MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[ScotsFan]

DC,
Any word on why Gregg Hill is out for Witt? It sounds like they miss him badly...

If this has already been addressed, I apologize!

Gregg has had a bad shoulder for quite some time, and I understand that he aggravated that injury this summer or fall.  I don't really know any more than that, although it is presumed that he is out for the season and may take a medical redshirt and come back next year as a fifth-year senior.

Didn't he finally have surgery on the shoulder?  I thought he had a choice to not have surgery and try and fight through the pain this season, or go under the knife and miss the season with the possibility of coming back next year with a medical red-shirt...

[David Collinge]

DC,
Any word on why Gregg Hill is out for Witt? It sounds like they miss him badly...

If this has already been addressed, I apologize!

Gregg has had a bad shoulder for quite some time, and I understand that he aggravated that injury this summer or fall.  I don't really know any more than that, although it is presumed that he is out for the season and may take a medical redshirt and come back next year as a fifth-year senior.

Didn't he finally have surgery on the shoulder?  I thought he had a choice to not have surgery and try and fight through the pain this season, or go under the knife and miss the season with the possibility of coming back next year with a medical red-shirt...

That may well be the story; I really don't know one way or the other. 

[David Collinge]

Tonight:
Hiram 74, Bluffton 61...Chris "the Savior" Roberts with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals, all game highs.
Franklin at Earhlam, ppd. due to "expected inclement weather" (Hoosiers! )...rescheduled for 12/29.
Defiance 80, Ohio Wesleyan 65...For 37 minutes, this was a very good basketball game.  OWU got just enough post defense to keep the taller, more athletic Yellow Jackets from running away, and just enough perimeter offense to keep the game practically tied throughout.  The game was tied on 13 occasions, there were ten lead changes, and the second half was played entirely within a four-point margin...up to the 3:00 mark.  At that time (3:10, to be precise), OWU's Kyle Miller missed a layup in traffic, and during the resulting scrum for the rebound, the ball squirted out to Brent Pleiman, who leaned in and put the ball in the hoop, which would have cut the Defiance lead to one.  However, the bucket was waved off and Pleiman was whistled for a charge, his fourth foul.  It was one of those D3 "player who initiates the contact" type of charges, since there was no earthly way that the defender, who was probably not even aware that Pleiman had the ball, had established a defensive position.  Nevertheless, the momentum went entirely over to Defiance, who scored on their next five possessions en route to scoring the game's last 15 points, establishing the misleading final margin of what actually was a very close game.  Defiance's Anthony Pettaway, every micrometer of 6'8", completely dominated in the 30 minutes he was playing, scoring 16 points, dishing out 6 assists, and ripping down 18 rebounds.  Kyle Holliday led the Bishops with 17, mostly from the arc where he was 4 of 12.  With Defiance in a zone most of the night, with Pettaway neutralizing the paint, OWU was forced to bomb away all night; slightly more than half of their field goal attempts were of the three-point variety, and they were about as effective from outside (29%, 30 points) as from inside (35%, 28 points).  However, they missed their last three treys inside those fateful final three minutes, whereas the visitors made four of their last five (over the last 4:02), and got a stickback on the one they missed.  Box.

[ScotsFan]

Final from the Aloha State:

Hawaii-Hilo - 90
Wooster     - 77

Looking at the box score, the game was decided in the first half.  Hilo shot a blistering 57% from the floor compared to Wooster's paltry 34%.  As a result, Wooster trailed 48-35 at the half.  Wooster looks like they played better in the second half as they played the Vulcans even at 42 apiece in the 2nd half.  Wooster's play looks like it improved on both ends of the floor in the second as the scoreboard indicates.  The Scots shot 47% from the floor while holding the Vulcans to 39%. 

It looks like Wooster had foul trouble to contend with as well as they had 3 players foul out.  Bryan Wickliffe fouled out in just 10 minutes of action!    Nathan Balch and Ian Franks fouled out as well.  Overall, Wooster was whistled for 11 more fouls (31-20) than Hilo.

Justin Hallowell led Wooster in scoring with another good shooting night.  He finished with 20 points connecting on 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.  Freshman Drew Sawyer had a nice night as well as he was the only other Scot in double figures with 11.  Franks chipped in 9 points while Marty Bidwell and Matt Fegan added 8 apiece.

All in all, this really isn't that unexpected of a result considering Hilo is a D-II scholarship program.  Unfortunately for Wooster, Hilo jumped out early and Wooster looks like they showed up one half too late.

Wooster is now off until after Christmas.  Hopefully, they can get back on their winning ways when they host Thiel in the first round of the Mose Hole Tournament on the 29th. 

[wooscotsfan]

ScotsFan - good summary of the box score.

Just to add a couple of factors in Wooster's loss last night...It is hard to notch a win when you only shoot 41% from the floor, have 20 turnovers and get outrebounded by a 42-36 margin.  I didn't expect Wooster to get a win either but they played a sloppy game and I am not sure how much of this was due to the strength of their opponent.  After all, the Scots did play the Vulcans! 

I believe that IMDerekPoe was at the game so perhaps, he can provide a first hand report later.

Mose Hole Classic is next and Mount Union (7-1) may give Wooster a competitive test if they both advance to the championship game.

GO SCOTS!

[Titan Q]

Final from the Aloha State:

Hawaii-Hilo - 90
Wooster     - 77

Looking at the box score, the game was decided in the first half.  Hilo shot a blistering 57% from the floor compared to Wooster's paltry 34%.  As a result, Wooster trailed 48-35 at the half.  Wooster looks like they played better in the second half as they played the Vulcans even at 42 apiece in the 2nd half.  Wooster's play looks like it improved on both ends of the floor in the second as the scoreboard indicates.  The Scots shot 47% from the floor while holding the Vulcans to 39%. 

It looks like Wooster had foul trouble to contend with as well as they had 3 players foul out.  Bryan Wickliffe fouled out in just 10 minutes of action!    Nathan Balch and Ian Franks fouled out as well.  Overall, Wooster was whistled for 11 more fouls (31-20) than Hilo.

Justin Hallowell led Wooster in scoring with another good shooting night.  He finished with 20 points connecting on 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.  Freshman Drew Sawyer had a nice night as well as he was the only other Scot in double figures with 11.  Franks chipped in 9 points while Marty Bidwell and Matt Fegan added 8 apiece.

All in all, this really isn't that unexpected of a result considering Hilo is a D-II scholarship program.  Unfortunately for Wooster, Hilo jumped out early and Wooster looks like they showed up one half too late.

Wooster is now off until after Christmas.  Hopefully, they can get back on their winning ways when they host Thiel in the first round of the Mose Hole Tournament on the 29th. 

It's very hard to beat those Hawaii D2's (Hilo, Chaminade, Hawaii Pacific are the ones that comes to mind).  I think Wooster's 13-point loss to Hilo was a pretty solid showing.

[ScotsFan]

Good points wsf.  Those 20 turnovers were definitely a factor in Wooster's loss as well.  That's now 2 straight games where Wooster has committed 20+ turnovers.  They were fortunate to overcome those 21 turnovers vs. Albion, but they couldn't overcome those turnovers against Hilo...

Only being outrebounded by 6 doesn't seem that bad to me.  Especially when Wooster's leading rebounder was riddled with foul trouble and only saw the floor for 10 minutes.

One things for sure, Wooster needs to start taking better care of the basketball.  Maybe Brandon Johnson's return will help in that regard....

Oh, and thanks for the kind words concerning Wooster's performance Bob.  8)

[David Collinge]

Here's a link to the box score on Hilo's website.  I'll point out that Nathan Balch started, with Dustin Geitgey coming off the bench.  Steve Moore doesn't change his starting lineups lightly.  I'll also point out that Robert Melick, whose minutes had been dwindling, has now not played in two straight games.

It's also worth noticing, for those not already aware of this, that of the eleven players that saw action for Wooster, six were frosh and a seventh (Balch) is new to the program this year.  It's not a bad result to stay within 13 points of a D2 team on the road on a vacation-y trip with just one senior and one junior on the floor. 

[ScotsFan]

It's not a bad result to stay within 13 points of a D2 team on the road on a vacation-y trip with just one senior and one junior on the floor. 

To add to this not being a bad result for Wooster, it appears as though all 5 of Hilo's starters are seniors...

[imderekpoe]

Aloha everyone! 

The Scots really didn't play very well last night, as might be expected after a 5 time zone trip and several days at the beach!  As noted, all of the UHH starters were seniors, and they played like it.  The Scots continued to have problems with turnovers, making too many fouls, and having a rough time from the stripe.  As noted, Balch started, but committed 2 quick fouls as did Wickliffe.  Wick's departure really hurt as he started strong on the boards as he has been the past few games.  Both eventually drew their 3rd fouls in the 1st half and also quickly fouled out in the 2nd.  The Scots didn't shoot well and didn't compete well physically with the bigger Vulcan squad.

The highlight of the night was Emily Moore winning a halftime contest to sink a layup, foul shot and 3-pointer in 30 seconds.

[Gregory Sager]

It's very hard to beat those Hawaii D2's (Hilo, Chaminade, Hawaii Pacific are the ones that comes to mind).

BYU-Hawaii is the other D2 school in the Aloha State.

[woosterbooster]

Balch 5 fouls in 13 minutes.  Wickliffe 5 fouls in 10 minutes.  Sawyer 4 fouls in 11 minutes.  Fegan 4 fouls in 22 minutes.  Pardon me, but I smell a rat.

[David Collinge]

Kenyon 72, Kalamazoo 58...recap; box.  Lords shoot 53% and hold Hornets to 38%, which was fortunate, since 23 Kenyon turnovers and 12 Kzoo offensive boards led to the Hornets getting off nine more shots than their hosts.

Also...Wabash 68, Rose-Hulman 66...three LGs in double figures, led by a double-double (12/10) by Aaron Brock.  Recap; box.

[smedindy]

Balch 5 fouls in 13 minutes.  Wickliffe 5 fouls in 10 minutes.  Sawyer 4 fouls in 11 minutes.  Fegan 4 fouls in 22 minutes.  Pardon me, but I smell a rat.

Why? Smaller team that doesn't match up physically, gets frustrated, and fouls. Seen it millions of times. The tin foil needs to vanish...

[smedindy]

Kenyon 72, Kalamazoo 58...recap; box.  Lords shoot 53% and hold Hornets to 38%, which was fortunate, since 23 Kenyon turnovers and 12 Kzoo offensive boards led to the Hornets getting off nine more shots than their hosts.

My old HS coach always wanted FEWER FG attempts than the opponent, as long as they had more FT attempts because in his system (patience, patience...) that meant they were successful in waiting for a 'good' shot.