MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[old_lion]

Roanoke beat Sewanee 83-81 at Roanoke.  Eddy did not play and Pursell was limited.  Anybody know how strong Roanoke is?

Why didn't Eddy play? He's not hurt again, is he?

[Ralph Turner]

Frank,
I saw that MC/Wesley score too and was completely shocked.  It will be interesting to see the outsome of the Millsaps/Belhaven game. 

Quick Time file of the Wesley MC game.

http://www.wesleycollege.edu/Athletics/BBPicts%20Games/11/21/06%20pictures/QT%2011.21.06.mp4

Maybe that works!?!?!

[irion]

OLd Lion,
Eddy is hurt, same injury as last year - hamstring.  Rowland broke his hand in the Guilford game and Pursell had a ankle sprain.  With everybody healthy they may be competitive in the SCAC, but so far that has not happened.

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps lost to Belhaven 69-60 last night.  It was a good news/bad news deal, with the good news being that Millsaps played bad.  Millsaps started off slow as I think they were adjusting to the size and athletic ability of a good NAIA team (just a reminder that Belhaven lost to D1 Murray State by 1 last week and they beat Wesley by 20 a few days before Wesley beat highly ranked Mississippi College).  As the game progressed Millsaps got into the flow of the game much better and the Belhaven lead was down to about 4 points with 5-6 minutes to play.

At that point Millsaps missed a few shots, then had to start taking some quick 3's which they didn't hit, and Belhaven took a double-digit lead again before Millsaps reduced the margin to 9 points at the end.

I don't have any box scores to go by at the moment so I'm just going by impression and memory.  Millsaps shot poorly from beyond the 3.  Some of that was the defense, some might have been the effort the Millsaps players were expending on defense, and some might have been the pressure of getting behind a good team early.  It is probably a situation where they really missed a Tyler Warren who was always counted on as their go-to guy.  I'm not sure if Millsaps needs a specific main guy in crunch situations, but the players need to relax and just take their shots without any doubts that maybe they aren't the ones who should be shooting.

On the plus side, Edrick Montgomery was tough on the boards as usual and he didn't get in foul trouble against a big strong team which is unusual.  Last year Edrick showed stretches of being the best player in the SCAC, this year I hope to see him show the consistency of playing like that throughout the season.  Also, the defense play pretty hard all night and Millsaps was able to 9 or 10 players who all held their own during the game.  The Millsaps bench will be a strength this year and that hasn't always been the case over the last few years.  It's a sign that Millsaps is putting together a good program in basketball that should be able to compete year after year.

One last comment about the game is a comment I heard after the game.  Two of the star players from the Millsaps NCAA teams of the mid-90's were at the game.  One of them commented about how they would open the season 8-0 because they didn't play any good teams and then they wouldn't be really fully tested when the SCAC season started.  This Belhaven game is one that should help Millsaps a lot in preparation for the SCAC season so it was a good game to play even if Millsaps didn't play very well.

[frank_ezelle]

Just a quick note that I have the photos from the Millsaps vs. Pensacola Christian game posted.  I'll get the Rust and Belhaven games done sometime over the Thanksgiving Holidays--the time consuming part of all this isn't taking the photos but all the work that comes after the photos are taken.  Here's the link to the Millsaps photos:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v283/Millsaps_Majors/

[JJFlash]

Got my first chance to see the Trinity team live last night.  They lost to Mary Hardn Baylor and, frankly speaking, didn't look good doing it.  My overall assesment is that they are a team still looking for an identity, especially on offense.  They never seemed to be able to get into any rhythm and establish a flow.  This is to be expected perhaps given the relative inexperience level of the team at this point.

As is usual for a Pat Cunningham team they work very hard on defense.  The stats doing always show it, but Mike Gilb's interior defense is strong.  He's not a shot blocker, but does yeoman's work denying the entry pass and has already taken 5 charges in the first three games.  Brandon York never really got started and Charles Houston struggled from the field.

You could see that Coach Cunningham went way down the bench looking for which of the sophomores are going to make consistent contributions to the team and establish themselves in the rotation.  Again I think this team is a work in progress.  The pieces are there.  Will they fit together is the question a long season will answer.

[exmajor]

Frank,

It looks like the Majors also have Wesley (previously discussed) and Southeastern LA (scholarship program) on their schedule, so hopefully those games will also help toward conference play in the long run.  I wish they were able to play MC, it would make sense since the schools play each other in most every other sport.  Of course that would be an excellent test to see the caliber of this team!

[frank_ezelle]

I think the deal with MC is that they have very few open slots on their schedule because they play so many conference games--someone correct me on this if I'm wrong.  I also think I vaguely remember hearing someone say that MC was happy to play Millsaps at Mississippi College but they didn't want to do a home and away deal.  That may have changed, but I think that was the hang up at one time.

[frank_ezelle]

ATTENTION TO TRINITY FANS:

I'll take care of some old business since we have at least one Trinity fan posting and some players might be reading the message board.  I took photos at the Trinity vs. Maryville game in the NCAA Tournament last year.  It wasn't Trinity's best game of the season but it was NCAA Tournament action.

Coach Cunningham has a CD with all of my photos but I think they only give out photos to the graduating seniors at Trinity so probably no one has seen the whole set of photos.  They are posted on one of my photo websites under the "Sports Related Photo Albums".  Just click on that link and then you'll see a link for the Trinity vs. Maryville game. 

Here's the link to the photo site:  http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a38/F_L_E/

[consultant]

Playing a tough non-conference schedule certainly helps you prepare for conference play, so I would agree that Millsaps is doing the right thing in playing some tough opponents early on.

Millsaps is still a fairly young team, and, like Trinity, has yet to find an identity.  Millsaps should build on the success that the team had last season. 

I'm not sure why Millsaps and MC don't compete in basketball.  The two teams compete in everything else.  Maybe something will get worked out in the near future.

I imagine that the conference race will be a fun one this year. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all !!! 

[John_Wesley]

We (Wesley College) actually beat Belhaven AT Belhaven by double figures a week before they beat us.  The home game with them was really strange.  They got hot behind the arc and nothing we shot would fall.  One of our players told me that the whole game just felt wrong.

And lets not talk about the officiating that night

They killed us on the glass, but that happens when they are allowed to use our players as step-stools.

Against MC, a media timeout pulled our biscuits out of the fire.  MC was on a run and had pulled out to a 13 point lead with 10 minutes left...timeout...We calmed down and got the momentum back.

Truth be told, we probably have 2 players who MIGHT start for MC and that is it...just don't tell them that.  Heart is immeasurable.

Wesley is a tiny (but growing) Bible College in Florence Mississippi (10 miles south of Jackson).  We are the smallest school in the NCCAA's.  We don't have the numbers to get into physical games.  We have some good players, but there is a huge difference in the sheer number of players.  As I posted on the ASC board, this weekend is brutal for us...Millsaps and Rhodes in Memphis, drive to Mobile, Springhill and U of Mobile...all in 5 days.  I think we could hang with Springhill and Mobile, but we may be too tired to.


Take Care and God Bless

"Best of all, God is with us!"
- John Wesley's final words, March 2, 1791

[frank_ezelle]

I went to the Rhodes website to see if there was any preview of the 4 team tournament they are having (Rhodes, Millsaps, Wesley and Dallas).  The most recent basketball story they have is the upset against Trinity in the first round of last year's SCAC Tournament.  There's no story on the loss in the semifinals, a preview of this season, or the first 3 games of the season.  I can understand wanting to savor that big victory, but isn't it time to get back to the present?

Millsaps plays Wesley at 5 today (Friday), the 2nd game of an 11 game road stretch.  The closest they get to Jackson during the next 10 games is a couple of games that are about 150 miles from the campus.  I'll probably next see them playing at Rhodes on January 6th and I expect to see a much improved team mostly because I think the players will become more cohesive as the season progresses.  They have a lot of talent this year but they need to all find their role and they need some leadership to step forward. 

I know some of the road games will be broadcast (sorry Pat, it's some of the same guys who did football) and I'll try to post that info as it become available.  In the meantime, I do have the photos up from the Rust College and Belhaven games.  It looks like that will be all the guys get for 2006.  Here's the link:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v283/Millsaps_Majors/

[HunterT]

Frank I have to agree with you. They NEED to update the website. I'm gonna try to call somebody this weekend and get them on top of that. I'm even tired of seeing the write up for the Trinity game last year as the top story. I agree with you, it's a great win, but we can't live in the past. Hopefully it'll change some time soon (this week would be great).

[consultant]

Millsaps defeated Wesley tonight 70-57 at the Rhodes tournament.  Millsaps will play Univ. of Dallas on Saturday.  Dallas defeated Rhodes 69-57 tonight. I have no additional stats to report from either contest.

[MajorAlum80]

First post here. 

Sounds like a nice win for Millsaps, considering the success that Wesley has had.

The SCAC is going to be totally up for grabs this year.  I have to like Millsaps.  I saw a few of the SCAC teams play last year and I think Millsaps will have the edge in athleticism on most of the league.  When Sandro Norris starts playing, that will give the Majors a really tough inside game.  He started freshman year, transferred for his sophomore year, and returned this year.  Ask Trinity's big 6'11 guy from 2 years ago if he remembers him....Sandro got a monster jam on him.  I haven't been to a game this year but I see that he hasn't gotten any playing time. 

Looking at the stats, Millsaps' achilles heel remains at the free throw line.  There were a couple games that I thought we could have pulled out had made some free throws.

It should be a fun year.