MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OxyBob]

Saturday final SCIAC scores:

Oxy 72 La Verne 70 -- Juwan Rice's FTs with 0.4 sec left gave the Tigers the win.
Redlands 90 Whittier 64 -- Alex Rudd career-high 27 pts for UR.
Pomona 87 Caltech 60 -- Pomona led 15-0 after 4 minutes and 51-19 at halftime.

Nonconference:
Cal Lutheran 84 Chapman 81 -- Moorpark College transfer Coltrane Powdrill 25 pts for CLU.

Claremont was idle.

OxyBob

[Pat Coleman]

Bob,
Briefly recapped.........the NCAA came up with it, having to do with gender equality.
Can't wait for your response!

The NCAA plays no part whatsoever in scheduling of regular season games.

[Hoops_lover]

Have to hand it to Cal Lu, they played well in a game which I thought they were going to lose. Quintana, their center, was 5-5 from the field.  Powdrill a GREAT addition tot he team.  The Kingsmen tried to give it back to Chapman in the last three minutes by not converting free throws and turning it over twice.  Hamasaki had about four shots rattle in then pop out.  Joyce, the center, went out early in the second half with an eye injury.  Whittier going to be tough for the Panthers on Monday.  They have athleticism.

[stag44]

Webcast Witness:

CMS 65 - PP 59

This was a huge game in the history of the rivalry as this is the last year of Ducey Gym before construction begins on the state-of-the-art Roberts Pavilion after this hoops season. The gym is a huge part of CMS history and provided an stunning home-court advantage for the Stags, especially in SCIAC play (ask OxyBob: Temple of Doom).

Recap:
CMS came out of the games hot and quickly went up 5-0 and was playing inspired basketball. PP battled back to 10-11 with 14 minutes to go. CMS dominated the next 10 minutes getting the lead to 13 at 28-15. It was a full team effort led by strong senior play from both Tyler Gaffaney and Remy Pinson. Jason Harrington hit some timely 3s and the 5man tandem of Nick Lund and Shelby Lane played big and active on the block. The last 4 minutes brought PP all the way back as they hit 4 straight 3s and finished the half on a 12-2 run to get to halftime 30-27 CMS. Joe Eyen hit 2 big threes and PP had momentum going into the half.

The momentum continued as PP regained the lead at 31-30 scoring the first 4 points of the half. The game see-sawed for the next 11 minutes as no team led by more than 4 points until a Harrington runner put the Stags up 56-50 with 6:50 remaining. The Stags never relinquished the lead but as is customary with all CMS-PP games, there were some tight moments to the finish as a Shelby Lane intentional foul with under a minute to go and the Stags leading by 6 gave the Sagehens a chance to make it interesting.

Analysis:
This game lived up to all the hype as many think these two teams will be the two competing for the SCIAC championship and NCAA auto-bid. Coach Scali and Kats continually have the 2 best coached teams in the conference. For as long as I have been affiliated with the SCIAC (9 years), I CMS (86 wins, .754 win%) and PP (70 wins, .614 win%) have the most SCIAC wins over the time period. They always have their teams ready to play and outside of one blip year for PP (2010-11) both teams have been over .500 in SCIAC play over that same time period. That shows the tremendous consistency in their programs and in their recruiting, scouting, in-game coaching. This game was no different. Pomona has some serious guard power and Kats has really tried to get that to show through. Their offense this year involves alot more ball screens with their mobile 5s and side clearouts for guard penetration. This allows their trio of experienced guard (McAndrews, Cohen, and Moss) and newcomer (Nordale) to put pressure on defenses and creates serious O-board and bunny opportunities for their athletic bigs (Klewer, Weiss, FaroneCollins). CMS continues along with old faithful in their motion offense. They continue to grind teams down and given a week to prepare for PP were really able practice and get better in learning the motion. While the CMS team only lost Mivshek, Sullivan and Cain - there have been times early in the year that Scali has played 3 Frosh and 2 Sophs at the same time. Their newcomers are studs, but it still does take time to learn the motion and create the continuity of having all 5 guys on the same page. It was interesting to see both coaches use their timeouts early and often. They both knew it was going to be a high energy environment in Ducey and I think used the timeouts to help control the emotions of the games and not let things get out of hand with their respective teams or to stop momentum of runs.

From a player perspective we got to see 2 of the top players in the SCIAC matchup against each other in Gaffaney and McAndrews. They are both absolute studs.  McAndrews plays with an outward swagger and confidence that his teammates seem to also feed off of. He played extremely well and was a major reason they came back late in the 2nd half to make things interesting. He's able to finish off the bounce, make fadeaways and create for his teammates. Even as a junior he's played in every game he's been healthy for and started in almost all of the (only 4 games off the bench) and thus plays beyond his years. Since his freshman year when he made 3 FTs to beat CMS' incredible 25-3 team at Ducey he plays with ice in his veins and is a big time player. I think he will continue to mature and is a virtual lock for 1st team all conference.

Gaffaney showed again why, in my opinion, he's the best player on the Stags, in the SCIAC, and a top player regionally and nationally. He can score it any way and showed it tonight - he made 3s, pull up jumpers, floaters, and layed it in. He made shots off the pass, off the bounce and created numerous opportunities for his teammates. He finished the night with 19pts on 7-12 shooting 2-4 3s, had 4 rebounds and 2 assists with 2 steals. On the year his line efficiency is off the charts and is in a rare 55/45 club. If he wasn't plagued by the Stag FT-itis, he could very easily be in that rarified 50/40/90 club. In any case after watching over 6 CMS games, every time he catches the ball he is putting pressure on the defense and a threat to score or create open shots for his teammates. Defensively he is a 1-on-1 stud. He usually checks the other teams best guard and makes their life miserable. Because he's 6'3 and STRONG he can control most D3 guards with his strength and length, while his lateral quickness allows him to stay in front of most guards and challenge ball screens. He's an incredible motion guard as he can handle it, pass it, shoot it and drive it. He's a relentless worker and can take over games when needed.

There's plenty more to discuss on both teams, the game and the program, but I think this was another great chapter in the rivalry!

[OxyBob]

The gym is a huge part of CMS history and provided an stunning home-court advantage for the Stags, especially in SCIAC play (ask OxyBob: Temple of Doom).

Q: Is it bigger than a breadbox?
A: No.

OxyBob

[WoostAr]

Caltech beat UC Santa Cruz at home in overtime tonight 70-67.

This game was reminiscent of several of Caltech's earlier games, particularly against Oxy and Willamette.  In each of these games, Caltech has come out against a team they should compete with and dug themselves an early hole.  Tonight they got down 9-2 early and eventually down 14 just before the half.  They seem to know their offense (predominantly a version of the triangle), they just don't seem to execute with much passion early -- they appear tentative.  Luke Lango did a great job of scoring outside of the offense to keep Caltech in the game...he had 8 in the first half, a total matched by the combined efforts of Hogue, Lee and Emezie.  Additionally, their defense does not get on shooters right out of the gate...Santa Cruz had WIDE open looks in the first twenty minutes of this game resulting in them shooting 48%.  The lackluster first half play is something this team will have to address if they hope to win in the SCIAC.

The second half, Caltech looked like a different team...their offense executed well.  They did a great job of establishing Lee at the high post and Emezie hit two threes and had two strong drives.  The two of them accounted for 18 of Caltech's 35 points in the second half.  Their defense also came alive and limited UC Santa Cruz to 35% shooting from the field. 

Overtime was a slugfest...refs swallowed their whistles and both teams were on the floor going after loose balls...Caltech excels in this type of game with their size...when they are allowed to body opponents they manage rather well, their players have not adjusted well to the new hand check rule though which got Santa Cruz into the bonus early.  Apparently that rule doesn't apply in overtime though   Caltech got up six half-way through the extra frame and held on to win by three.

UC Santa Cruz is 0fer against the SCIAC this season, a trend Cal Lu will try to continue tomorrow.  Cal Lu demolished Illinois Tech earlier this evening at Caltech...Arik Smith lead the way for the Kingsman with 14 points, Powdrill with 9 pts, 9 reb. 

Caltech faces Illinois Tech tomorrow at Cal Lu.  At the beginning of the season, I thought that if Caltech could limit their turnovers, they would have a shot to win games, they're doing that...I also thought they would be an excellent rebounding team...they are not (yet) and are having more trouble scoring than I expected they would.  They should have a good shot at winning tomorrow, here's hoping they come out charged up off of their win tonight.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Hey, hey - Caltech should have a winning streak after tomorrow!  IL Tech is some kind of awful.

[Gregory Sager]

They should have a good shot at winning tomorrow

"A good shot at winning"? If Caltech loses to IIT tomorrow, the Beavers themselves should be shot.

[WoostAr]

I just don't like counting my chickens before they're hatched.

[Gosox]

It was definitely a "let em play" game, especially in the second half!  Caltech did a much better job at shot selection, especially for a young team predominantly loaded with freshman.  It will be interesting to see how they progress as they gain the experience from games.

On another note, I watched a portion of the game before the Caltech game, featuring Cal Lu...Cal Lu is much improved from last year with some "imports" and shouldn't be over looked as they now have some much needed size....

[OxyBob]

Saturday scores:

Claremont was game but lost to NAIA-1 No. 12 Concodia-Irvine 66-60. Tyler Gaffney had 14 for the Stags.

Pomona blew a 13-point second half lead and lost to Pacific 72-66. Michael Cohen scored 21 for the Sagehens. Pacific is at Oxy on Wednesday Tuesday.

OxyBob

[WoostAr]

Pacific flew down here twice this year...a bit weird no?

[dahlby]

Did some homework regarding the timing of the men's and women's tip off times...
For Saturday night double hitters, it is a SCIAC ruling that the men's games will be played first followed by the women's games.
Don't know yet if this will be continued next year. It will be discussed at a later date.

Chapman over Whittier tonight in a high scoring shootout.
Check out   chapmanathletics.com   for the box score and write up.

[Hoops_lover]

Okay 90+ points against West Coast Baptist, but 90+ against Whittier.  Who would have believed that?  Who would've also believed that CHAPMAN is playing more uptempo, calling far less plays than the past few years and letting their athletes play ball.  Don't get me wrong, plays are GOOD, but when it causes your guys to think to much about the play their running and not be basketball players, team start going into the crapper.
Garrett James has made an impact for this Panther team.  He's freed up Hamasaki from bringing the ball up and allowing him to do what he does best, score and create better looks for Zavrsnick and Jordan Young.  Hamasaki was 0fer from three point land and finally hit three 3 point shots against Whittier.  He scored 13 points in a five minute stretch to help Chapman up their lead to 20+ at halftime.  Stag44 says that McAndrews and Gaffaney are two of the best players in SCIAC and I agree.  I think you can add Hamasaki and Whittier's DeMusis to that list.
Chapman was scorching from the perimeter Monday.  They might have missed one or two shots from the outside in the first half.  Panthers are improving game to game and have a stretch of four non-conference to end 2013. 

[OxyBob]

Tuesday night scores:

Pacific 71, Oxy 70 OT

Oxy led 65-62 with 15 seconds to go in regulation, but Ty Cobb fouled Pacific's Jordan Batey on a 3-ball with 7 seconds left. Batey made all 3 FTs and the game went to overtime. Pacific scored the first 4 points of OT and were not headed. Oxy had a couple of chances to win the game at the end of OT but came up short.

Spencer Levy scored 23 and Kris Montoya had 20 for Oxy.

Pacific improved to 6-2 and 4-1 vs. SCIAC. Oxy is 3-3. Next up for the Tigers are a couple of games against Pacific Lutheran and UC Santa Cruz @ Chapman on Dec. 21 and 22.

Redlands 88, UC Santa Cruz 73

Alex Rudd scored 21 as UR easily defeated UCSC, which is 2-9 and 0-6 vs. SCIAC. Redlands is 3-5. The Bulldogs host Willamette tomorrow night.

OxyBob