after the break and gutted out another road win.  I have more thoughts but I'm leaving the office and want to eat so they can wait until later LOL. 

Thoughts from last night's 76-68 win in Etta...that was a rough first half for both teams, but especially Mount on the offensive end.  I think they shot around 30% in the half.  I mentioned before that I think the BanJo is the toughest place to play and it seemed like some of the guys were a little amped up early on and not playing like they normally do.  I think at one point they had taken six 3's and airballed 3 of them.  They were a different team in the second half though.  Moore and Steele being hot from deep was the difference in the game. 

Farrington's absence was noticeable.  Mainly on the glass.  With him out it basically forced Taylor to be the second main rebounder after Parker.  Taylor did a good job, but the impact down the chain of Taylor now being your second rebounder instead of third, etc. was evident.  Etta seemed to be snagging quite a few offensive rebounds.

Bottom line is if you go on the road into that gym minus your starting PG and C, start two freshmen and leave with a W chalk that up as a big win.