MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[GoRed]

I've got to give them real credit, though.  The guy at the station worked with me to get the name correct, and the very next time the announcers said it, they had it right.  Now, if Wooster could just guard them.  Right now, they're on a pace to lose by 80. 

Hopefully Wooster will keep it closer than Morehouse did against Kentucky.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/9157/getting-mad-about-the-morehouse-rout

That was appalling.  I don't think Bradley would do what Calipari did - even if they can.  Bradley coach is in his first year and needs to use games like this to assess his bench to the extent he can. 
 

[wooscotsfan]

At the Half:  D1 Bradley University 38  Wooster 33

Scots had the game tied up at 33-33 before the Braves went on a 5-0 run to end the half.

Starting lineup for Wooster:  Xavier Brown, Matt Fegan, Justin Warnes, Josh Claytor, Justin Hallowell ... so the talented freshman got the starting nod at the point.

Wooster being led in the First Half by Xavier Brown 8 points, Josh Claytor 6 points and Justin Hallowell 5 points.

GO SCOTS!

[woosterbooster]

Yeah, Wooster regrouped just when it seemed it might get away from them.  Brown got the nod to start and after some uneasy opening minutes seems to be playing well.  I'm really happy, and surprised, that Doug Thorpe was able to get some minutes.  If he's already healthy, that's a big plus for the Scots.  If the Scots can just cut their turnovers, they might stay close in this game.

[Gregory Sager]

I haven't seen Wooster's game notes, perhaps a simple prono helper there would help in the section they list all of the other pronunciations. When I did PA, I checked the guide, but I always asked someone on the other team as well how to say some names.

In my experience, very few teams provide printed prono guides. As someone who is both a broadcaster and a PA announcer (for different sports, natch), I think that checking pronunciations -- especially of the school's name, if it's in doubt in any way -- is among the top priorities of anyone who sits behind a mic at a sporting event. I always do the checking myself, unless one of the other members of the NPU game staff has already done it for me. Honestly, if you can't be bothered to get pronunciations right, you have no business doing either the PA or a broadcast.

[woosterbooster]

They pronounce Claytor "Clay-TOR", as if he's some alien robot from The Day the Earth Stood Still.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eun7SmpNr1I

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  D1 Bradley University 81  Wooster 71

Wooster battled but too many turnovers (20) resulted in the loss.  Jake Mays led the Scots with 16 points, 8 boards.  Freshman Xavier Brown had 15 points, Josh Claytor added 12 points and Justin Hallowell had 9 points, 10 boards.

Good effort by the Scots on the road against a D1 team.  Xavier Brown is a real talent while Mays and Claytor should be a load this year for most D3 opponents.

GO SCOTS!

[woosterbooster]

I agree, overall it was a good result by the Scots.  Claytor and Mays had nice games on the offensive end and on the boards.  Hallowell did fine, despite being a marked man.  Brown and Thorpe did nice jobs.

Turnovers almost always kill DIII teams when going against the big boys, and that was the major story tonight.  The difference in quickness was notable.  Some Wooster players struggled with that more than others.

It's impossible to know, listening on the radio, the reason for the Scots doing poorly from long range.  Maybe they missed open looks, maybe they had trouble getting shots off.  I'm leaning towards the former, because it didn't seem that they were taking these threes at the end of the shot clock.  Had three or four more gone in, this game could actually have gone down to the wire.  Remember, though, that Bradley has become a weak D1 team.  They'll have a rough time of it this year in the MVC.

[woo91]

All--we're going to be continuing our interview show with Wooster head coach Steve Moore next week at 11 AM. Any of you have questions you'd like us to ask him?

[ScotsFan]

Nice effort by the Scots last night.  I didn't think they'd keep it that close to be honest. 

Couple of surprises from the game are 1) that Brown got the start last night and 2) that Brown led the team in scoring.  Not a bad way to cap off your first collegiate start (even though it was exhibition).

Was Brown playing the point right from the start?  If so, this is good news for Wooster as well as the news of Thorpe recovering nicely from his injury.  They will make a nice 1-2 combo at point for the Scots with Brown starting and Thorpe coming in off the bench.

Can't wait for the 18th to get my first look at the new look Scots! 

[pennstghs]

I watched all of Wittenberg's scrimmage last night against Bluffton. Pretty sloppy overall but Bluffton won the first half 32-29 and the second half 28-23. Wittenberg had a few mishaps on defense and overall was forcing shots on offense. It'll be hard to get a true read on Wittenberg until McKee and Cooper are back in full swing. I'd expect them back by December (just a guess).

The one thing that was constant and showed last night was that Wittenberg may take some time to get a full inside-out game established as Sullivan being gone and his replacement is a sophomore Zach Leahy, a transfer in. So essentially a brand new player to the program is replacing an all-conference selection. Never an easy transition.

Witt will be fine and I expect big things, that's why they call these things scrimmages, a change to fine tune some things.

[wooscotsfan]

Nice effort by the Scots last night.  I didn't think they'd keep it that close to be honest. 

Couple of surprises from the game are 1) that Brown got the start last night and 2) that Brown led the team in scoring.  Not a bad way to cap off your first collegiate start (even though it was exhibition).

A few other points from yesterday's Wooster - Bradley scrimmage.  On the post game show, Bradley Coach Geno Ford was very complimentary towards the Scots.  He stated that they are fundamentally sound and would probably win lots of games in D3 competition this season perhaps contending again for a title.  He also mentioned that Wooster was a tougher team than Bradley's first exhibition opponent which was D2 Wisconsin-Parkside.

Jake Mays was Wooster's leading scorer last night with 16 points and 8 boards (close to a double, double).   One of the Bradley radio announcers described him as "the best looking big man on the floor... for either team."

Bradley came into the game determined to shut down Justin Hallowell and Matt Fegan -- Wooster's two returning starters from last year.  What was encouraging to see was the way that Jake Mays (16), Xavier Brown (15) and Josh Claytor (12) stepped up their offensive games when Bradley's defense focused on Hallowell and Fegan.  If this trend continues, Wooster should be able to pick up the scoring loss from the graduations of Franks, Balch and Wickliffe.  It is certainly positive that the Scots scored 71 points last night against a D1 team with some quick players.

[smedindy]

In the great inanity that is the NCAA.

On the 12th, Hiram travels to Akron to face the Zips in the 2K Sports Classic.

This game counts for Akron as it's part of an exempt tourney / classic. It doesn't for Hiram because it's before the 15th.

[David Collinge]

Kenyon drops an exhibition at Wright St., 80-56. Sophomore guard Julian Pavlin drilled 5-of-5 treys to lead the Lords from the bench with 15 points. Box score

Also: Akron 95, Hiram 65 story

[David Collinge]

Hey! Guess what? The regular season starts on Tuesday! Funny how time flies. Seven of our ten teams will be in action:

Bethany at Allegheny
Marietta at Denison
Hiram at Mt. Union
Muskingum at Kenyon
Oberlin at Westminster
OWU at Hanover
IU-East at Wittenberg

DePauw and Wooster open up on Friday 11/18, Wabash on Sat. 11/19

[smedindy]

Some of us will have our hoops interest bifurcated at the least, and solely tuned to the gridiron at the most, for a couple three weeks (probably until the matchup with the Purple...)