MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[ScotsFan]

Yuck.  Not a good day for the NCAC... 

I'm sure that Oberlin will contribute to the conference woes today.

I guess it's up to Wabash and OWU to save some face for the conference...

So far so good for Wabash as they are up big on Franklin at the half:

Wabash - 41
Franklin - 22

[David Collinge]

Wabash leads Franklin at the half, 41-22.  Wabash ends the half on a 13-0 run, the last 11 of which was from the free throw line; they were 18-23 at the stripe in the first half as Franklin was whistled for an astonishing sixteen team fouls (to Wabash's 8.)

I'm sure that Oberlin will contribute to the conference woes today.

Not so fast my friend.  Oberlin leads CWRU 31-20 at the half. 

[ScotsFan]

Not so fast my friend.  Oberlin leads CWRU 31-20 at the half. 

I can picture you holding up your pencil in the air as you type that!   



That would certainly be a pleasant surprise to see the Yeomen knock off Case! 

[David Collinge]

Wabash records the easy victory, 90-61, behind 31 points from Wes Smith.  Does it count as a triple double if you have 10 field goals, 11 free throws, and 10 rebounds?  Aaron Brock added 19, and everybody got to play a lot in this laugher--9 players with double-figure minutes.

[David Collinge]

That would certainly be a pleasant surprise to see the Yeomen knock off Case! 

Yeah, sure, whatever.  Case 55, Oberlin 52, on a buzzer-beating trey by Bryan Erce.  Josh Merritt led all scorers with 21, while Andrew Fox had 13 & 13 for the unlucky Yeo.

[sac]

Not so fast my friend.  Oberlin leads CWRU 31-20 at the half.  

I can picture you holding up your pencil in the air as you type that!  



That would certainly be a pleasant surprise to see the Yeomen knock off Case!  

I just want to see David put on the mascots Yeomen head.

[wally_wabash]

As noted, Wabash notched a pretty easy win over the visiting Franklin Grizzlies this afternoon.  Franklin opened the scoring with a free throw and after that it was all Wabash.  Also previously noted, fouls were the story in the first half.  It was apparent after about two minutes that Wes Smith was going to be able to get to the basket whenever he wanted...Franklin's answer was to foul him before he could get there.  16 first half fouls later, Wabash had built a 19 point lead despite the fact that the Grizzlies had attempted 14 more field goals in the first half. 

Smith and Brock both had impressive games today.  Both were aggressive going to the basket and when those two are attacking and drawing fouls, Wabash is at their best. 

It's conference play from here on out for Wabash starting with the Alleghey/Hiram series next weekend.  I think it's pretty important for Wabash to get back to .500 in conference play next weekend if they want to host a first round game in the tournament.  Good start to 2010 for the LGs...hopefully they can sustain the positive momentum.   

[David Collinge]

OWU at Roanoke, 7pm -- Live Stats and Audio

...and live video, via the same link.  (Roanoke had announced that there would not be video, but has since changed their stance on this.  Thank you, Maroons!

[David Collinge]

I realize that I'm a bit of an eternal optimist on behalf of my friends associated with OWU, but I must say that the Bishops looked good in disposing of Roanoke tonight, 74-55.  Now, Roanoke may not be the Globetrotters, but OWU made them look like the Generals, as the Bishops hit about half of their shots from both sides of the arc while the Maroons were heaving up bricks from deep.  Tim Brady had 25 on 11/15 shooting in 23 minutes.  One low point was a weak 45% effort from the foul line, but it didn't hurt them tonight.  Maybe, finally, we'll start seeing the good OWU team we all suspect is there. 

[David Collinge]

So, two games tomorrow:

Morris Cregger Invitational championship game:  Defiance vs. Ohio Wesleyan (at Roanoke), 1pm -- Live Stats, Audio, Video -- (time confirmed, coverage, or lack thereof, confirmed)  Defiance (10-2) nipped OWU at home, 74-71, in late November.  Revenge time!

Marymount Holiday Classic consolation game: Hiram at Marymount, 2pm -- Live Stats and Video -- Marymount upset by 1-7 Goucher, falls to 5-6.

[David Collinge]

Defiance and OWU had another battle today, and once again it was the Bishops that came up short, 64-56.  Pat Pellerite tied the game at 54 with 2:40 remaining, but OWU turned the ball over on each of its next three possessions, leading to an 8-point, game-deciding run for the Yellow Jackets.  Wesleyan had just 17 turnovers in the ballgame, but four of them were in the last 2:01, and that's going to be fatal against a good team like Defiance just about every time.  OWU shot 38% overall and again had their problems at the free throw line (9/14, 64%).  Pellerite's 14 points and 9 rebounds were both team highs, but so were his four turnovers.

Jekyll-and-Hiram has led throughout the first half at Marymount, but let the Saints finish the half on a 7-2 run to close within one at 31-30.  Chris Roberts, who only saw six minutes in the second half yesterday, has not played today.  I hope he's not injured.
UPDATE: I just noticed that this game is also being videocast; use the above link.  Sorry for the delay.  It's 48-48 inside 10 mins.
UPDATE:  Final score: Marymount 71, Hiram 67; this may be revised downward to 69-67, as the last bucket was clearly after the horn.  Anyway...it was exciting if not exactly well-played.  Hiram did well to hang in there without Roberts, without Meyer, who fouled out with 8+ minutes left, and without Muhammad, who left with 2+ left.  But a couple of off-balance shots by Marymount's Simoneau went in in the last 0:36, and the Terriers went out.  Muhammad tallied 14 before fouling out, leading four Pups in double figures.

[David Collinge]

I've gotten behind in my taking notice of the NCAC Players of the Week, so I'd like to both congratulate and apologize to Hiram's Glenn Campbell, who won the award on Dec. 21 for his 17-point performance against Bluffton.  Today he is joined by Wabash's Wes Smith, recognized for his 31-point outburst vs. Franklin yesterday.  Congratulations, Glenn and Wes!

[BogeyMan]

A team flying under the radar in the Great Lakes Region is Defiance.  They are 11-2 with three tournament championships.  Does anyone know anything about them?  I'm not so sure with that record they shouldn't be recognized nationally.

[sac]

A team flying under the radar in the Great Lakes Region is Defiance.  They are 11-2 with three tournament championships.  Does anyone know anything about them?  I'm not so sure with that record they shouldn't be recognized nationally.

Defiance is in the Midwest Region with the rest of the HCAC.

[cave2bens]

A team flying under the radar in the Great Lakes Region is Defiance.  They are 11-2 with three tournament championships.  Does anyone know anything about them?  I'm not so sure with that record they shouldn't be recognized nationally.

Defiance is in the Midwest Region with the rest of the HCAC.

Defiance has a pretty, strong contingent this year, though there were a couple of early season hiccoughs and questions in the post after losing Anthony Pettiway to graduation.  They're athletic (I know-really profound comment, eh?), and have ten different guys who possess the ability to "go off" in double figures on any given night, so there is quite a bit of platooning.  Jackets Backer made an appropriate observation that the sub patterns were similar to watching a hockey team changing lines... more will be known about DC after this weeks' appointment with Transy in Lexington