MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[CMSfan]

Hard to say that team was inferior to the CMS squad, no?

I thought it was a given among Claremont fans that all teams are inferior to CMS, and that no one's ever actually beaten the Stags merely because the other team was better. There's always some excuse, explanation or justification for CMS losses that are completely independent of the other team's ability and talent. I think you should be drummed out of the corps for implying otherwise.

OxyBob

As I said before...

Do you Claremont guys ever graciously accept a defeat?

Gosh, I hope not.  Accepting defeat strikes me as contrary to the competitive nature of sports.  Accepting defeat after losing a game comes pretty close to thinking you just weren't good enough to win.  I think the most successful competitive athletes at any level are the ones who lose a game/match/race and afterward focus on what they could have done better, and what they will do better the next time.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's appropriate and sportsmanlike to give credit where it's due for a brief moment.  I think us Claremont guys are pretty good about doing that.  But I hope it's never more than a brief moment.  I hope the same is true for the rest of SCIAC.  Otherwise, we should just stop keeping score and start giving everyone participation trophies.

Bring it, SCIAC!

[CMSfan]

Can you help me translate the strange language of CMS fans? ... "Claremont is an elite academic institution like Cal Tech, Oxy, and Pomona"

I'm pretty sure no CMS fan has said, or would ever say, that Oxy is an elite academic institution.

[stag44]

Preview of the Saturday Games:

CalTech @ La Verne
I thought this would be the year for CalTech to break through, but I guess it isn't to be. They'll get run out of the gym in battle between cellar dwellers. ULV 85-48

Cal Lu @ Whittier
Whittier has nothing to play for besides pride and to be a spoiler. CMS knocked them out of the Playoff picture on Wednesday, but they make it difficult for CLU to secure a playoff spot. CLU has been playing inspired basketball in the second half of conference going 5-0. Coach Rider has tightened his rotation even more, with 6 guys playing the majority of the minutes. Aron Van Klaveren seems to have some sort of injury as only played 6 minutes vs Redlands. From the live stream, the announcers mentions some knee soreness, which I hope is just that and no serious ligament or bone damage. Without him, CLU is far more fast paced and Knudsen oriented. He'll lead them to a win on the road easily 67-55.

P-P @ CMS
The most important game in my mind, but not the game of the week in the SCIAC. Since the last time CMS and PP met, both teams have gone in opposite directions. CMS has gone 6-0 while PP has stumbled to a 2-4 record. But, w-l record is thrown out the window when these two teams meet. Saturday night in Ducey is always fun, but especially so when the Stags are playing well and they play their rivals. Friends tell me there is a distinctive buzz around the 5C's for this game. PP is playing to remain relavent in the SCIAC playoff picture, while CMS is looking to keep laying at a high level keep hope for a possible at-large bid if things go awry in the tournament. In their last meeting, both teams stunk up the gym shooting a combined 29-116 (~25%). PP got more second opportunities and finished a few more of their opportunities around the rim. I think this game will have a bit more pace and scoring to it as both Kats and Scali have improved their teams and made neccessary adjusments.

While Chris Blees has just been going about his business getting 18 a game, the Stags supporting cast has really provided a boost the last 6 games. From Shane Davis to Joey Anderson to Pat Lacey on down to Beau Heidrich, a different player has answered the bell provided a boost, whether offensive, defensive, rebounding or overall energy. I've been very impressed with Pat Lacey recently. He has started to understand that no big in the SCIAC can contain him for all 40 minutes. After getting punked in the key the last game, I know Stag practice will focus on securing defensive rebounding and staying physical in the paint against the long Saeghens. The stags have always had good rebounding guards as well, hitting the slots and flying in to clean up the glass while the front line holds off offensive bigs, and I think that we'll see more of that this game.

Pomona has been led by Justin Sexton and Dave Liss and Adam Chaimowitz. Liss has been a rock at the PG position, as well as providing them with a serious scoring punch. Chaimowitz has struggled this year behind the arc, only shooting 27% from 3 in SCIAC. Don't be fooled though, he's a gamer and loves playing in Ducey, so the Stags cannot sleep on him. Justin has just been an incredible force on the court. He seemingly gobbles up every rebound and can score in various different way. He gets alot on put backs and off screen roll. If 2 of these 3 have good games, they usually are going to win, and if all 3 play well then its a lost cause for the opponent.

Again the key will come down to PG play. I fully and solely believe that whoever plays a better game between Liss and Toney will lead their respective team to a win. This does not mean score the most, but rather fill their role the best for their team. For Toney, that means containing Liss, distributing the ball when a second or 3rd defender comes instead of forcing shots or scoring when he has a lane to the hoop. For Liss it means to get to the rim, force the stags to help, and either finish or find the open 3 ball man.

In the first game, CMS simply forced the issue and played like a bunch of individuals. PP always will pack into the key and force you to finish over their length and multiple defenders. This worked beautifully the first game as Blees and Toney continually drove into 2,3, or 4 defenders and forced up shots. I think the film will expose this for both sides and the coachs will make and practice the neccessary adjusments from both sides.

As always I think its going to be a GREAT game with high emotion and big plays being made on both sides. I'll take CMS in a close on 57-52.

Redlands @ Oxy
In the game of the week, we have Redlands travelling to Oxy for 2nd place in SCIAC. I am very interested to see how this game plays out, because it could possibly drop the loser from a T-2 to 5th place and out of the Playoffs. Redlands is coming off a tough defeat to a hot CLU team, but it gets no easier going to Rush and on a Saturday night. Oxy is coming off an easy win vs La Verne at home, and looks to build off that.

I think both sides will realize that a win will all but seal a home game in the semis of the tournament, and I think this is especially important for Redlands. They play much better at home in front of their loud crowd. I think Newhall and Oxy feel less worried about going on the road and playing. Their players have a much more stoic demeanor and are business like, while Redlands really feeds off the home crowd and can get rattled by road crowds. This is an old and heated rivalry, and I expect emotions to run high in this game.

I think the key for Oxy this game is to establish the tempo and be patient on offense. With Hanley, Anderson, McCoy and Conti, i think they can wear out the Bulldogs with physicality and being deliberate. Redlands wants to speed you up, expose your feet and fatigue you into making mistakes. They can give up 10 straight, but dont worry becuase they'll come right back and score 12 in arow. So, Oxy needs to limit turnovers and punish the Bulldogs in the paint. I think Hanley and Anderson will have big games getting to the paint and FT line vs the reaching and poking of Redlands.

For Redlands, they need to be bring their 3 pointers and press. Unlike the "travelling freak show" this team runs a controlled press where they trap once in the backcourt and once in the frontcourt and look to capitalize on those mistakes. They do a 5 in 5 out sub pattern that keeps bodies fresh and allows the unit to go all out for 2-3 minutes. They'll need to turn it into a track meet and hectic to get the win.

I really like Oxy at home in this game. Even though Oxy has struggled in the past to finish off conference strong, they'll pull out a big win at home 68-61

[D O.C.]

The most important game in my heard

I think you must have meant herd...like in your posse?

[stag44]

nice to see the SCIAC getting a picture on the front page!! thanks Pat and D3 admin!!!

[cmsme]

It was a fun jolt seeing that picture--but I bet it is three years old.  Chris Blees is now #15.
I have tried to  hint to CMS that parents who don't live in the LA area would appreciate pictures of current games.  Many of the pictures on the CMS website are of players I don't recognize and who must have graduated long ago.
Our high school uses student photographers that like to practice.  Anyway--hint.

As for tonight's game--Go Stags!
I look forward to reading everyone's comments on their games.

[Sabretooth Tiger]

From the Oxy website, final in tonight's game, Oxy 74 - Redlands 65

[DIIIghetto]

Congrats to Kats and his Hens.  The joy PP fans must have tonight to have emphatically put an asterisk next to the 2010 SCIAC Champ notation...

2010 SCIAC Champ*

*Punked by PP twice.


Every CMS fan must be cringing at what OxyBob predicted here - Kats gets in the SCIAC tournament and gets a chance to face the Stags for the 3rd time...

[OxyBob]

Eyewitness report from Eagle Rock:

Oxy 74, Redlands 65

A large, enthusiastic Saturday night crowd saw Sean Anderson and Deshun McCoy lead Oxy to victory in the battle for 2nd place in the SCIAC.

In the first half, neither team led by more than 4. The game seesawed back and forth, and McCoy's jumper with 3 seconds left tied the game 38-all at the half. In the second half, UR led 51-44 at 13:50, but Oxy reeled off 8 straight and led 52-51 at 11:45. After the game was tied 57-57 at 8:25, Oxy outscored UR 9-2 over the next 4 minutes and it was 66-59 at 4:20. From there the Tigers made 8 FTs down the stretch, and Redlands couldn't close the gap.

For Oxy, Sean Anderson scored a game-high 26 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Deshun McCoy had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Jack Hanley added 14. For Redlands, Brian Kuklok scored 14, and Pat Coffey and Justin Sobczyk each had 10. Oxy outrebounded UR 46-34, but the Tigers were 0-for-8 on 3-pointers.

With the win Oxy took over sole possession of 2nd place at 9-4, while Redlands fell to 8-5 and is now tied with Cal Lutheran and Pomona for third. Oxy can clinch the 2nd seed in the conference tournament with a win at Pomona on Tuesday. The possibility of a 4-way tie for second still looms, in which case I believe Pomona will be out of the conference tournament based on head-to-head.

Tuesday's regular season final game schedule, all games 7:30 p.m.:

Oxy (18-7, 9-4) @ Pomona (12-12, 8-5)
Claremont (19-5, 11-2) @ Cal Lutheran (14-10, 8-5)
Redlands (12-12, 8-5) @ La Verne (8-16, 4-9)
Whittier (10-13, 4-9) @ Caltech (0-13, 0-24)

With Caltech's loss tonight at La Verne, the Beavers have now lost 300 consecutive SCIAC games going back to 1985.

2010 SCIAC Champ*

*Punked by PP twice.

From the 16:31 to the 11:28 mark of that game WW went on a run from up 1 to up 15. Other than that, we played them even

Claremont only lost by 14 tonight, so they must have played Pomona even.

OxyBob

[cmsme]

I like it better when CMS wins.

The announcer said that, in sports, it is very difficult for a team to beat another team 3 times in one season.  true?
CMS has beat the other teams in the league twice.  Should we be hoping we are going to play PP again?
And everyone says it is the matchups against PP that hurt CMS, but what is it about the matchups that make the shooting go so cold?

[DIIIghetto]

Good question cmsme.  And my answer is that what happened yesterday is part of the same dynamic that has historically plagued this conference.  Confidence, preparation, execution & sack.  The CMS team that showed up last night is the same team that shows up for the SCIAC in the post-season.  It is why we can't win on the road.  I wasn't there but don't need to have been to know that CMS fought very hard, they just couldn't knock down shots.  Confidence was lacking and PP obviously had it.   It is one thing to play hard and scrape but another to play with a chip in your shoulder and with the feeling that you will not let your team lose. 

I know that players play games, particularly in that packed Ducey gym and in that heated rivalry, but to me that confidence starts at the bench.  Great coaches find a way to get their kids to play with that confidence.  Does anyone doubt that preparing for that game Kats had his kids thinking that (a) it was the most important game of their season and (b) that they were just simply better than their rivals?

Kats did it last night.  He is a master... a SCIAC master that is. 

[Pat Coleman]

It was a fun jolt seeing that picture--but I bet it is three years old.  Chris Blees is now #15.
I have tried to  hint to CMS that parents who don't live in the LA area would appreciate pictures of current games.  Many of the pictures on the CMS website are of players I don't recognize and who must have graduated long ago.
Our high school uses student photographers that like to practice.  Anyway--hint.

As for tonight's game--Go Stags!
I look forward to reading everyone's comments on their games.

Agreed -- the photo was dated 2008 but it was the most recent one other than mug shots to pick from. At least I was relatively sure there was one current player in the photo, despite the number change.

[Pat Coleman]

I like it better when CMS wins.

The announcer said that, in sports, it is very difficult for a team to beat another team 3 times in one season.  true?

Paging Dr. Sager --- Dr. Sager to the SCIAC room, stat!

No, basically, I don't think there's a lot of truth to that particular chestnut. The saying used to be that it's difficult to beat a good team three times in one season but clearly, if you played Caltech today the odds wouldn't be in their favor simply because you've already beaten them twice.

If you figure that when two evenly matched teams meet up, the odds of any team winning are 50-50, then yes, there's around a 1-in-6 chance that the same team would win all three. But there's no magical difference in game three that makes it any different than the 50-50 it was for the other meetings.

[OxyBob]

If you figure that when two evenly matched teams meet up, the odds of any team winning are 50-50, then yes, there's around a 1-in-6 chance that the same team would win all three.

And if Pomona wins again there'll be a 100% chance that the CMS fans will suffer, which is really all that matters.

OxyBob

[stag44]

If you figure that when two evenly matched teams meet up, the odds of any team winning are 50-50, then yes, there's around a 1-in-6 chance that the same team would win all three.

And if Pomona wins again there'll be a 100% chance that the CMS fans will suffer, which is really all that matters.

OxyBob

seems like you get as much pleasure from a CMS loss as you do from an OXY win.

As for the game, I think you hit it pretty well DIIGhetto. I think it comes down to emotions that come with a big game. Some teams and players can zone out the crowd and approach the game the same way and execute a game plan, while others cannot. CMS is an emotionally charged program, which most times is an advantage, but also when you reach an inflection point the emotion can get to be a bit much and almost detrimental for the team. It causes players to get flustered and stray from the game plan.

As for the matchups between CMS and PP, I also think that PP has somethings that make the Stags uncomfortable. They force you to make jumpshots to win, and cause some problems around the key with their length in Sexton and Stephan for the Stag bigs. Kats is a great coach and had his guys prepared for the game. Would love another chance at them with an NCAA bid on the line though.

There are some VERY interesting scenarios for the games on Tuesday night. Doing some hypotheticals right now on the seeding, and there some interesting ways the 2-4 seeds play out, and who gets left out of the playoff. Will update once i've looked them all the way through