MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[DPULefty22]

I think it's more accurate to say that Trinity outlasted DPU today. Just hit more big shots down the stretch, and when Moore fouled out in the second OT the wind seemed to come out of DPU's sails.

[frank_ezelle]

Video and audio have reversed for the OU-Hendrix game with the video being about 20 seconds ahead of the audio.  At my age, 20 seconds is a long time for my short term memory to hold on to a visual image while waiting for the audio to catch up.

[frank_ezelle]

A dreadful shooting game to end the night at Conway.  Both teams started off hitting 4 of their first 20 shots.  OU is up 18-17 with less then 6 minutes to go in 1st half.

[frank_ezelle]

Hendrix lead OU by 1, 23-22 I think.  The shooting percentages for both teams is still in the mid-20's and they have combined to hit 2 of 20 from behind the arc.  King has 10 rebounds at the half with all of the opportunities, well within reach of the record 16 rebounds in an SCAC Tournament game, a mark set by Thomas Adams of Millsaps in 2003.

[pbrooks3]

Agreed on the assessment of the game - coaches scouting this game are ready for it to end - it hasn't been pretty. Lots of turnovers, poor shot selection, and generally ragged play.  25-24 Hendrix early in the 2nd half.

[pbrooks3]

53-43 Hendrix with 4:22 to play. OU has looked pretty pathetic on the offensive end of the court.

[OLD STUDENT/ATHLETE]

I just turned on the last 8 minutes of the game, and Hendrix looks pretty good. If they could make free throws and break the press, they would be winning by 20.

[pbrooks3]

Oglethorpe did not play well and consequently was beaten in the 2nd half. Hendrix was led by the big three - Rose, King and Foley - these guys generated about 90% of the points. Pretty decent attendance at tonight's game - probably 500-600 in the house. Most games today probably had 200 or so including the Girls games at the high school gym across town.

[OLD STUDENT/ATHLETE]

PBrooks3-What was the final score. My video and live stats went out this time.

[pbrooks3]

Don't remember exact final score, something like 67-58. Talked to Coach Ponder after the game - he said both squads shot less than 25% in the opening half; I think OU ended up at slightly over 30% for the game. They just never got into much of a shooting groove in the 2nd half.

[pbrooks3]

Those of you who follow other conferences, I noticed that Wabash beat Wooster tonight 87-63 in the NCAC.  That's a pretty good whippin' for the Scots!

[DPU3619]

Those of you who follow other conferences, I noticed that Wabash beat Wooster tonight 87-63 in the NCAC.  That's a pretty good whippin' for the Scots!

Salt, allow me to introduce you to the wound.

[pbrooks3]

Wes, understand your sentiments. Met dpulefty22 after the broadcasts tonight. Wished I'd had a chance to watch the DPU-Trinity game, but was at the Centre's girls game. Everyone followed the action in the other gym through text messages and phone calls to the very end. Would DePauw have won if Mike Moore hadn't fouled out in the OT?

Kudos to all the folks at the tournament who assisted in bringing the games to others via the internet (radio, audio & video).

[frank_ezelle]

I'll bring up once again the discussion that has run throughout the season since the answers to the questions will be revealed in the very near future.

With all due respects to everyone in the running, I think it would really be a shame if Edrick Montgomery didn't get the POTY award this season.  On a team like Millsaps, he doesn't always have to step up big but he has really stepped up big when needed this season.  In particular, when Rodney Rogan was injuried and Edrick was the only inside scoring on the Millsaps team, he put up monster numbers.  Then on the road trip to Centre and DePauw, he once again responded with huge numbers--not quite as high in the DePauw game but maybe the 40+ minutes he played against Centre had something to do with that.

There were many last year who thought Edrick should have won over Nestheide, but I think the deciding factor there was that OU had a very good season and Millsaps just had a good season.  This year the two teams have both had great season with the seperation between the two being the SCAC schedule that sent Millsaps to Centre and DePauw this year.  I have no doubt that if Millsaps had been the home team that weekend they would be the one that sits in the top 5 nationally.  If Thomas Britt, a great player in his own right, gets the award because of the timing of the schedule, then something isn't quite right.

I think it will come down to Montgomery or Britt.  I feel sure that everyone would agree that they are both deserving.  To me, what seperates the two is that Britt is the strongest this year of the many outstanding shooters on the Centre team.  I don't think it is a coincidence that Nestheide's numbers went down by the same amount that Britt's numbers went up this year.  If you shut down one of their players like Nestheide, then someone else will fill it up as Britt did this season because they are a team loaded with great shooters.  Millsaps is not a team loaded with big men and Montgomery has been counted on heavily for inside scoring, rebounding, and defense in the midde.  Millsaps losing Montgomery would be a far bigger blow than Centre losing Britt.

Along the same line of argument, I really hope Coach Wise is voted as the Coach of the Year by his peers.  It really should be a co-award between Coach Wise and Coach Mason and that would be fine with me, but the job done by Coach Wise should not go unrecognized.

Centre fans and DePauw fans will probably have a different take.  Hendrix fans could make an argument for Andrew King and I respect all of those opinions.  I just think Montgomery is the best basketball player in the league, the most difficult to contend with by opposing coaches, and the most valuable to his team.  And I also think Coach Wise has done a great job of overcoming key injuries this season,losing a starter and key reserve during the season and a key reserve big man before the start of the season, plus the stretch when Rogan was out.  Millsaps is far more than just an athletic team, they are well prepared on both ends of the court each and every night.

[pbrooks3]

I'm going leave POTY where the chips may lay.  Wise, Montgomery and the Majors are all certainly deserving.  I think Greg Mason should and will get the Coach of Year.  Britt is certainly in the mix for POTY, but Edrick and Mike Moore are right there as well.  It'll be fun to see what the coaches have decided. 

Got to see Millsaps play one half against Rhodes.  It was never any real contest when I started watching (2nd half).  The Majors look every bit as tough as I remember them last year - probably even better at running their break and speed offense.  There probably isn't anyone who can guard Edrick Montgomery in this league; he's that good at his position.  I think Hendrix will give Millsaps a competitive game in front of the home folks, but Millsaps is absolutely too good to miss on winning this game.

The other match-up I know will be a defensive tug-of-war.  If Centre can defend, rebound and shoot above 40%, I like their chances.  Coach Cunningham has his players ready to play and nothing is a given at this juncture.  Centre was very fortunate to pull out an OT win in San Antonio earlier this year, and there will be some interesting match-ups for them to contend with against Trinity this afternoon.

I am projecting Centre-Millsaps in the final, but you can never tell what might happen at  tournament time.