MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[David Collinge]

Halftime in Terre Haute, and a late surge by Earlham gives them a 23-20 lead.  EC actually had just two made baskets in the first 17:38, but a constant parade to the free throw line (courtesy of 12 RHIT fouls) kept them in touch.  Then EC hit 4-for-4 in the final 2:22, closing the half on a 9-2 run.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear of cancellations in my area, as it has been snowing hard and steadily since about 1pm here.  But so far I've not heard of any.  (Well, I take that back.  One of the boys' high school games prior to the Wooster/Walsh game has been canceled, but the other two are still on as is the college game.  All of tomorrow's games in the Steve Smith Classic--more boys' HS games--have also been nixed.  So has Doylestown bingo, sorry!)

[David Collinge]

Earlham extended to a 12-point lead by 11:30, then Rose went on a 17-2 run over 4:00 to recapture the lead.  Rose now leads by 5 with 3:06 remaining.

UPDATE:  Final score Rose 58, Earlham 48.  Sound like the Quakers had 10 really good minutes sandwiched inside 30 really crummy ones.

[ScotsFan]

Looks like the Quaker 7 ran out of gas...

I would suspect this to be a common trend as the year wears on for Earlham.  They can hang with a team for 1/2 to 3/4 of a game and then just hit a wall and lose it down the stretch.  Hopefully they don't succomb to any injuries or they could be in some serious touble.

As for the snowstorm, I can't believe that they haven't called the Wooster game for tonight yet.  If the 6 inches of snow that have already fallen with continuous steady snow still coming down weren't enough, how about the possiblity of the white stuff turning to a freezing rain mix which makes things even worse IMO.

[David Collinge]

Looks like the Quaker 7 ran out of gas...

They played 8 today.  It's a little hard to tell from "livestats" how much anyone plays, but all 8 were in the game while it still mattered.  Looked like an 8-man rotation to me.

I guess Walsh is already in town, and the thinking is it's better to play it now rather than reschedule.  If so, it may be a "friends and relatives" game; I'm sure not driving the 18 miles for it!  This game and the Earlham game were the only NCAC men's games on today's schedule.

[ScotsFan]

I'm sure not driving the 18 miles for it! 

And a treacherous 18 miles at that in this kind of weather!

I won't be in attendance tonight not because of the weather as I could almost walk to the college if I had to.  Instead, I'll be hosting a family birthday dinner tonight.  So I guess I'll just catch the replay on Clear Picture. 

BTW, I have yet to make it to a Wooster game this year?!   Not that there have been a plethora of opportunities as this is only Wooster's 3rd home game of the season.   Hopefully my schedule will allow me to catch the Mose Hole games!

[David Collinge]

Wooster 45, Walsh 43, half.

Wooster 89, Walsh 88.  Cavs complete a 3-pt. play with 0:04.x left, and Scots eschew the timeout; Brandon Johnson hits a 15-footer at the buzzer for the win.  Cooper with 32 for the second straight game.  A real thriller.  Scots 31/56 (55%) from the floor, 13/24 (54%) from the arc.  Walsh 34/65 (52%), 11/19 (58%) from the arc.  Wooster +3 in rebounds, despite the Cavs being much taller.  Scots 11 turnovers, and Walsh 8, even with the uptempo game. 

[kiltedbryan]

Wooster wins on a last-second jumper by Brandon Johnson, 89-88 over NAIA-II #3 Walsh.

Walsh's only lead in the second half was with 4.8 seconds left, after a made free throw in an old-fashioned 3 point play.

Johnson took the inbound and drove to the free throw line, then sunk the winning jumper as time expired. Huge win for Wooster, as they just escape after almost giving the game away (they were up 6 with under two minutes to go).

Cooper scores 32 again, 7-9 three-point shooting.  He's hitting his All-American form.

[ScotsFan]

...as they just escape after almost giving the game away (they were up 6 with under two minutes to go).

Wooster tried to give this game away on more than one occasion.  The Scots broke the game open midway through the 2nd half leading by as many as nine on several occasions.  But Walsh put together a run erasing Wooster's lead to eventually tie the game.  Then Cooper took over burying a couple of treys and just like that, Wooster is back up by 6 with under 2 minutes left and things look promising for the Scots. 

Wooster was still pretty well in control with a 3 point lead with under a minute to play and the ball when Walsh stole the inbounds pass and converted an easy lay-up to cut the lead to one.  Then James Cooper (84% from the line) is fouled and only makes 1 of 2?!  And then, not only does Walsh get the tying basket on their next possession.  They also get fouled in the process converting the old fashioned 3 point play and taking a 1 point lead with just over 4 seconds left.

And Brandon Johnson did the rest!!!  Earlier in the week, Brandon Johnson had this quote in the Wooster Daily Record:

"I'm not going to force anything. Keep firing away and things will start going for me," Johnson said. "(Defenses) are looking for me a little more. I feel like it's the same shot. It will start falling."

Kind of fitting that Brandon was the one to nail the game winner at the buzzer if you ask me!

Way to keep firing away Brandon!!!

[David Collinge]

I won't be in attendance tonight not because of the weather as I could almost walk to the college if I had to.  Instead, I'll be hosting a family birthday dinner tonight. 

but....

Wooster tried to give this game away on more than one occasion.  The Scots broke the game open midway through the 2nd half leading by as many as nine on several occasions.  But Walsh put together a run erasing Wooster's lead to eventually tie the game.  Then Cooper took over... (etc.)

The Host with the Most! 

Guests (singing):  Hap-py birth-day to youuuu, hap-py...
ScotsFan (wearing headphones):  Would you people please shut up?!?  I can't hear Breckenridge!

[smedindy]

All five or Earlham's starters played over 30 minutes. The iron five! In fact, of the five only Terrell Brown averages under 30 minutes a game, and he's at 29.4

Justin Carter played his first game for the Quake today. Perhaps he had first semester eligibility issues.

[David Collinge]

Looking at this picture of Brandon Johnson making the game-winner last night, from the Wooster web site, it looks like it was a one-handed shot--over a 7-footer, no less. 

(Click to enlarge)

Holy cow.

[ScotsFan]

The Host with the Most! 

Guests (singing):  Hap-py birth-day to youuuu, hap-py...
ScotsFan (wearing headphones):  Would you people please shut up?!?  I can't hear Breckenridge!

LOL!!!   Actually, it was a big YES!!! when Johnson sunk the game winner as we were singing happy birthday causing everyone to stop singing and figure out what the interruption was all about!!!

[ScotsFan]

Any worries about James Cooper's early season funk can be laid to rest with a big "32" stamped on them.

I think Cooper's effort last night even further cements the thoughts that his early season struggles have come to an end.  All he did is follow up a 32 point effort at OWU with yet another 32 point effort last night vs. Walsh.  And Cooper's shooting numbers are quite staggering in these last 2 games as well.  After starting the season shooting just over 30% from the field he's gone  22-31 overall from the field in the last 2 games and an unconsios 9-12 from beyond the 3-point line!

With his torrid shooting over the last 2 games, Cooper has jumped from the mid 30's in fg percentage to right around his career average at 50% on the season!  Also, he has gone from barely 30% from beyond the arc to 47% over the last 2 games!  Also, since Devin Fulk's brief stint as the team's leading scorer, Cooper has upped his scoring average to just under 20 ppg!  Those numbers are a little more James Cooper-esque!

[goscots]

Brandon Johnson's basket got me thinking about other dramatic baskets by Wooster players in the recent years and I can remember 3 others:

- James Coopers 28 foot shot to beat Wittenberg 86-83 during the 2005-06 season
- Kyle Witucky's running jumper down the lane to beat Earlham 83-81 in OT
- Kyle Witucky's 3 pointer at Wittenberg to send the game into a 2nd OT

Brandon's bucket is in that it is the only one to change a loss into a win instantly.

A couple other dramatic baskets I remember:

- Bryan Wickliffe's offensive rebound and put back against OWU
- Tom Port's dramatic 3-pointer against Wittenberg last season to give Wooster a 66-65 lead, then stealing the inbound to seal the win (68-65)
- Marty Bidwell's 4-point play at Wabash last year to give Wooster a 64-61 lead (68-63)
- Andy Van Horn's driving layup against Ohio Northern his sophomore year to give Wooster a 3 point lead (and cement his starting position the rest of his career).

Can anybody add others?

[kiltedbryan]

Rodney Mitchell's last-second runner in the lane to beat John Carroll 77-75 in the 2003 NCAA tournament.