MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[dahlby]

CMS wraps up another SCIAC championship with a 77-56 victory over 4th place finisher CLU.
PP takes second with a 63-53 decision over Oxy.
Chapman "eeked" out a final seconds 68-65 win over ULV to take 3rd place.

Looks like CMS will host CLU, and Chapman will travel to PP in the first round of the SCIAC Tourney.

Whittier beat CIT.

[OxyBob]

Eyewitness report from Thousand Oaks:

Claremont 77, Cal Lutheran 56

Took in the CMS-CLU game, which was supposed to be important to CLU. stag44 in attendance. Paltry CLU crowd. Not counting the CLU women's team there were more cheerleaders than students in the stands.

There's no doubt that Claremont is the class of the SCIAC. The Stags surgically dismantled CLU. Claremont ran its motion offense to perfection, and Cal Lutheran was powerless to stop it. Lots of CLU heads on swivels = Lots of easy layups for CMS. For anyone playing Claremont in the playoffs, here's one helpful scouting tip: Don't leave Remy Pinson open from the wing on the left side. The only apparent team weakness Claremont has is shooting FTs, worst in the conference.

Claremont shot 65% in the first half and led 45-25 at halftime. CLU showed a little bit of fight in the second half but just tread water. Unless Cal Lutheran was playing possum to lull Claremont into a false sense of security, it'll be more of the same when the teams play in the Temple of Doom on Friday.

CMS: Gaffaney 23, Pinson 14, Lane 12 and 10 rebs, Harrington 10
CLU: Palmer 13, Powdrill and Smith 11 each

OxyBob

[westcoastwilliam]

Good article on Nevada Smith, former coach of Keystone College (D-III), and the continued rise of analytics in basketball.

http://grantland.com/features/nba-dleague-rgv-vipers-houston-rockets-future-of-basketball/

[OxyBob]

Good article on Nevada Smith

Traveling Freak Show, NBA style. Nothing to see here. Move on.

OxyBob

[westcoastwilliam]

Traveling Freak Show, NBA style. Nothing to see here. Move on.

get off my lawn, oxybob style.

nothing to see in the games tonight either, at least in terms of seeding for this weekend.

redlands by 8 over oxy

cms by 3 over whittier

[Hoops_lover]

westcoastwilliam, I loved the article (+k).  Morey thinks outside the box, like Presti (OKC) and Buford (Spurs) and this is why these NBA teams, at least the Spurs (especially) and Thunder have been successful. 
It is something to think about for more DIII basketball teams since there's a lack of skilled big guys.  In the SCIAC, Chapman could certainly run this because they have shooters: Zavrsnick, Hamasaki, James (he was on the Marina HS team that set the NATIONAL record for three's in a season) and Jordan Young; bigs who can run: Dragovich brothers and Justin Young and one of the best in SCIAC getting to the rim in Hamasaki.  Who can a coach develop faster, a big guy or a shooter?
Tonight's games:
I think Oxy/Redlands will be close and i'll give to Oxy by four.  Hamane/Tanioka point guard combo will have a say in the outcome.
CMC over Whittier by 13.  Pinson and Gaffaney will combine for 35+ tonight.

[stag44]

In closing out the SCIAC regular season we had 2 games tonight that had no meaning to the conference playoffs but were players senior nights, and a battle for 6th place in the conference.

CMS d. Whittier 55-54
From the box and play-by-play looked like a great game where CMS led for most of the game but struggled down the stretch as they were held without a field goal the last 6 minutes of the game. They won it on a Pinson FT with 7 seconds to go and then forced a Jennings missed 3 to secure a 15-1 season. Great regular season, but now they must rest up and prepare for a tough test Friday against a hungry CLU team who got embarrassed by the Stags at home on Senior Night.

Redlands d. Oxy 86-84
Redlands sent out their seniors with a win on Senior night. Congrats to both teams on a good year.

The final regular season standings:

CMS	15-1
PP	13-3
Chapman	10-6
CLU	9-7
Redlands	7-9
ULV	7-9
Oxy	6-10
Whittier	5-11
Caltech	0-16

SCIAC Playoff Friday - Games are at 7:30PM
CLU @ CMS
Chapman @ PP

Both games played within a 2 minute walk of each other. I'm sure both will be great games! Preview to come tomorrow or Thursday

[OxyBob]

Redlands d. Oxy 86-84
Redlands sent out their seniors with a win on Senior night. Congrats to both teams on a good year.

Oxy ended up 11-14, 6-10 in conference. The Tigers played well at times, and badly at other times, often in the same game. After 9 consecutive winning seasons, including an Elite 8 appearance and 3 SCIAC championships, Oxy has 4 straight under .500 seasons, and 5 of the last 6. Tough going these days in Eagle Rock. Waiting for the next Sam Betty, Finn Rebasoo, Connor Whitman...

CLU @ CMS

Based on what I saw last Saturday between Claremont and Cal Lutheran, particularly CLU's utter inability to defend against CMS, and the several CLU games I've seen this season, Claremont will win on Friday, and it may not be close.

OxyBob

[WoostAr]

New set of regional rankings out http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d3

CMS up to 7 (from unranked) jumping PP (still ranked 8).

[stag44]

SCIAC Playoff Preview

#1 CMS: 20-5, 15-1 in SCIAC
Overview: The Stags come in as the top team through the SCIAC regular season. They had an impressive 20 win season and have lost once since the team broke for winter break. With Coach Scali at the helm, they continue to run their relentless motion offense and rugged defense. Scali has led the Stags to a regular season SCIAC title 5 out of the last 6 years, finishing 2nd the other year. One thing they always hang their hats on is their defense. This year is no different as the Stags are holding teams to 58ppg, have a +9 point differential and keeping teams to below 40% from the field and at 30% from 3. In conference they have stayed consistent with their defense, allowing 58ppg but on 39% and 29% from the field and 3. This year's team has unquestioned guard leadership. Remy Pinson and Tyler Gaffaney are both 4th year Stags and both have started over 90% of the games since their stepped onto campus. They are flanked by a younger supporting cast including the ever dangerous Jack Grodahl, and solid combinations at the 4 and 5 where they have gotten some incredible production this year.

#2 Pomona-Pitzer: 18-7, 13-3 in SCIAC
Overview: The Sagehens are coming into the playoffs playing some great basketball and are looking to be healthy come tip on Friday. They are a vintage Kats team with big time guard shooters, athletic bigs with range and strong experience at all positions. They shoot the around 20 3s a game and also let their opponents shoot the same amount. They have been playing solid defense this year, holding teams to sub 40% in conference and have a +8 scoring margin. Without question the Stags and Sagehens are the top 2 teams in conference. Pomona has had a few games this year where they slip up – losing @ CLU and @ Chapman where poor 3pt shooting and off games from McAndrews hurt them. They are getting stellar performance on the whole from McAndrews, Cohen, Weiss and Klewer though. They should beat a pesky Chapman team and make it to the finals on Saturday.

#3 Chapman: 16-9, 10-6 in SCIAC
Overview: Chapman comes into the SCIAC on a high note, winning their last 5 games and playing their best basketball of the year. With their late spurt, they moved into the 3 seed and get a matchup against Pomona. As all Chapman teams, they run a solid 3 out 2 in system where Bokosky makes most of the calls from the bench. They execute their stuff well and often get great shots out of their motion. They are a bit different this year as the bulk of their offensive firepower is coming from their guards. Taylor Hamasaki and Colin Zaversnick lead the charge and are both nearly 18ppg+ scorers in conference. They are big time shooters and make tough shots and while Hamasaki was hot at the beginning of the year Zaversnick has come on strong lately and is really playing at a high level. Defensively they play strong and physical but are slightly outsized at most positions. They are a dangerous team in this tournament and could cause some fits for Pomona in the game Friday night. 

#4 Cal Lutheran: 18-7, 9-7 in SCIAC
Overview: CLU comes into the playoffs hitting a few bumps in the road. They have lost 3 of their last 4 and nearly lost to Caltech the game before that. This was all after their upset win vs Pomona that put them in a virtual lock for the playoffs. They are arguably the most individually talented team in the playoffs but watching them play on Saturday showed that they may not be the most cohesive team. In the playoffs, this is a dangerous team as they can all band together and if they click are very difficult to beat. They are led by Arik Smith and Coltrane Powdrill a 2/4 combo. Smith is a WIAC transfer who wanted to move closer to home and has performed extremely well in his first SCIAC year. Powdrill is a local as well who transferred from Moorpark and has been an effective scorer for the Kingsmen. They run their rugged 3 out 2 in system with high-low action. This year they have added some more ball screen action for Smith and have created open 3s for Palmer, Smith and Wade.


Semifinal Matchups:
CLU @ CMS:
CMS took it to the Kingsmen on Saturday, and it seemed like a statement game as the first half the Stags blitzed CLU 34-11 run going into the 2nd half. In the second half the lead swelled to 28, before settling around 20 for the rest of the game. It looked like CLU was disinterested after getting down big, but they had some renewed energy behind Powdrill in the 2nd half. This game will be decided on the defensive end of the floor. The Stags have been strong in holding teams below their season average and taking away their initial threats, and will look to do so again by taking away Smith, Powdrill and Palmer. I'm sure Scali will watch the film and find a few more nuggets to make them even more prepared for this game. The atmosphere should be awesome as every game at Ducey here on is potentially the last one. CLU will have to find a way to slow the motion and I have a feeling that Rider is going to do 3 things: press, try physical and push the guards, and switch defenses. We'll see some zone, some switching, and some physical man from the Kingsmen to keep the Stags guessing and uncomfortable.  In the end I think the Stags have home court advantage, are playing at a really high level, and don't want to leave Ducey on a loss.
CMS take care of CLU 69-58

Chapman @ P-P
This game is going to be VERY interesting. Pomona is coming in playing really well, but their last loss was to Chapman. Chapman comes in playing arguably the best basketball in the SCIAC. Both coaches are veterans and have been in big games, but Chapman has yet to play in the SCIAC tournament and most of the team has not played in an elimination game. It should be a fun atmosphere and I think the game will come down to the post play. McAndrews and Zaversnick are both going to have good games. Will Hamasaki or Cohen be the key player or is it coming elsewhere? I think Weiss and Klewer are going to have strong games and ride their home court to a win. It's going to be a great and close game but home court in the playoff is a HUGE role. Since the start of the playoffs the road team has gone 2-16, with both wins coming in the first year of the tournament.
P-P squeaks by Chapman 65-62

[Bigcat]

I'm taking CMS over CLU 75-64 and Chapman to pull off the upset at PP 64-63.

[Hoops_lover]

I LOVE stag44's breakdowns. 
I'm along the lines of Bigcat's predictions.  I agree that CMS will beat CLU but I think a little closer, CMS by seven.  CLU can win this game IF they don't make many ANY MISTAKES which will turn into points for CMS and if they can stay MENTALLY STRONG when things begin to go south for them.  I see Powdrill, Smith and Palmer having big games tonight but will that be enough to beat CMS.  They'll need someone else like Quintana or Wade to step up big.   Pinson, Gaffaney and Grodahl are gamers.
I don't think the Chapman game will be as close as Bigcat predicts.  I see Chapman winning by 7-10 points.  All the close games they've had jelled them together and the play of Joyce has coincided with their win streak.  Must give some props to Davis Dragovich also for maturing as the season went on which equals more PT.  Zavrsnick has been playing really well lately and James has been very steady and comes up with the big defensive plays and shots when needed.  The key tonight falls within the Chapman inside play, as stag44 mentioned, both on offense and defense.  Can they hang with the Pomona-Pitzer bigs?  The other key for Chapman is Hamasaki.  He's been off the past few games probably because he's been the focus of the other teams game plans.  One thing for sure, he comes up big when needed and he's been doing that since high school.  For Pomona-Pitzer, I'm curious about the health of Cohen.  If he's right, the game will be a toss up because that puts Moss back on the bench, which is a good thing for PP. McAndrew, Klewer and company are not going to make it easy for Chapman.       

[dahlby]

Chapman over PP 69-54 (game was closer than score).
Box score  at   www.chapmanathletics.com

Cal Lu over CMS 54-53

Chapman will host the ladies final at 5 PM Saturday night and the
men's final, probably at 7:30 PM.

Check the Chapman web site for confirmation.

Any thoughts on CMS getting an at large bid? Sure hope so, as I
think they deserve it!

.

[WoostAr]

Arik Smith is a stud!...31 pts with Gaffney on him...heck of a player.

It was a stretch for the SCIAC to get two teams if the top two teams played in the final...losing early won't help the cause...there are lots of deserving teams out there....we can hope that other conference tourneys go according to plan so as to not eat up the pool c bids.

[OxyBob]

Cal Lu over CMS 54-53

The only apparent team weakness Claremont has is shooting FTs, worst in the conference.

Claremont 7-for-14 FTs, CLU 11-for-12

OxyBob