MBB: Little East

[warriorcat]

No Salzillo for Eastern again today.  The Warriors struggled offensively in the first half (27% from the field) but put things together in the second half outscoring UMass Boston 46-37 (56% shooting) to win going away.  Freshman Hugh Lindo came off the bench with a double-double 12 pts 11 rebs in 20 minutes of action.  Very impressive indeed.

[7express]

Western survives Plymouth 72-70.  Kendall Marquez with 19 to lead Western but had a killer turnover with Western clinging to a 2 point lead which allowed Plymouth the chance to win or tie, while Petey Skevas had a game high 20 for the Panthers.  I talked about this game earlier, but Western had a 20 point lead with 6:55 to play, completely inexcusable to give up that lead.  You think if Eastern or RIC is up 20 with 7 minutes left, they let the opponent go on a 30-12 run to end the game??
Dartmouth over USM 66-56.  Tyler Penney was the only Husky in double figures as he finished with 13 points.  All 5 Corsairs finished in double figures lead by Wale Abraham's 18 points & 10 rebounds.  Not a fun trip back to Maine for the Huskies, as the USM women lost in overtime, only the second time in 66 career matchups with the Dartmouth women they have lost.
RIC in overtime over Keene 75-70.  Jaquel Edwards had 18 points & 12 rebounds for the Owls and Tom Doyle added 13 points.  Victor Smith lead all scorers with 22 for RIC, and Austin Cilley added 17.
Eastern over Boston 71-58.  Carl Joseph and Gregory Young each had 11 for the Beacons, while Trachine Preston lead all scorers with 16, Mike Garrow had 14, and Hugh Lindo had 12 points & 11 rebounds for the Warriors.  Still no Salzillo for the Warriors, who were challenged in the first half and pulled away in the second.  They have a 3 game lead on RIC (with the tiebreaker) and a 5 game lead (with the tiebreaker) on Dartmouth & Western, so the worst Eastern can finish is second, so at this rate I sit Salzillo until he is totally healthy, and if that's the first game of the LEC tournament so be it.  Their loss earlier in the week destroyed any chance Eastern had at grabbing a pool C spot (not that they had much of a shot anyways), so their only way into the dance is via the LEC tournament.  Since they've basically already wrapped up the conference (a RIC loss to Western, and an Eastern win @ Keene would officially end the race), why bring him back if he's not needed and risk further injury to him when the Warriors will actually need him, which would be starting February 25 when those games count.

46-40 LEC; 87-35 me

Standings:
1) Eastern 10-0 (16-5)
2) RIC 8-2 (14-7)
3) Western 6-4 (14-6)
3) Dartmouth 6-4 (13-8)
5) Plymouth 4-6 (10-11)
5) Keene 4-6 (7-13)
7) USM 2-8 (6-15)
8) Boston 0-10 (6-15)
Western gets the tiebreaker over Dartmouth (1-1 season series) due to their sweep of Plymouth.  Plymouth currently holds the 1-0 head-to-head lead over Keene.

Schedule:
Tuesday, February 11:
Western @ RIC 7:30 PM
Boston @ Dartmouth 7:30 PM
Eastern @ Keene 7:30 PM
USM @ Plymouth 7:30 PM.  Western/RIC is the best game

Thursday, February 13:
Keene @ MCLA 7 PM

Saturday, February 15:
Keene @ Western 3 PM
Dartmouth @ Eastern 3 PM
RIC @ USM 3 PM
Boston @ Plymouth.  Dartmouth/Eastern looks to be the best of that bad slate.

[7express]

Tuesday schedule:

Western @ RIC.
RIC has owned the series history between the 2 since Bob Walsh has been there, and has been even better in Providence where I think Western has won once since Walsh went to the head of the bench.  Usually the games are close, but the results are the same: RIC wins.  RIC is favored by 3.5.  Will be close for a while, but RIC covers.  RIC 79-72

Eastern @ Keene.
Another team that owns the season series over the opponent, Keene has only beaten Eastern 2 or 3 times in the last 5 years.  An Eastern win and a Western win over RIC would officially end the race for the conference title as Eastern would win the title in that scenario.  Oddsmakers have the Warriors favored by 13.  Since there's no injury update on Salzillo, I'll take a push.  Eastern 83-70.

USM @ Plymouth.
Plymouth had a nice comeback on Saturday that ultimately fell short trailing by 20 with under 7 minutes to play, and having the ball with a chance to tie the game.  USM has just 1 win since December 10, and that ship has sailed on the season.   Oddsmakers have the Panthers favored by 6.5 and I say they cover.  Plymouth 69-59.

Boston @ Dartmouth.
Boston played them tough at home last month, but on the road is a different animal.  Dartmouth won only one LEC home game last season, and that was vs. Boston who finished in 5th.  Oddsmakers have the Corsairs favored by 12, and I say they cover.  Dartmouth 88-74.

[warriorcat]

Halftime score

Keene State 44 Eastern Conn 34

Brian Salzillo and Brandon Yarborough not in uniform tonight for ECSU.  This could be the night Eastern loses it's first game in the Conference.  Keene is playing inspired offensive basketball.

[7express]

Halftime scores:
Eastern trails Keene 34-44
Plymouth leads by like 5
Boston leads Dartmouth 34-30
RIC running over Western 40-24.  Played well the first 9 minutes, went downhill really quickly the final 11.  Horrible call at the end as a Joe Setaro put back appeared to beat the buzzer which the refs called good on the floor but after a conference they reversed it.  When there's no replay available how on earth can you reverse the call??

In the women's games earlier the bottom 2 teams were leading the top 2 teams at halftime before those bottom teams collapsed.  Can Keene & Boston sustain this for 20 more minutes??

[warriorcat]

I am watching the Keene-ECSU game.  Keene was the better team in the first half.  If they can sustain the energy and intensity they showed in the first half, thjey could definitely win this game.  Eastern will have to play better defense and not turn the ball over for easy Keene layups.

[7express]

This conference is Cinemax.  What a tease all day.  Of the 8 games between the men and women the underdog had the favorite on the ropes in 6 of the 8 games today but couldn't make enough plays down the stretch.
RIC, Eastern, Plymouth, and Dartmouth your winners.  Easterns magic number to clinch is at 1.  Full recap tomorrow as I'm going straight to bed when I get home.

[ECSUalum]

ECSU survives in Keene NH with a 69-72 victory.  Mike Garrow comes up huge with 13-15 at the stripe for 27 points and 10 rebound. Tre. Preston 19 points and Kevin Leumene with 11.
Hugh Lindo with an amazing 15 rebounds 6 O, 9 D.  Nate Howard led a much improved Keene St basketball team with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Eastern shot 21% from 3 point range and 33% total, but 82% from the free throw line,..... they needed every one tonight!!
Salzillo still out with some type of illness , and Brandon Yarborough was not at the game . 
The Warriors will definitely need both for the LEC Tournament if they want a chance at making the NCAA tournament.  If the aforementioned players do not return, it could be a bizarre end to what was looking like a very promising year.

[warriorcat]

Final 

Eastern Conn  72
Keene St    69

Keene missed a three pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game to OT.  Eastern tightened up the defense in the second half but the big swing occured when ECSU trailing by 7 scored 6 points on one possession (Preston 3 pointer, foul under the basket, Garrow scoring an old fashion three point play on the inbound). 

Garrow (27) and Preston (19) led the Warriors.  Hugh Lindo had 15 Rebounds.   Ecsu outrebounded KSU 42-36 including 19 offensive boards.  Eastern was 27-33 from the line.   

Eastern now needs one win in the last three games to clinch the #1 seed in the Conference tournament.  Hoping they are at full strength by then.

[AllStar]

Halftime scores:
Eastern trails Keene 34-44
Plymouth leads by like 5
Boston leads Dartmouth 34-30
RIC running over Western 40-24.  Played well the first 9 minutes, went downhill really quickly the final 11.  Horrible call at the end as a Joe Setaro put back appeared to beat the buzzer which the refs called good on the floor but after a conference they reversed it.  When there's no replay available how on earth can you reverse the call??

In the women's games earlier the bottom 2 teams were leading the top 2 teams at halftime before those bottom teams collapsed.  Can Keene & Boston sustain this for 20 more minutes??

Not surprisingly, the refs blew a call in the RIC/Keene game the other day at the first half buzzer too.  Edwards for KSC heaved up a shot at the end of the half that was a three point basket and was called that initially on the floor.  However, Walsh complained about the basket being a three (the only reason the referees discussed it in the first place), so the referees conferred for about 3 or 4 minutes and somehow decided (or flat out took an arbitrary guess) that it was actually a two point basket...again without looking at any video of any kind.  I guess the explanation was that they never called it a three, which couldn't be farther from the truth, as the referee nearest the shot clearly put three fingers in the air and when the shot went in put both of his arms in the air to signal it went in.  Looking back at the video, it certainly is tough to tell but it appears it was a three.  The video also nullifies that weak explanation.  Of course, naturally, the game went into overtime.

[7express]

And as usual Bob Walsh bullied the official to reverse the call.  As I said earlier when 2 of the 3 guys signal it good on the floor how on earth can u reverse it??  Just because Walsh said it was no good??

Now I'm actually not sure if it did beat or not, but it's atrocious to reverse it.  If you want to signal nothing an than huddle up and make a decision??  Perfectly fine by me because nothing was ruled.  But when 2/3 call it good and then listen to coach Walsh complain about it, huddle at mid court without looking at the computer replay and then reverse the call is a joke,

[AllStar]

And as usual Bob Walsh bullied the official to reverse the call.  As I said earlier when 2 of the 3 guys signal it good on the floor how on earth can u reverse it??  Just because Walsh said it was no good??

Now I'm actually not sure if it did beat or not, but it's atrocious to reverse it.  If you want to signal nothing an than huddle up and make a decision??  Perfectly fine by me because nothing was ruled.  But when 2/3 call it good and then listen to coach Walsh complain about it, huddle at mid court without looking at the computer replay and then reverse the call is a joke,

If I'm coaching in some of these games (which I obviously don't)...I would employ the strategy to argue all the time.  ALL THE TIME.  Why not?  You are liable to get a call changed!

Totally totally agree with all you said there.  Watching it live last Saturday, it was very hard to tell what it was...so their original call should have stood.  They definitely called it a three, so their lame excuse of them not calling it a three was bogus.  It is really frustrating to see them reverse something they sure seem like they had no clue what really happened...which is why they talked for several minutes.  What could you possibly talk about without looking at a video...and have the utmost certainty to change it???  The guy who had the best view made the call...so your telling me the guy on the baseline or the guy on the other side saw it and was surely able to overrule it?  Stick with the original call!  Sorry, some of these guys are clearly overwhelmed by some of the games they are assigned to.

[7express]

And as usual Bob Walsh bullied the official to reverse the call.  As I said earlier when 2 of the 3 guys signal it good on the floor how on earth can u reverse it??  Just because Walsh said it was no good??

Now I'm actually not sure if it did beat or not, but it's atrocious to reverse it.  If you want to signal nothing an than huddle up and make a decision??  Perfectly fine by me because nothing was ruled.  But when 2/3 call it good and then listen to coach Walsh complain about it, huddle at mid court without looking at the computer replay and then reverse the call is a joke,

If I'm coaching in some of these games (which I obviously don't)...I would employ the strategy to argue all the time.  ALL THE TIME.  Why not?  You are liable to get a call changed!

Totally totally agree with all you said there.  Watching it live last Saturday, it was very hard to tell what it was...so their original call should have stood.  They definitely called it a three, so their lame excuse of them not calling it a three was bogus.  It is really frustrating to see them reverse something they sure seem like they had no clue what really happened...which is why they talked for several minutes.  What could you possibly talk about without looking at a video...and have the utmost certainty to change it???  The guy who had the best view made the call...so your telling me the guy on the baseline or the guy on the other side saw it and was surely able to overrule it?  Stick with the original call!  Sorry, some of these guys are clearly overwhelmed by some of the games they are assigned to.

I know a lot of these guys do division 1 games, and probably high school as well.  The NCAA probably puts them in a region, and just send them to whatever's available whether it be a Sacred Heart vs. Central Conn Division 1 game, Assumption vs. Bentley division 2 game, or Keene State vs. RIC division 3 games.  2 of the 3 officials in the RIC/Western women's game I used to see 2 or 3 times a month at Sacred Heart (a division 1 school) games.  Even though the rules are the same across NCAA divisions, the style of play across division (and even across conferences in the same division) is totally different.  So, probably one of those 2 guys I saw last night did the Bryant vs. Wagner game at Bryant, and than stayed in RI and did the Western/RIC women's game before taking a couple days before back out on assignment for the weekend.  It saves the NCAA a lot of money, especially since Bryant & RIC are like 3 miles away from each other, but it absolutely kills the flow and pace since obviously the Northeast conference has better players with a better skill set (division 1 conference) than the Little East conference does, so you should plan accordingly, but for whatever reason they don't.

[7express]

2 things before I get to the recap
1) regional rankings out: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2014/02/12/2014-ncaa-regional-rankings-week-1/
2) Victor Smith named to the D-3 team of the week with his 22 point, 8 rebound, 5 block game vs. Keene on Saturday.  Congrats to him!

I've put my thoughts on the rankings on the ranking thread, but USUALLY 5-7 is the cut off between getting in/and not getting in.  Since Eastern currently checks in at 5th they'd seem to be a pretty good bet to make the field should they falter in the LEC.  But with how bad the NE region is this year (just look at RIC checking in at 9th with a 14-7 record for how bad the region is this year) I'm not even confident 3 or 4 will get in, yet alone #5.  If you want to see why, read the NE ranking thread.  Onto the games from Tuesday:

Eastern over Keene 72-69.  Cuts the Warriors magic number to 1: Either 1 Eastern win (home games vs. Dartmouth & Western, road game @ USM) OR 1 RIC loss (road games @ Dartmouth & @ USM, home vs. Plymouth) give the Warriors the conference title.  Eastern would need a Texas-sized meltdown these final 3 games to not win it.  Of course, look at 2012, that's why you play the games.  Keene that year had a magic number of 2 going into the second to last Saturday to win the title: they finished 0-3 and with results piling against them went from hosting the tournament all the way down to the #4 seed in a span of 7 days.  Of course, the LEC that year was about 700 times better than it is this year, Keene only had 1 home game that stretch (Eastern has 2) and Eastern can only get passed by 1 team (RIC) so at the very worst they'd only tumble down to 2nd compared to 4th like the 2012 Keene Owls did.  No Salzillo or Brandon Yarborough for the Warriors, but as I said last week Eastern should sit them till the tournament.  Even with their high ranking chances are unlikely they'll win a pool C slot to the NCAAs, so just beat Dartmouth on Saturday to win the league, and than play the strings out on the final 2 games of the season which will be all but worthless for them anyways.  Mike Garrow had 27 & Trechone Preston 19 to lead the Warriors while Nate Howard had 15 points and Tom Doyle had 12 points & 11 rebounds off the bench for Keene.
Plymouth over USM 64-62.  Jacob Littlefield with 15 points to lead USM; Curtis Arsenault had 14 for the Panthers.  USM scored the final 6 points to make it a 2 point margin.  Conor Sullivan blocked a Plymouth layup attempt with 20 seconds to play, but Fred Knight missed a layup for USM that would've forced overtime.
Dartmouth by 10 over Boston 81-71.  Luc Ulysse with 19 for the Beacons, while Jake Laga lead the Corsairs with 18.  After only shooting 35.5% in the first half which saw the Corsairs down 4 at halftime, the Corsairs torched the nets in the second shooting 55.6% in outscoring the Beacons 51-37.
RIC over Western 85-74.  Free throws at the end made this appear a lot more lopsided then it was, as Western was only down 5 late in the game.  Kendall Marquez had 18 points & Spud Gates had 17 to lead Western, and Chris Burton had 27 points & 14 points for the Warriors.  3 things killed Western here: free throw shooting (68.6%.  I thought Western was usually one of the better free throw shooting teams in the conference, WTF has happened??), second chance points for RIC (12 offensive rebounds [sure seemed like a lot more] for 17 points) and the dreadful first half (finished the first half shooting 8-32 for 25%).  Play of the game that won't show up in the boxscore: After a Marquez layup (i'll talk about him next) cut what was a 16 point halftime deficit down to 7 points, Marquez just missed what would've been a steal and an easy 2 points.  And when I say just miss, I mean just missed.  He was a fraction of a second late: If he's 1 second early making a move, he's got a steal and an easy layup to cut the deficit to 5 with still over half the second remaining.  If Marquez makes the move a second later then he did, he gets in front of Burton.  As I stated, went for the steal, just missed, momentum took him behind Burton, so now Burton's unguarded for a 3, set's up, bang, nothing but net.  RIC lead back to 10.  Now I know Western got it down to within 5, but having 10 minutes remaning and only being down 5 points is a HUGE difference than having 10 minutes remaining being down 2.  Instead of trying to force stuff like we did (which was still dumb, but this s a fairly young team, so some growing teams) they can run an offense because we still have 10 minutes to make up only 5 points.  Completely changed the dynamic of the game. 
Now onto Marquez, he's really started to come around here lately with big plays and big shots.  I think it's too late for a ROY push, but he's making a run for at least the all rookie team.  But how on Earth did coach Geitner at Eastern miss this kid, he went to school at Windham high, which, if you don't know is right across the street from Eastern's campus?!?!?!?  Eastern doesn't have a lot of depth to begin with, and even worse at the guard spots, you think Geitner would like him now, especially when Salzillo has been out for 3 or 4 games now??  I'm not sure about you, but I think he'd take him.  When Salzillo is playing, he's a nice option to have anyway: a bench guy that can give your star a break, give you 7-12 points in 10 minutes or so off the bench, and when Salzillo is out like he is now. Marquez could've probably upped that to 14-20 points in 20 minutes, and give Eastern another option on the offense end.

46-40 LEC; 91-35 me.  Still have a pulse left to get to 100 wins in the regular season.

Standings:
1) Eastern 11-0 (17-5)
2) RIC 9-2 (15-7)
3) Dartmouth 7-4 (14-8)
4) Western 6-5 (14-7)
5) Plymouth 5-6 (11-11)
6) Keene 4-7 (7-14)
7) USM 2-9 (6-16)
8) Boston 0-11 (6-16)

Schedule:
Saturday, February 15:
Keene @ Western 3 PM
Boston @ Plymouth 3 PM
RIC @ USM 3 PM
Dartmouth @ Eastern 3 PM.  Dartmouth/Eastern probably the best game
Note: Keene/MCLA game schedule for Thursday has been postponed due to the incoming snow storm.  Both have off days next Thursday the 20th, but at the rate both teams are going (MCLA is 8-14) what's the point of rescheduling it for a 3rd time??

[AllStar]

7express:

I would be surprised if that Keene/MCLA game was rescheduled again.

To your point, shorthanded Eastern Connecticut was outscored 29-0 in bench points last night.