MBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Sabretooth Tiger]

I see from Chapman's website that Oxy prevailed last night 67-62.  OxyBob . . . where's the eyewitness report?

tooth

[Dirty Harry]

Oxy lead 40-32 at the half and held of a second half surge by Chapman to win by 5 as tooth posted above. Pretty solid game for Betty, who had 20 points along with 6 rebounds. Ivan Kostic and Connor Whitman lead the supporting cast with 14 and 17 points respectively. 15 of Whitman's points came from three-pointers. Nick Mills added 9 boards and 5 assists.

Chapman had four players in double digits: Josh Flynn-Brown (10), Patrick Carney (12), Miguel Bennett (16) and Jared Kaiser (14). Bennett and Kaiser each had 5 boards as well.

Thoughts on the game: Chapman was lucky to have only lost by 5.  They shot only 30% from the free throw line in the second half which ultimately doomed them. I'm not sure if Oxy didn't play as hard in the second half as they did the first but they certainly played a much sloppier game. Both teams had 13 turnovers, Chapman's coming at the worst possible times (after timeouts, inbounding the ball). If Oxy looks to head to the post-season, which I believe they will after winning SCIAC, they will need Betty to continue to be the team leader but desperately need the big guys to step it up on the defensive side. Kaiser was a good physical player around the basket and was giving Betty and company fits all night. Oxy's next games are over the New Year's weekend when they travel to Cal Tech; not sure who they play however. For those who are interested, the Oxy women's team plays Monday and Tuesday at Rush Gym.Happy Holidays to all.

[DIIIghetto]

Pomonalum, an empty gym, against studs like the Scots are bringing in, ouch.   I'll put them at 15 point favorites.  If they can keep it under 10 I would bet there would be some surprised folks around the country.  I hope that Knowles realizes this is a great chance to show how legit his game is against as good of a guard as he'll face this year.  Come on Hens, the conference needs you to remember that these guys don't think you could finish in the top 5 in their conference.   Go out and ball.   Empty or not, it is YOUR gym.   

 

[scandihoovian]

I must have just missed you Bob at the CLU-Santa Cruz game.  I caught the end of the first half and all of the second.  What has happened to Santa Cruz?  Am I totally off base in thinking that just a few years ago they used to be decent?  Edit: I just looked and they haven't been decent in a while, but it does seem like maybe they used to have a better team than this year's.  Maybe somebody else will know if they've ever had a good hoops team.  Oh well...

It was fun to watch all the Freshmen get some playing time, and see the pool filled with water.

[scandihoovian]

When I walked past Lake CLU today I think I saw the periscope of the USS Virginia poke through the water. Or maybe it was Nessie in Loch CLU.

OxyBob

I'm sorry the ferry is not running yet Bob - although I've been told they'll have regular service up and running in time for the start of spring semester...

[fosheezie]

Mixed emotions on the Pacific-Cal Lu game.  Not good seeing another SCIAC team lose to a NWC team, but good to see former PP assistant Jay "Frankenberry" Lowery get a win and get his program turning around.  He will soon be battling for a NWC title, you mark my words.  Too bad he didnt get a job in the SCIAC, he is a great young coach, much like the young and crafty Billy Donovan type at Cal Lu, the one and only Geoff Daines, (you hear me Redlands)!

[Gregory Sager]

Come on Hens, the conference needs you to remember that these guys don't think you could finish in the top 5 in their conference.

I doubt that the Wooster players think that. The Scots and their fans are painfully aware that the NCAC is awfully thin pickings after about the third- or fourth-place team.

[pomonaalum]

Pomona students are already on break...Rains will be even emptier than usual.  Knowles had a tough game against Wash U and their guards, will be interesting to see how he does tonight.

[wooscotsfan]

At the Half:   #1 Wooster 47  Pomona-Pitzer 27

Wooster jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead and has been in control of this game.  Devin Fulk is leading the Scots with 10 points.  Wooster made 5 three pointers in the first half and also beat the Sagehens in the paint where Tim Vandervaart scored 8 points.

GO SCOTS!

[pomonaalum]

Wooster still leads by 20, 65-45 with about 14:00 to go.  Jabarri Reynolds with 17 for Pomona-Pitzer...

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  #1 Wooster 97  Pomona-Pitzer 77

Wooster actually led by 30 points in the 2nd half before the Sagehens cut the margin.   Wooster was led by Tom Port with 18 points, Brandon Johnson with 18 points, James Cooper with 16 points and Devin Fulk with 13 points.

Pomona-Pitzer was led by David Knowles with 22 points and Jabarri Reynolds with 21 points.

Wooster is now 9-0.   Next up is California Baptist on Wednesday.

GO SCOTS!

[Browneagle64]

Man, i hate to hear that pomona has not bounced back into solid form since the announcement of McCoy leaving campus. In addition, i find it hard to believe that many of the youngsters for the hens have to quickly fill spots that will help them stay on top. In saying that, IMHO, Knowles needs assistance from teammates. Chimowitz has been decent so far. But, the rest need to re-group and come out with more urgency. If not, then the hens will have to hear how the stags and tigers will be duking it out all season long for the top spot in SCIAC play.

Speaking of the tigers, Congrats to Coach Newhall and co. Great to hear that they exposed a good panther D on saturday. I hope that this is a sign that the tigers will be billed as the top team in the SCIAC. I hope that some of you guys will be attending the Cal Tech tourney this upcoming weekend. Please share some more thoughts on your teams as they get ready for holiday tourney play.

[DIIIghetto]

Bob, RFLMAO.  Result was probably to be expected but is marginally depressing nonetheless.  Yet another blown opportunity for national respect out of Claremont.  It seems like in the past couple of years we have taken strides nationally.  It has been harder and harder for me to point out that we are in the bottom-quartile of DIII hoops.  We have inched closer to the median.  The Hens loss doesn't help us.  I'm glad Kats took the game.  It shows sack.  Wooster is so good that it may not hurt us that much, unless the young Hens win the conference, in which case we will all have to live with the fact that our conference's best team isn't really competitive with the elite in DIII. 

We need somone to emerge like USC in football, which consistently makes up for the failings of other teams outside of the southland.  Oxy has shown a fearlessness against comp outside of LA.  We'll see what they can do in the Cal tech tourney.  As I have pointed out earlier, I haven't noticed a sense of urgency coming out of Hersey West this year yet.   CMS, the frontrunner, has played well but chosen to play their best games against southland NAIA teams.   Playing pre-season tough NAIA southland teams is the cheapest way for the SCIAC to play tough teams but nothing is better than grabbing as many of the snowbirds coming out to enjoy the sunshine as possible.     

[sciacguru]

Result was probably to be expected but is marginally depressing nonetheless.  Yet another blown opportunity for national respect out of Claremont.  It seems like in the past couple of years we have taken strides nationally.  It has been harder and harder for me to point out that we are in the bottom-quartile of DIII hoops.  We have inched closer to the median.  The Hens loss doesn't help us.  I'm glad Kats took the game.  It shows sack.  Wooster is so good that it may not hurt us that much, unless the young Hens win the conference, in which case we will all have to live with the fact that our conference's best team isn't really competitive with the elite in DIII. 

We need somone to emerge like USC in football, which consistently makes up for the failings of other teams outside of the southland.  Oxy has shown a fearlessness against comp outside of LA.  We'll see what they can do in the Cal tech tourney.  As I have pointed out earlier, I haven't noticed a sense of urgency coming out of Hersey West this year yet.   CMS, the frontrunner, has played well but chosen to play their best games against southland NAIA teams.   Playing pre-season tough NAIA southland teams is the cheapest way for the SCIAC to play tough teams but nothing is better than grabbing as many of the snowbirds coming out to enjoy the sunshine as possible.    

I dont think Kats really had a choice in the matter since the Wooster president is a Pomona alumnus and former Sagehen Dean (great research OxyBob).  I have a feeling he had to schedule that game regardless.

And after speaking with the Cal Lu assistant, who was there, the SCIAC should schedule more GSAC schools as it looked like Wooster would beat most if not all the GSAC schools......5 of which are ranked in the top 25.

I heard about that bagpipe player....nice touch for the SCOTS....but I heard he played at centercourt during warmups for the 2nd half.  AT CENTERCOURT!  I dont think the Kingsmen faithful would have allowed that guy to to do that on the CLU especially in a kilt!

[WLCALUM83]

Oxy has shown a fearlessness against comp outside of LA.  We'll see what they can do in the Cal tech tourney.     

Noticed Oxy is scheduled to play Wisconsin Lutheran in the Cal-Tech holiday tournament. This poster has a bit of info on Wisconsin Lutheran. The Warriors' best all around player is a 6-8 F-C Brian Hagel who can hit the 3 and crash the boards.  WLC's coach has no problem going deep into his bench. Several Warrior players can hit the 3, but they also have some guys who can crash the boards and give inside scoring punch. To this point they've generally run the half-court offense more than a fast-break but they'll take whatever's given them. They have a balanced scoring attack. WLC had a near-miss (9-point loss) earlier this season against Aurora IL when Aurora was ranked in the Top 25. Barring an unforeseen development. it should be an interesting game. (WLC is 4-1 in their conference, some 1 or 2 games over .500 overall.)