MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OxyBob]

Eyewitness report from Claremont:

Claremont 60, Oxy 51

Great atmosphere in the Temple of Doom, and a good game between Oxy and Claremont went the Stags' way. Oxy brought a large enthusiastic student contingent which packed the stands behind the Oxy bench, and I was enveloped by the combined aroma of Axe, Coco Mademoiselle and Jack Daniels. I can't remember the last time I stood up for an entire game.

As for the game, Huston Conti's 3-ball at the first half buzzer gave Oxy a 31-25 lead. In the second half, Oxy went cold and Claremont got a lot of offense going in transition, including a nifty behind the head pass from Jason Toney to (I think) Joseph Anderson for a layup, and the Stags outscored the Tigers 22-6 and led 47-37. Oxy got it back to 53-49, but Michael Bagby hit a huge 3-pointer that put the game out of reach for Oxy.

For CMS, Chris Blees was the star of the game with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. Joseph Anderson and Michael Bagby each scored 10.

For Oxy, Jack Hanley scored 15, and Huston Conti had 10.

Once again Claremont did what it does best and kept an opponent under 60 points. CMS shot 48% for the game and held Oxy to only 36.5% shooting, far under the Tigers' conference leading 48% FG average. The Stags also outrebounded Oxy 31-28.

CMS is 16-4, 8-1 SCIAC, and Oxy is 14-6, 6-3. On Wednesday Oxy hosts Cal Lutheran (10-10, 4-5), while Claremont is home to Caltech (0-20, 0-9).

OxyBob

[nwhoops1903]

... That gym is TOUGH to play in as well - great fans and atmosphere for hoops.

I think in general Spokane is tough for anyone. I think since Heyford tookover they have something like a .900 win percentage at home.

Home-Sweet-Home: Whitworth had been stellar in the Fieldhouse throughout the 1990's and 2000's and has continued that success during Jim Hayford's tenure as the Pirates' head coach. Since Hayford became coach for the 2001-02 season the Pirates are 81-10 (.890) in the Whitworth Fieldhouse. Since the 2005-06 season, the Bucs are 48-3 (.941) at home. Whitworth is currently on a 17-game home-court winning streak.

[CMSfan]

Eyewitness report from Claremont:

Claremont 60, Oxy 51

Box Score: http://www.cmsathletics.org/sports/winter/mbkb/2009-10/stats/OXY-CMS.HTM

I was at the game, too.  Not much to add...

CMS started slowly (again), but stepped it up in the second half (again).  This was a huge game for Oxy, which I assume accounts for the busload of Oxy fans at the game.  If they didn't outnumber CMS fans in the first half, they were at least louder and better coordinated, and there were times when it really didn't feel like a home game for the Stags.  Of course, the Oxy crowd grew quieter as the Stags pulled away...so maybe their "Who's House, Our House" chant was a bit premature.  Nonetheless, an enjoyable evening in Ducey Gym.

With Pomona's loss to Whittier, CMS is in a very strong position in SCIAC.  Their trend of slow starts is concerning, and they keep giving up some easy second chance buckets, but if they can get home court advantage in the SCIAC tournament, they'll be very tough to beat.

[cmsme]

I went to watch the CMS Oxy game and sat with some of the parents.
We tried to spot OxyBob, and talked about what a nice guy Tejas is.

On the poll, I am sure that it is very accurate for the top 8 or so teams, but what about the teams ranked 15 to 25?  Shouldn't there be more variation?  I read there is one SCIAC head coach who votes, but I still find it difficult to believe that the SCIAC is that much worse that the other leagues.  Last year CMS did loose to Whitworth in the playoffs, but they also beat them when Whitworth came down to California.

[stag44]

Sounds like Ducey was a fun place to be Saturday night - big win for the Stags, but some I've been noticing some alarming trends: As mentioned above, the Stags are becoming know for notoriously slow starts, and then overwhelming the opponent in the 2nd half - its happenen in almost every SCIAC game. While this shows that Scali and the staff are making proper halftime adjustments and the players are executing them, it will come back to haunt them at some point.

Its been rather impressive how they have won different styles of games as well - they can outscore you or shut you down defensively. Its one of the first Stag teams in the since the late 90s early 00s that can score the ball easily - similar to the teams with Donlan, Dundas, Smith etc.

2 very big games in the SCIAC on Wednesday:

CLU @ OXY - CLU is fighting for their season in this game. If they want any change to make the playoff, they'll need to muster up a tough win on the road. Oxy has surprised me this year with their consistent play, and I think they'll win a close physical battle in Eagle Rock 61-52. This will effectively knock out CLU from SCIAC playoff contention and seal the 4 in the playoffs - These next 5 games will be more for seeding and homecourt in the playoffs rather than fighting to get into it.


Redlands @ Pomona - Massive game for both teams - Pomona is coming off a stunning loss at Whitter that really hurts them in catching the Stags - They'll be looking to right the ship against Redlands who will be looking to create some breathing room in 2nd place. I think that Pomona is too tough at home and will get back on track winning a high scoring affair 81-72.

My Picks for Wed:

CMS
PP
OXY (there you go oxyBOB)
ULV

Standings will be:
CMS 9-1
OXY 7-3
UR  7-3
P-P 7-3
CLU 4-6
ULV 3-7
WC 3-7
CIT  0-10

[tigersports]

Oxy will effectively clinch a SCIAC bid with a win on Wednesday as they will only have to beat Caltech to get to 8 wins, which is the max that CalLu could get, with Oxy owning the tiebreaker.  The Tigers best hope is that PP falls to the 4 hole, PP wins a stunner at Ducey, Oxy beats UOR and the Tigers take out PP at home.  CMS is awfully good and a bad matchup for the Tigers.

[OxyBob]

The Tigers best hope is that PP falls to the 4 hole, PP wins a stunner at Ducey, Oxy beats UOR and the Tigers take out PP at home. 

By no means does Redlands have 2nd or 3rd place locked up. UR has 4 of 5 on the road, including the last 3 at CLU, Oxy and ULV. Pomona already lost to Redlands, so the Sagehens really need to beat the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

CLU @ Oxy: Biggest game of the year for Cal Lutheran. Oxy better be ready for a battle.

OxyBob

[stag44]

Recap from Last Night

CMS 96 - CalTech 28
After coming out sluggish and only being up 9-7 the stags went on a 22-2 run that put the game out of reach. After that it was simply a race to see if they would hit the century mark or not. I can't remember the last time the Stag beat CIT by more than 60, but they played with a purpose and the bench really showed the Stags depth as well. Little used Kevin Machpherson had 15 points on a surprising 5-6 from 3. Tough night for Mike Edwards from CIT who fouled out with just 6 pts.

ULV 79 - Whittier 71
La Verne jumped out to an 9 point halftime lead and held on against the Poets. In a battle for 6th place, and now maybe an super outside shot at the 4 seed in the playoffs, they are both 3-7 and have to win out to even think about the playoffs.

CLU 71 - OXY 67
In CLUs biggest game of the season thus far, they were able to edge Oxy with a second half rally. Both teams relied heavily on the starters, as there was a combined 4 bench points the entire game. CLU was down by 5 at the half, but chipped away and tied the game with about 12 minutes to go. From there it was close the rest of the way in, but CLU was able to pull it out. They received a GREAT performance from Kyle Knudsen who went for 29. The other big thing that pops out on the stat sheet was the 29-7 ft advantedge to the Kingsmen. It seems like they may have been forcing the issue to the basket more than the Tigers and drawing foul count that way. Knudsen is played more and more like how he did after Meier got hurt last year when he just took over for CLU, nearly winning SCIAC player of the year. I think he will be playing like this the rest of the year to get them back in the SCIAC playoffs. Each game is sudden death for them, so they will be playing with everything to lose the rest of the way in.

UR 73 - PP 67
In the other big game in SCIAC play, Redlands went into PP and came away with a HUGE win. PP was up for most of the first half and had a lead as big as 8, but Redlands whittled it to 1 point at the break. The second half was hotly contested with neither team leading by more than 5 points and nothing bigger than 3 the last 12 minutes. In overtime PP scored the first basket, but Redlands came back and controlled the rest of the period to pull off the win. It seems like Redlands has gone back to an army-like sub pattern - 5 in 5 out. Interesting strategy from their coaching staff. Its a way to get each set of 5 comfortable with each other and cause some matchup issues for the other team, having them quickly organize and rematch up. It seems to be working well as they have been scoring by committee and winning.


SCIAC Standings:
CMS 9-1
UR   8-2
OXY 6-4
P-P  6-4
CLU 5-5
ULV 3-7
WC  3-7
CIT  0-10

Games on saturday:

CMS @ ULV
WC  @ UR
CLU @ PP
OXY @ CIT

CMS looks to maintain its strong play at the tough Supertent against a ULV team trying to play spoiler
WC will try and upset the Bulldogs on the road in a tough Currier gym, as UR plays for seeding in the SCIAC tourney
CLU will be playing to get back into a tie for 4th as PP tries to stop its losing ways.
OXY rebounds vis CIT to stay 3rd place in SCIAC

[OxyBob]

CLU 71 - OXY 67
They received a GREAT performance from Kyle Knudsen who went for 29. The other big thing that pops out on the stat sheet was the 29-7 ft advantedge to the Kingsmen. It seems like they may have been forcing the issue to the basket more than the Tigers and drawing foul count that way.

Knudsen was very aggressive driving the lane. He either got a layup or was fouled. Oxy did a poor job switching on him. CLU got a lot of fouls down low, while Oxy stayed outside most of the night. Except for Sean Anderson, who had one of his best games of the year, the Oxy offense was pretty passive.

Concur with stag44 that CLU @ Pomona is the game of the night on Saturday. Pomona still has a leg up on Cal Lutheran because the Sagehens beat Claremont. The Kingsmen have another shot at CMS on the last night of conference season.

Redlands is the SCIAC surprise of the season. Kudos to UR for getting an OT win @ Pomona, which is never easy to do. The Sagehens have been in 4 OT games this season, plus a buzzer beater win @ CLU.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Eyewitness report from Pasadena:

Oxy 72, Caltech 41

The road teams all won Saturday night.

Oxy led at the half 35-13 and went on to easily beat Caltech. Sean Anderson scored 20 and had 11 rebounds, Deshun McCoy had 14 and 10 rebounds, and Jack Hanley and Huston Conti scored 11 and 10. Ryan Elmquist scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds for Caltech, and Mike Edwards had 12 for the Beavers.

The conference race tightened up with 3 games to go. Whittier outscored Redlands 11-3 in the last 3 minutes and beat the Bulldogs 88-77 at UR. Over at Pomona, Aaron Fisher's 3-pointer with 10 seconds left gave Cal Lutheran a 65-62 win over the Sagehens. Claremont beat La Verne 76-67 at ULV.

Claremont is in first at 10-1 and has a 2-game lead over 2nd place Redlands (8-3). Oxy is 3rd at 7-4, and Pomona and Cal Lutheran are tied for 4th at 6-5.  Wednesday's schedule:

Redlands (12-10, 8-3) @ Cal Lutheran (12-10, 6-5)
La Verne (7-15, 3-8) @ Oxy (15-7 , 7-4)
Pomona (10-12, 6-5) @ Caltech (0-11, 0-22)
Claremont (18-4, 10-1) @ Whittier (10-11, 4-7)

OxyBob

[Gray Fox]

Occidental is looking for two D3 teams to play in the Chapman-Occidental Thanksgiving Classic hosted at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, CA.

Friday-Saturday, November 26-27, 2010

You will play two West Region D3 teams in Chapman University and Occidental College.

$500 guarantee.

Contact Brian Newhall at bnewhall@oxy.edu

I guess they don't hate each other after all.

[dahlby]

GRAY FOX,

Sorry to inform you, but they do not play each other. They both play the other two teams. Been that way for several years.

[Gray Fox]

I realize that, but Chapman gets to gets a chance to play two good teams that they might otherwise not get to play.

[dahlby]

Not recently, and as you can see from the original post regarding this subject, we still don't know, unless they have been scheduled in the past couple of days. I checked back a few years on the web site and saw just other SCIAC teams. The best chance we have had has been the Redlands Tourney.
From what I have heard, our schedule so far for next year isn't any better than the last few years.
Oh well, at least it gives everyone something to argue about. Free entertainment, as they say.

[fhsutiger]

This thread has been tremendously boring the last week or so. I personally apologize for not commenting, but I was away on work and away from a computer. If it's not for Oxybob and Stagg44 giving us some incite on the games, this thread would be non-existent. For a while there old chap was drilling in our heads how good Chapman is, and we haven't heard from him in a while. Which means there must not be anything to brag about when it comes to Chapman's schedule. How many times have they played La Sierra now?
Hell Cal Lutheran is making a push to the SCIAC tournament and playing well. Redlands tripped up against Whittier, making this Wednesday's game against Whittier even more important for CMS who can now Clinch the outright championship if they win tomorrow night. Oxy, Pomona, and Redlands are trying to hold to the 2,3, and 4 spots respectively. I think the final week 1/2 of SCIAC play will bring us some great basketball, and maybe even an upset or two.
Here is how I see it playing out for the Tournament:
1. CMS
2. Redlands
3. Pomona
4. OXY

Cal Lutheran is the dark horse I believe. They certainly have a great shot on making some noise late in the season.

Overall Winner of SCIAC Tourney:
CMS over Redlands