MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

WAlum · February 05, 2011, 12:29:17 PM

Quote from: David Collinge on February 05, 2011, 11:59:09 AM
On top of what's been reported, I understand that Kenyon had transportation issues as well, probably tied into the fact that the men's and women's teams could not travel together (because the women had to go directly to Oberlin from Springfield.)

It's an unfortunate situation all around. I may be in the minority here, but I am glad to see that, in a situation where there was (reportedly) an irresolvable conflict between academics and athletics, academics was given priority. I think that's the essence of D3.

I agree. It is sad to see the Lords forfeit a league win because they chose academics over athletics but kudos to the Kenyon coach, AD, and team for making the right decision. Student-athletes and student comes first! It is going to be interesting as more and more details of this fiasco are disclosed publicly.

wally_wabash · February 05, 2011, 01:12:29 PM

Yeah...I'm not buying it. I don't know how, if you're Kenyon, you can play the academics card for the men's team but the women travel and make the same trip on the same day that the men are supposed to. So they weren't traveling together? Not an issue. Get another bus. Load up in a couple of college vans. The trip isn't that long. I posted this on twitter, but it's worth repeating here...if Kenyon and Wittenberg traded places in the league standings, Kenyon finds a way to play that game. What happened here this week is unfair to the players and unfair to the rest of the league who don't get the same freebie that Witt does. Big, big fail by Kenyon here.

It's a two hour trip. If they wanted to play the game, they could have.

Pat Coleman · February 05, 2011, 01:41:02 PM

Here's the latest:

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/springfieldpreps/entries/2011/02/05/kenyon_coach_gives_his_side_of.html

wally_wabash · February 05, 2011, 01:52:47 PM

Quote from: Pat Coleman on February 05, 2011, 01:41:02 PM
Here's the latest:

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/springfieldpreps/entries/2011/02/05/kenyon_coach_gives_his_side_of.html

That clears it all up. Or not at all. Did Kenyon get okie-doked by Witt here? If the handbook says to play on the next available day, and everybody else in the league played on Thursday, why did Witt not play Thursday? Was that not the next available day? Perhaps Wittenberg has a little more splainin' to do.

If Thursday was the next available day and Witt declined to play on Thursday, why is Kenyon forfeiting?

David Collinge · February 05, 2011, 01:58:00 PM

Quote from: wally_wabash on February 05, 2011, 01:52:47 PMIf the handbook says to play on the next available day, and everybody else in the league played on Thursday, why did Witt not play Thursday?

Witt was closed on Thursday due to the weather. Although the HPER Center may have been open, I think it's reasonable to cancel athletic events on days when classes are canceled. At the high school level, at least, it's a requirement.

Pat Coleman · February 05, 2011, 02:21:24 PM

It was at the two schools I've worked at as well, although I know that that isn't a hard-and-fast rule.

Li'l Giant · February 05, 2011, 03:40:40 PM

Great win! Wabash Always Fights!

wally_wabash · February 05, 2011, 03:53:56 PM

Quote from: Li'l Giant on February 05, 2011, 03:40:40 PM
Great win! Wabash Always Fights!

Massive win. That ought to get Wabash out of the hole Jim Leffew dug for them on Thursday. Wabash now has wins over #1 and #2 ranked teams in the nation. Good stuff.

Also, we learned that Wabash is more than just Wes Smith. Smith had just 11 points and had to really scale back his offense playing with four fouls for the last 8 minutes of game time. Wes didn't hang 25, Wabash was outshot and outrebounded...and they won. That's a good team.

wally_wabash · February 05, 2011, 04:11:09 PM

Today's game also concludes the road portion of Wabash's regular season schedule. We all play 8 road games in league play, and Wabash just played six of them in the last three weeks. That's rough. Wabash concludes their season with home games against Hiram (2/12), Witt (2/16), and Oberlin (2/19). My hope is that today's game plus the three home dates will snap Wabash out of the mini funk they were in and get some positive inertia going into the league tournament.

pennstghs · February 05, 2011, 04:36:36 PM

Of course as a Witt fan I love seeing Wabash come away with the victory today, now Witt just needs to hold serve and make it through a historically tough game at OHio Wesleyan Wednesday to set up a HUGE showdown next Saturday night In Springfield.

wally_wabash · February 05, 2011, 04:42:17 PM

Hiarm's last second shot to force overtime at OWU comes up empty. Bishops survive 54-52.

fantastic50 · February 05, 2011, 04:47:19 PM

Big crowd (almost 3000, including a bunch in red), tough loss. Kudos to Wabash on coming up with the big plays in OT after losing a 7-point lead in the final minutes of regulation. Hopefully, this will help the Scots to refocus on the stretch run. If Wooster can win at Witt next Saturday, they could have as many as nine consecutive home games ahead.

ScotsFan · February 05, 2011, 04:53:58 PM

Quote from: wally_wabash on February 05, 2011, 03:53:56 PM
Quote from: Li'l Giant on February 05, 2011, 03:40:40 PM
Great win! Wabash Always Fights!

Massive win. That ought to get Wabash out of the hole Jim Leffew dug for them on Thursday. Wabash now has wins over #1 and #2 ranked teams in the nation. Good stuff.

Also, we learned that Wabash is more than just Wes Smith. Smith had just 11 points and had to really scale back his offense playing with four fouls for the last 8 minutes of game time. Wes didn't hang 25, Wabash was outshot and outrebounded...and they won. That's a good team.

Only took them almost a full season to figure that out. Smith was also defended very well all game long. It wasn't just a matter of him scaling back his offense because of foul trouble.

Aaron Zinnerman was the difference in this game with his 4-8 shooting from downtown. And Wooster was just leaving him alone to shoot it for the most part. They finally started getting out on him after he made his fourth and he wasn't quite as effective from then on.

Another difference maker was the fact that Wabash also did a great job of perimeter defense on Wooster. They really took Balch and Fegan out of the game completely. Balch only managed to get off one 3-point attempt and Fegan had 2 attempts and they were 0-3 on those shots. And Hallowell only had 4 attempts. Holding Wooster's three best 3-point shooters to just 7 attempts is some pretty damn good defense.

Because of Wabash focusing on the perimeter defensively, it opened things up inside and Wick took advantage. This too is a reason why Wooster's fg percentage was higher than I would have expected it to be. Wick had a monster game which was nice to see. Too bad it was in a losing effort though. He really single handedly kept Wooster in this game and gave them a chance to win in the end.

The thing that really did Wooster in was turnovers. Wooster may have outshot and outrebounded Wabash, but they also committed 20 turnovers including the most costly one of all on their last possession when Franks was stripped of the ball before even getting a shot attempt off.

Congrats to Wabash. They played a hell of a game today. Was this the first time Wes Smith wasn't their leading scorer this season? If you would have told me before the game that Wooster would have held Smith to 11 points, outshot and outrebounded Wabash, I would have not been wondering if Wooster had won, but my question would have been by how much?! But for the first time this season, not one, not two, but three Wabash players stepped up to score more points than Smith. And that was really the difference in this game. So, does this sudden revelation by Wabash help them down the stretch? Will they try and be more team oriented? Or does Smith continue to try and be a one man team?

Oh well. I know it's cliche to say it, but this loss might just be the best thing to happen to this team. It wasn't realistic to think that they could get through the entire season unbeaten. Better for this loss to happen now than for their first loss of the season to occur in the postseason. It's gut check time now for the Scots. They have lost for the first time all year. How do they respond moving forward is now the question. Do they learn from this loss and get better as a result? I'm thinking they will.

wally_wabash · February 05, 2011, 05:04:43 PM

It's not news to the team or those of us who watch Wabash regularly, SF. Wes is the #1 option on offense for sure, but Wabash isn't anywhere near 17-4 without the other guys.

ScotsFan · February 05, 2011, 05:17:00 PM

Quote from: wally_wabash on February 05, 2011, 05:04:43 PM
It's not news to the team or those of us who watch Wabash regularly, SF. Wes is the #1 option on offense for sure, but Wabash isn't anywhere near 17-4 without the other guys.

Then why did you say, "Also, we learned that Wabash is more than just Wes Smith?" You said it, not me. And furthermore, why has it taken 21 games for someone OTHER than Wes Smith to step up and lead Wabash in scoring?