MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Herb]

Congrats to Andy Bates on being named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week for his performance against Southwestern. 

[Fan of the Game]

Herb,  ditto to the congrats to Andy Bates.  It truly was an amazing performance.  I have a feeling that we'll see some more great games out of him this season. 

[Herb]

Carl,
Tough first half last night.  At least you dress better than that assistant with the Wildcats. 

[Herb]

Now that the SCAC teams have a few games under their belt, are there any surprises or changes to anyone's preseason predictions.  How about Hendrix of to a 5-1 start with 2 wins in the conference?  0-23 two years ago and 5-19 last year makes 5-1 sound great.  Does Trinity's win over Southwestern make them the frontrunner?  I still think everything is up in the air.  Any thoughts?

[warriorfan]

I think Hendrix will finish in the middle of the mix this season.  They actually have a bench which has made a huge difference in their game.  Of course, I am biased.  I would love to hear what others have to say about them after seeing them play.

[Ralph Turner]

Warrior fan, IMHO, your non-conference record is what I would expect.  Let's see how you do against UOzarks on Jan 2nd.

That will tell me quite a bit!

[carlweathers]

Herb, no doubt a tough first half.  Brutal finish to your season.  I know that the RISofH will be back.

Still too early to tell on the SCAC season.  What is promising for the league is that everybody but Rose-Hulman is at least over .500.  That is very good for the league.  Hopefully it can be kept up through the end of the non-conference. 

[frank_ezelle]

Rust College went 2-0 over SCAC teams this week.  Millsaps travelled to Rust Tuesday and lost 79-73.  Rust went to Hendrix Friday and came away with a 91-83 win. 

I can't tell much about the Millsaps-Rust game because the stats haven't been sent to the SCAC for posting.  There is a story on the Millsaps website (http://www.millsaps.edu/athletic/basketball-m/2-Rust-5.shtml).  Millsaps was up 40-34 at halftime but Rust came back on 15 of 20 FT shooting vs. 2 of 7 for Millsaps in the second half.  Montgomery had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Rogan had 18 points.

Here's a link to the Rust-Hendrix game:  http://www.hendrix.edu/athletics/newsItem.aspx?i=1431

[warriorfan]

The Rust-Hendrix game was hard fought till the end.  It was a very physical game on both ends by both teams.  Hendrix led into the half but gave up too many three point shots---especially to the Rust player from South Africa (can't recall his name).  Although Hendrix shot the ball well, their defense lacked but I'm sure Coach Priest will motivate the players to pick it up in the upcoming weekend when LaGrange and University of Dallas visit.  Priest showed lots of emotion on the sideline, which was a complete turn around from what we saw last year.  He is playing all players and it's almost "pick your poison" as far as shooters go for the Warriors.  Despite the loss, we're still looking good and hanging in there.

[Samuel L. Jackson]

Warrior fan, IMHO, your non-conference record is what I would expect.  Let's see how you do against UOzarks on Jan 2nd.

That will tell me quite a bit!

Something else worth keeping in mind is that the Warriors have yet to match up with a team considerably larger than them. Freshman Andrew King has done a terriffic job, but he also plays well above his head.

Rust brought a smaller team to Grove Gymnasium Friday night, at least by Rust standards.

Hendrix has some good shooters and some quickness, but I'd curious as to how they'll react against some 6-9 or 6-10 inside players.

[frank_ezelle]

While there is a lull in in the action, I want to publicly thank Dwayne Hanberry for the incredible job that he does on the "SCAC Hoops Weekly".  If you are reading this board then you have an interest in SCAC basketball.  If you have an interest in SCAC basketball, then you will love the 4 pages of Hoops Weekly that Dwayne puts out each week.

To see this week's edition, go to the SCAC website (http://www.scac-online.org/) and you will see a link for the current Hoops Weekly near the top of the page.  BUT, what you really need to do is go down a little ways on the SCAC home page and click on the link to "Join the SCAC E-List".  You'll be glad that you did.

Have a great Christmas--it's going to be a great SCAC season this year.  I know it is early to mention this, but if you haven't made the weekend trip to the SCAC Tournament in the past, this might be the perfect year to go.

[Rose Basketball]

An outstanding win over a qaulity opponent for Rose-Hulman last night, as they defeated Earlham 67-59 at Hulbert Arena.

Earlham is 3-5 now, but that record is a bit deceiving as they have an 83-81 overtime loss to #2 Wooster and a 67-59 setback at the hands of #14 Hanover in the loss column.

Senior center Brennan Dunville had a career high 22 points for the Engineers as they improved to 4-6 overall. The schedule doesn't get any easier for Rose-Hulman as they take a week off, then travel to Rock Island, Illinois to battle #13 Augustana.

[warriorfan]

We just returned from the Cliff Garrison Classic at Hendrix.  Freshman Andrew King put on a good show.  He's a fantastic player and one to watch in the next three years.  Although the Warriors split with one win and one loss, it was a great weekend of basketball.

I just want to add that I have sat through hundreds of ballgames through the years.  My son has been playing since 5th grade, and in the off season he played AAU ball and in various camps across the south.  I never grow tired of watching a good game.  But the difference between some of those and the games I saw this weekend at Grove Gym was the passion on the bench.  I enjoyed watching the coaches and the players, many of whom never stepped on the court for a single minute, display heart and passion for the game and their team.  They yelled and encouraged while showing a whole range of emotions, all for the love of the game.  My son played in the state finals in high school.  His team won in overtime and he was named MVP of the tournament.  We, along with other people from our small town, were dancing and crying all at the same time over that win.  Later, I felt that maybe other people just couldn't understand that a simple game like basketball could make one feel this way.  But this weekend, I saw similiarities in a small gym that had few fans in the stands.  It didn't matter if it was a championship game or not, some people are just passionate about this game.  I think, this weekend, I finally got what D3 ball is really all about.  I'm thankful that my kid has an opportunity to participate.

[frank_ezelle]

In many ways I think D3 sports is more like real life than the sports you see at the higher levels.  It's hard to put into words why sports mean so much to so many but I think warriorfan is speaking for many, many parents and fans in the above post.

Millsaps hits the road for a D1 contest at Birmingham Southern this evening.  Game time is 7:00.  According to the Birmingham Southern SID, there will be no live internet broadcast of the game but they will have live stats.  This website should get you to a spot where you can find the live stats:

http://bscsports.net/index.asp?path=mbball

[frank_ezelle]

I had better post good news while I can.  With 9:03 to go in the 1st half it is Birmingham Southern 29, Millsaps 27.  Rogan has 14 points in 10 minutes.  Edrick Montgomery didn't start and hasn't played--don't know if he is hurt, sick, etc.