MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[frank_ezelle]

It sounds like Millsaps escaped from Colorado with a win.  Millsaps led by 15 at the half and the final score was 93-83,  but the outcome of the game was very much in question at the 5:10 to go mark with Colorado only trailing by 4.  

Based on the live stats, it looks like Edrick Montgomery scored 14 points between the 4:50 and 2:12 mark in the second half, plus he grabbed a bunch of rebounds and blocked at least one shot during that 2:38 stretch.  Maybe the silver lining on this game is that Edrick finally took his game up to the level he showed in 2006-07, finishing with 28 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes of action.

In defense of Millsaps, they were somewhat shorthanded tonight.  Rodney Rogan started but only played 9 minutes.  They were also missing 3 key subs, Allen Odum, Ross James and Blake Martinez as well as injured starter Deonte Oscar.  I see that Chad Songy scored 16 points from the point guard position but he also had 9 turnovers, almost all in the 2nd half.  I have to believe this was a direct result of having to play 34 minutes at altitude since the other two point guards, Allen and Deonte weren't available to play.

For all the stats, here's the link to the live stats:

http://www.coloradocollege.edu/athletics/webcasts/mbasketball/xlive.htm

[frank_ezelle]

On the Colorado free throw shooting, it was the second best performance in SCAC history.  OU hit 25 of 26 on 2/28/04 against Rose-Hulman, and the next best had been a 20-21 by Center vs. Millsaps and also by DePauw vs Southwestern.

By the way, the score keeps changing and I've seen Millsaps shown with 95 points, 93 points, and now 94 points.  At the moment, the final was 94-83.

[frank_ezelle]

Last score of the night, Hendrix beat Austin 60-57.  I thought the game would be within 5 with Austin winning.  Andrew King missed a double-double, only scoring 9 points to go along with his 21 rebounds (the SCAC record is 26 by Edrick Montgomery).

Box score:  http://artemis.austincollege.edu/admin/sports/results/Recaps/07mbgm12.htm

[FlightofthePetrel]

Frank,  you are a wealth of knowledge.  I remember Edrick's 26 rebound night in Atlanta a few years back... it was a sight to see.  I think he followed that up with 18 the year after.

I noticed the score fluctuation... any idea what the mix up was?

Just Curious, Is Austin an improved team from last year or did Hendrix really lose that much?

[pbrooks3]

I think Hendrix may still be playing without 1 starter - David Foley.

[frank_ezelle]

Just a more complete observation of some things I wrote yesterday:

I didn't realize how shorthanded Millsaps was until I really looked at the box score. 

--Missing last night were Deonte Oscar and Allen Odum, the starting point guards from this year and last year, which left Chad Songy playing just about the entire game.  That's tough when not being acclimated to playing at altitude.
--Also missing were Ross James who has been out this second semester and Blake Martinez who was out the first semester, but they usually fit into the rotation as a substitute at the shooting guard spot.
--And in essence, Rodney Rogan was missing since he only played 9 minutes in the first half and he finished the game with just 4 points and 1 rebound.

Maybe it was this lack of manpower that lit a fire under Edrick Montgomery after Nate Brodman hit a 3-pointer to pull Colorado to within 4 points at the 5:10 mark.  In the gap between that 5:10 mark and the 2:12 mark, Edrick had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 1 blocked shot as Millsaps built the lead back to a far more comfortable 9 points.  It was one of those dominating performances that Edrick is capable of creating, but it seems like they have been few and far between this season.

Let me quickly note that I'm holding Edrick to a higher standard than I would most players.  He is averaging over 12 points and 8 rebounds a game, good for 18th and 4th in the league respectively, after finishing last year at about 17 ppg and 10 rebound, 2nd and 1st in the league.  The drop in numbers could be explained by more balance on the Millsaps team and I think he was playing with a hurt ankle for a while, maybe still is, but it seems to me that there is a spark missing from his game this year.

I saw Edrick's first career game for Millsaps when he scored 20 points on Austin in the first half.  Later in that 2005-06 season he had the 26 rebounds against Oglethorpe to break one of the SCAC's oldest records.  And at the SCAC Tournament that year he dominated the POTY Reggie Magnusson, hitting 15 of 22 shots for 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds.  In the 2006-07 season, Edrick led the Millsaps team in scoring in 13 of 27 games and was the leading rebounder in 24 games, he was a very strong runner-up in the SCAC POTY voting, and he was a 2nd team All-South pick by D3Hoops.  He was very, very good in those first two seasons.

I'm hoping that last night's burst will rekindle something in Edrick that I haven't really seen while watching him play this season.  He has been good, and at times very good, but he is a guy who could be very, very good every night.  If he rediscovers the spark he had for the first 2 SCAC seasons, then Millsaps will get a real mid-season boost.

[jekelish]

Just Curious, Is Austin an improved team from last year or did Hendrix really lose that much?

AC has some obvious problems (lack of big man depth, youth) but they are an improved team with a different style of play.

Their sophomore class is very good.  Kola Alade is an exceptionally quick 2-guard who can get into the lane at will and also hit the three, and Chris Sturtevant, who missed the first 10 or so games of the year, is a 6-7 kid with all kinds of scoring talent.  He's been rusty (coming off two injuries) but last night his offensive touch finally came back.  He and Alade should give the Roos one of the best inside/outside duos in the conference for the next couple of years.

They also have an interesting sophomore center, Spencer Burke.  He's 6-8 and extremely athletic, but he's still very raw.  I think he is still trying to grow into his size...last season as a freshman, he was one of those tall, athletic kids who could jump through the roof but would trip and stumble over his own feet.  He's getting more coordinated and could be a pretty intimidating inside presence on the defensive end.

Last year the biggest problem for AC is that they didn't have a go to scorer...this year, they have two in Alade and Sturtevant.  Both of those two missed most of last season, too, which is why some folks around the SCAC may not recognize them.

And for the other poster above, David Foley definitely started last night, and fouled out.

[hendrixfan]

Just Curious, Is Austin an improved team from last year or did Hendrix really lose that much?

AC has some obvious problems (lack of big man depth, youth) but they are an improved team with a different style of play.

Their sophomore class is very good.  Kola Alade is an exceptionally quick 2-guard who can get into the lane at will and also hit the three, and Chris Sturtevant, who missed the first 10 or so games of the year, is a 6-7 kid with all kinds of scoring talent.  He's been rusty (coming off two injuries) but last night his offensive touch finally came back.  He and Alade should give the Roos one of the best inside/outside duos in the conference for the next couple of years.

They also have an interesting sophomore center, Spencer Burke.  He's 6-8 and extremely athletic, but he's still very raw.  I think he is still trying to grow into his size...last season as a freshman, he was one of those tall, athletic kids who could jump through the roof but would trip and stumble over his own feet.  He's getting more coordinated and could be a pretty intimidating inside presence on the defensive end.

Last year the biggest problem for AC is that they didn't have a go to scorer...this year, they have two in Alade and Sturtevant.  Both of those two missed most of last season, too, which is why some folks around the SCAC may not recognize them.

And for the other poster above, David Foley definitely started last night, and fouled out.

I agree.  I think AC is much better this year and will be better as these kids get some experience.  Anyone who thinks AC is an automatic win could come away disappointed.
As far as Hendrix, one excuse this weekend could be travel plans.  The team seemed a little sluggish after riding the bus to Dallas on gameday.
A flight from Dallas to Colorado today for tonight's game may also make tonight's game tough for the Warriors.

Winning on the road is tough in the SCAC, as can be seen by last night's escape by Millsaps.

[JJFlash]

Trinity beat Southwestern in San Antonio 68-52.  Trinity was up by 6 at the half.  The Tigers came out in the second half and blew the Pirates out.  The big 20-1 run was set up with tenacious defense (big surprise, huh?). 

[frank_ezelle]

Hendrix led Colorado 47-30 at the half.  At the moment, Colorado has outscored Hendrix 17-9 to start the second half.  I wonder if we'll have a replay of yesterday's script with Colorado have a big rally and Hendrix holding on at the end?

OU won 62-59 at Sewanee.  Link to story:

http://athletics.sewanee.edu/home?id=17481

[pbrooks3]

I'll eat crow on the OU / UOS game.  It was a close game, I simply picked the wrong team. OU may end up be the sleeper in the east.   Frank, any further update on things in Colorado.

[FlightofthePetrel]

No problem Brooks, I'll let you off off the hook.  I have one request though- could you please continue to pick against the Stormy Petrels?  They're 2-0 in proving you wrong and I don't want the winning trend to end! 

Just got home from the Mountain.  Great game between OU and UOS.  Sewanee opened up the game on a 7-0 run which OU promptly responded with one of their own to tie the game at 7. 

The game was close throughout with with each team taking leads of 4-6.  OU ended the half with a long 3 by Freshman Joe Kennedy as he drove the length of the court with 5 seconds left to lead by 6.  Sewanee went on another 7-0 run to start the second half to recapture the lead at 37-36 but then Sewanee went ICE COLD from 3 (5-28 for the game) and Oglethorpe was able to open up an 11 point lead with just over 6 minutes left to play.  Sewanee fought back hard and actually forced a turnover that left 1.0 left on the clock to give themselves a shot at the buzzer to force overtime but the shot rimmed out. 

Deciding factor in the game:  BENCH PLAY!

OU outscored UOS bench by the tally of 31-7   mostly behind the play of Freshmen Todd Ward and  Richey (10 pts. 3 steals)  Ward had his best game of the year finishing with 15 points 6 reb.  5 ast.   6 steals  and 2 blocks in 24 minutes.  GREAT all around game for him and GREAT win for OU as they improve to 3-1 in conference play with yet another road trip on the horizon with Hendrix and Millsaps.  A split would be nice, a sweep would raise some eyebrows.

[frank_ezelle]

There must be something in the air, or lack of air, in Colorado.  For the second straight night a team got up big on Colorado and then had to hold on for a victory.  Friday is was Millsaps seeing a 15-point halftime lead evaporate to just 4 points with 5 minutes to go, and last night Hendrix won in double OT 103-97 after leading by 47-30 at the break.

For the second night in a row, Colorado had trouble with the opposing center as Andrew King had 31 points and 9 rebounds to follow the Friday night performance of Edrick Montgomery who had 28 points and 13 rebounds.  Here's a link to the live stats from the Hendrix-Colorado game:

http://www.coloradocollege.edu/athletics/webcasts/mbasketball/xlive.htm

It's just a guess on my part that a team without a deep bench might have some trouble winning at Colorado.  In the case of Millsaps, they were without 2 guys who normally play about 10 minutes, 2 guys who normally play 20 minutes, and Rogan played about 20 minutes less than normal.  In the case of Hendrix, I get the impression that they rely heavily on a handful of key players and they did have a couple who played over 40 minutes last night.

[pbrooks3]

Rhodes is leading Centre at the half 35-34. The Lynx found a spark in freshman, Nathan Ollie who has scored 11. Britt leads the Colonels with 14. Cory Smith has ridden the pine almost the entire 1st half. Rhodes looks totally different from their Friday night loss to DePauw. They've been able to execute the break and get some turnovers. Even a few shots from Reid Hamilton in the post have gone down. Hope this causes Coach Mason to light a fire under his troops in the locker room. This is the best the Lynx have looked so far this year. Good game to watch even though I don't like the score at the moment.

[jekelish]

Millsaps leads Austin College 35-27 at the half.  Edrick Montgomery has 13 points and 7 boards and Chris Sanders has 12 and 5 for the Majors, and Kola Alade leads the 'Roos with 10 points and 4 boards.  Neither team shooting it well (both under 40%) and the 'Roos have turned it over 13 times.