MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[P4L]

Has CMS made any improvements or DE-provements?

I didn't see the Whitworth game earlier this year, but I have seen quite a few CMS games throughout the season.  One change since when they played Whitworth is that they're more cohesive now.  (Of course, I would imagine that's the case for most team's as the season progresses).  With three transfers getting big minutes, it looked like the team was a little out of sync early in the season.  Those three transfers - Toney, Bagby, and Lacey - are now all in the starting lineup and are integral parts of the team.  Toney now seems to be the unquestioned leader of the offense, even though he's not a huge scorer.  And on defense they are communicating well and staying aggressive.  The increased contributions from the transfers has, in turn, strengthened the Stags bench.  Faught and Gala were starters at the beginning of the year and are now big contributors off the bench.  I think the depth CMS has is what set them apart in SCIAC, in part because it allows them to play such tough defense for 40 minutes.

The most concerning trend for the Stags has been their tendency to lose leads in the second half.  They usually rally late to preserve the victory, but they're not always sharp for 40 minutes.  For them to be successful in the tournament, they can't have prolonged lapses.  The championship game against P-P was encouraging in that they were up 10 at the half and P-P never got closer than 6 the rest of the way.

Thanks for the insight CMSfan.  The cohesiveness factor is a great point.  Especially on a team of newly added players, and you want to make sure you are playing your best basketball about now.  Both teams look to have improved and I am looking forward to a battle.

[CMSfan]

Very confident cmsstagg.  I like your enthusiasm.  I don't know if I would say "WW got hit in the face"

We CMCers certainly never lack for confidence!

[OxyBob]

The Stags have won 11 out of the last 12 games and are on a roll. They are led by SCIAC player of the year Chris Blees (12.5 pts, 7 rebs a game) and 1st team All-Sciac Jason Toney (10.8 pts, 2.8 asst per game). Austin Soldner (8.9 pts, 4.3 rpg), Mike Bagby (7.4 ppg) and Patrick Lacey (8.6 ppg, 4.3 rgp) round out the starting line-up. The stags bring 5 off the bench, with sharp shooter Conner Faught bringing 8pts off the bench.  The Stags have made improvements on the offensive end the last couple of games, but the defense intensity is what pulls them apart. The Stags will get after you for 40 minutes, and will play rough throughout the game to set a tone. So I am glad that WW has gotten tougher because the first time they played WW got hit in the face. I know my STAGS will be ready to play Thursday Night, and regardless of the outcome will leave it all out on the floor for there school and for Coach Scalmanini!

cmsstag, the NWC fans wanted a team description of CMS, so I posted this the other day:

The name of the game with Claremont is defense. The Stags play a tough man-to-man. Their defenders drop off their man into help-side defense. The wing defenders hedge in the seams; CMS loves to attack from the side and get a lot of poke steals. They defend everything, and don't give you any easy open 3s. The Stags are good at cutting off passing lanes, and they usually don't get burned backdoor.  Away from the ball Claremont's man-to-man looks like a zone, with a defender pressuring the ball at all times. The Claremont guards are quick and sure-handed, they work around screens well, and they usually aren't susceptible to guard dribble penetration. Claremont will double team the low post, and they will also occasionally red the point guard. For the season, on average CMS only gave up 61 points per game.

On offense Claremont is deliberate. They don't run and like to set up and take their time looking for a good shot. For the season, on average the Stags scored 69 points per game. Their point guard Jason Toney likes to penetrate, and if someone comes over to help then Toney will drop it off to the open man. The Stags' outside threats are Connor Faught and Michael Bagby. Faught is particularly clutch, and if they need a big 3 look for him to take it. Bagby likes to catch and shoot from the wing, so if the ball goes into the block you have to be ready for the kickout and get over to cover him. You also have to keep an eye on Austin Soldner, who will pop from the outside. Claremont's best all-around player is Chris Blees. He averaged 13 pts and 7 boards a game. Blees is a smart, hard-nosed player who makes few mistakes, and much of the Stags' offense runs through him. CMS also has Patrick Lacey, a transfer from the University of San Diego, who's a physical wide body and pretty good with the ball around the basket. You also have to look out for Tejas Gala, the 6'6" string bean who's the Energizer Bunny out there.

Claremont is not a good FT shooting team. They were last in the SCIAC at 65%.

Because of their deliberate style, games with Claremont are usually low scoring and close. If CMS can keep the game in the 60s then they are tough to beat.

Good luck to Claremont. Whitworth is a tough place for road teams. CMS canned 7 3-pointers when the teams played in December (Bagby 3-for-4, Faught 3-for-5) and they'll have to make that many and maybe a few more to win.

OxyBob

[cmsme]

is there a write up on whitworth similar to the one you wrote on claremont?

thank you for the insight.

[OxyBob]

is there a write up on whitworth similar to the one you wrote on claremont?

From the CMS web site:

Whitworth is 22-5 and finished second in the Northwest Conference regular season with a 12-4 record. The Pirates defeated Linfield 74-66 in the NWC semifinal before upsetting third-ranked Puget Sound 90-80 in the tournament championship in Tacoma.  They are a tall team with four players averaging in double figures; small forward Nate Riley (16.2 ppg) and center Nate Montgomery (14.1 ppg) lead the team. Forward Calvin Jurich leads the team with eight rebounds per game and point guard Ross Nakamura hands out over five assists per game, with a 3.04 assist-to-turnover ratio.

You might also be interested in this video, which features Whitworth head coach Jim Hayford and has some nice shots of game action inside the Pirates' fieldhouse:

http://www.whitworth.edu/athletics/Teams/videos/MensBasketball.htm

OxyBob

[P4L]

is there a write up on whitworth similar to the one you wrote on claremont?

You might also be interested in this video, which features Whitworth head coach Jim Hayford and has some nice shots of game action inside the Pirates' fieldhouse:

http://www.whitworth.edu/athletics/Teams/videos/MensBasketball.htm

OxyBob

That's a great video and I think shows the softer side of Coach Hayford.  You will not see that on the court.  Hates to lose more than anyone I know.

[greyskies]

pictures of Stags at the SCAIC tournament.
pictures were mainly taken from the bleachers and are so-so but I think they are interesting.  I've never seen a team cut down a net before so that's was cool

http://flickr.com/photos/greyskies/sets/72157614722709518/

pictures are best seen in slide show mode
anyone is welcomed to download

[cmsme]

Thank you.  As a parent i appreciate every picture of my son and the team. 

The Claremont basketball website still has last years pictures, and none of this year.  When my son was in High School, there were a ton of pictures from Maxpreps, students photographers, and parents.  So I miss it.

[bbaddict]

Thank you.  As a parent i appreciate every picture of my son and the team. 

The Claremont basketball website still has last years pictures, and none of this year.  When my son was in High School, there were a ton of pictures from Maxpreps, students photographers, and parents.  So I miss it.

Your photographer probably went out of business, because nice guys like greyskies were giving them out for free.  The problem with him doing that is that no serious photographer has an incentive to go and shoot your teams and be there whether it's an interesting game or not.

[P4L]

Prediction time:

WW 81

CMS 67

[bbaddict]

Sounds about right to me.

[oldchap]

Prediction time:

WW 81

CMS 67

Impressive P4L... Final score WW 81 - CMS 63

[CMSfan]

Congrats to Whitworth.  CMS once again stumbled out of the blocks in the second half, but Whitworth was too good to let them back into it.  Whitworth is definitely a better team than anyone the Stags faced in SCIAC and I hope they take it to UPS in the next round!

[P4L]

Prediction time:

WW 81

CMS 67

Impressive P4L... Final score WW 81 - CMS 63

CMS was a much better shooting team than I thought.  WW used that second half run to get up by 12-15 and before you know it there was only 4 mins to go.

As for the prediction I am going to keep the train rolling and say:

Sat night- WW 87  UPS 86!

[pineconefan]

Good effort by CMS tonight.   Their defense frustrated Whitworth at times in the first half, and their motion offense was as good as advertised in the first half.

But CMS didn't have the same kind of playmaker that Oxy did last year (Whitman).  When the Pirates were able to take away the two CMS stars, a couple other guys (#30 and #14) rose to the occasion in the first half, but they could not sustain it.

The guard Toney only four points (2 of 10 shooting) before fouling out completely frustrated.