MBB: American Rivers Conference

[SLP-O-8]

Wow that was one of the best games i have ever been to.  Bv won by 1 over loras.  Loras missed a 3 pointer with a couple seconds to go but scored a tip in to lose by one.   Loras had 2 technical fouls one on Kyle White after he got his 5th foul.  The first one occurred when Alex Brandt got his 4th foul and he was arguing the call.  Great game.  Wagner finished with 22 points, Kyle Write had 17, and Slater ended with 19 and made some big 3 pointers and pulled down some big rebounds to keep them in the game.

[B.Ver]

I concur the BEST D3 game I have ever witnessed! Can't wait tell next saterday to see it again.

[Klopenhiemer]

Congratulations to the Beavers.  Also the its sounds like the DuHawks played one heck of a game themselves. 

Looking forward to seeing how the conference tournament plays out.......

[du-sz]

Great game in Storm Lake the other night for sure.  Both teams were playing lights out, and the atmosphere was great.

Tough to see my Duhawks go down in such an amazing game, though.  I must give them kudos for hanging in there despite losing Brandt, Centella, White, and Oeth to fouls.  A couple iffy technical foul calls really set them back, but play from guys like Luke Slater and Pat Conrad kept them in it when they needed it.

Looking forward to the conference tournament, it should be a fun one.  Both Loras and BV will have some tough tests in the second round, but it would be great to see a rematch of last night's game in the tournament final.  BV is going to hard to stop.  They can do it inside with Fogleman and Cleveland, and of course outside with Wagner and crew.  If BV comes to play, other teams will need to play flawless to beat them in Storm Lake.

[birds of prey]

I agree it was one of the best games I've seen. And the women's game before that ranks up there too. But, as much as I don't like to talk about the officiating because I think their job is hard enough, it's hard not to bring it up. And for the people that were there, like myself, that have posted, I'm a little surprised it hasn't come up yet.

It's different when a team loses after playing their best on an even playing than when they are clipped at the knees by something they can't control. I'm not trying to make excuses for Loras, but three players were in foul trouble at halftime and four fouled out, three of them were starters, two of those were arguable the two best players on the team. The two best players on BV finished with one foul a piece. Now usually fouls tend to even themselves out at the end of the game, but not last night, and I'm glad the commissioner was there to witness what could be considered an atrocity. The Duhawks were called for 9 more fouls than the Beavers and a lot of them were away from the ball, which at the time didn't make any sense. I wish I could see the game film to get a better idea what was or wasn't really a foul.

I'm just glad to know that if both teams make it as far, we'll have the tournament officiating crew on hand to call the championship.

[B.Ver]

I believe the officials should have let the teams decide the game they blew the whistle to often. the technicals they were desrved you can't be showing up the refs, then again seen it happen in Memphis,Tennesee game last niight and nothing was called.

[duhawkdanran]

Calling the technicals deserved in this game is not what should of happened. Can you blame players who are getting no calls their way for telling the ref "I had all ball." I know I've done that in a game and not gotten T'ed up. As far as the second technical goes, you can not blame a player for getting a little emotion in that game. You have the crowd going crazy, you are playing for the title, the game is virtually tied, and you just got your 4th foul. The refs should of let them play on those.

I'd just like to say great job to all of the Loras players for stepping it up. I think that is the best they have played as a team all year.

See you in Storm Lake next for a rematch! -- hopefully

[SLP-O-8]

The refs argument can go both ways.  They didnt blow the whistle when Fogelman was in there are trying to get a rebound and got undercut and slam down hard on the ground.  As for the technicals if they weren't arguing so much about calls and everything they wouldn't have gotten them.  It was a great game and thats what we should remember it by that.  Hopefully we get to see a rematch because with an NCAA bid on the line BVs crowd will be rocking again.

Good luck to every one that is in the tournament.

[SLP-O-8]

The foul difference looks a lot worse than it is because of having to foul at the end of the game to give themselves a chance to come back.  They had to foul i believe 4 times so it was a difference of 5

[birds of prey]

I disagree. What made it seem so lob-sided was the fact that a lot of the fouls called against Loras took place away from the ball. How do you explain the five fouls called against Brandt in his nine minutes of play? None of them were even called on a BV shot attempt. It was ludicrous, the Duhawks weren't able to play their stapled hard-nose defense they've been known for this year.

The point you made about the calls being able to go both ways, and you used Fogleman as an example...I have trouble buying any of the two flops we witnessed last night from him. He's at least 260 lbs. A guy like him just doesn't go to the floor like that when there isn't another guy even close to his size on the floor. The referees were ignorant towards how important that game really was and took the outcome into their own hands. That is the only problem that I have with it, they did not let the game be decided by the players and the game was not evenly called. Almost a double-bonus different between team fouls. It was unfair for them to put the players, broadcasters, and everyone else involved in that game in a position to need to question the officiating. I hope we never have to come to terms with something like that ever again.

[3baller]

I wasn't at the game and only watched a little bit of it online.  I don't like when spectators think the fouls should be "even."  If one team fouls more than the other, they should get called for more fouls.  In many games one team is more aggressive and puts the other team in positions in which they foul more often.  This does not mean the other team should be given "make-up calls" to even the foul count. 

Like I said, I'm not sure if there were bad calls (most officials suck, so there probably were) because I didn't watch the game.  However, please don't make the argument that the fouls should be even. 

[birds of prey]

Valid point baller, I know where you're coming from. The way I saw was these were two evenly matched teams. The first time they met fouls were nearly identical, it came down to the last shot, and throughout the year both teams have been ranked side by side based on statistics in the conference.

I just want everyone to know that I don't typically argue against the officiating because it's usually the same for each side. In this case it wasn't and that's why I make these claims. That's all I'm going to say about this in defense of Loras. It's time to start talking about first and second round action now.

Aside from the final games, the top 6 teams have been pretty competitive all year long and it's going to be a great IIAC Tourney!!!

[duhawkdanran]

I was at the game shooting highlights I will post the link to the video as soon as I edit it down tomorrow. I'll make sure to put the questionable calls in there so you can decide for yourself.

I hope they play again saturday! It makes filming very fun.

[Rock Chalk DuHawk]

Congrats to the Beavers...... and what a bite for Loras.  I wish they could have pulled it out in Storm Lake......sounds like it was an incredible game.  All in all you have to keep your emotions in check win games like these are decided only by a point.

Great season for both teams and now it just comes down to the conference tourny and nothing else before this really mattered.......sort of scary. 

Hopefully the duhawks and can continue to be aggressive and role through the tournament just like last year.

[SLP-O-8]

As you said Loras is known for their hard nose defense that should explain enough right there.  They are constantly in your face and physical and the refs weren't allowing it.  Hopefully they play on saturday because it was a lot of fun to watch and it will be for an NCAA bid