MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[ScotsFan]

Congrats to the Scots in reaching the Elite 8!!!

Solid win over a team that I felt for a while was the best team in the OAC.  Sweet revenge for the Wooster to send JCU home and pick up an NCAA win over an OAC foe! 

I must admit that I was a bit nervous for the Scots with only a 3 point lead at the half, but they pretty much put my nerves to rest by coming out to start the 2nd half with a 10-0 run and they never really looked back from there!

To give JCU credit, they never gave up in the 2nd half, but Wooster proved that they were a better opponent than either WC or LEC by not relinquishing the lead. 

All I have to say is that I am stoked that Wooster was able to get over the hump against JCU!  When the Streaks went up 10 in the 1st half, I was thinking 'here we go again with this team', but they quickly calmed my nerves by making their late 2nd half run and continuing it over to the 2nd half!

Now the Scots get to rest up fo the winner of the nightcap between the local participants tomorrow.  They should be able to get some good scouting in while they're at it too!!!

Anyone at the game with some firsthand perspective to share with us??

[division3hoops]

Just got back from the game.  It was extremely intense. 
The gym is really small.  Us Wooster fans were shocked upon entering. 
About the game:
Moran is a really good player.  JCU's defense was exceptional.  It seemed a lot of times we just couldn't find a hole anywhere.  Their defense on Coop was magnificent.  Overall I was very impressed with their team.
Luckily we were able to take the lead before half-time and we never lost it.  We'll have to wait to see who we play tomorrow.
Hopefully some of our players can find their shots again.  Seemed like we struggled a little on the offensive end tonight.

[wooscotsfan]

Final:  SUNY Brockport 105  St. John Fisher 91

So, Wooster will take on the Golden Eagles tomorrow night for a spot in the Final Four.

GO SCOTS!

[woolax]

So what do we know about Brockport St? who are thier best players? How well do we match up with them?

[pg04]

Good luck Wooster and all the scots fans!!

I am hoping for a good game!! 

May the best team win. 

[wooscotsfan]

So what do we know about Brockport St? who are thier best players? How well do we match up with them?

Here is the Team Profile that was posted on the D3Hoops Team Profile board:

SUNY Brockport
26-5, 14-2 conference

Depth, Depth, Depth.  Their second five could start for most D-III teams.  They routinely have four or 5 in doubles, and at least 8 players on the roster are capable of doubles on any given night

Starters
Sherod Harris - 5-9, JUCO from Monroe CC.  If he was 6-1, he'd be playing high D-I.  Can dominate a game on defense, offense, and especially in transition

Mychal Wilkes - 5-11 So.  Deadly shooter, draws tough defensive assignment, hard nose, in your face.

Brandon Williams - 6-2 220 - the SUNYAC's version of Charles Barkley.  Can shoot from the outside, and uses his strength and athleticism to dominate in the paint.  Runs very well for his size.

Cantrel Parish - 6-7 Freshman - long and athletic.  Wonder how s mid-major missed this guy.  he can shoot, run, and especially rebound.

Aaron Poles - 5-10 Jr. G, unselfish, role player, does what it takes to win.

This team can beat you any way you want.  If it's a track meet, they can run with anyone.  In half court, they have great athletes who are all strong, quick, and competitive.

Very deep bench.  As I said their second five could start at a lot of D-III Schools.

They beat St. Lawrence University by 30 earlier this season.  Only an upset in the SUNYAC tournament kept them from hosting the Rochester area pod in the NCAA's.

My thoughts:

SUNY Brockport is not a tall team so Wooster may have some luck scoring in the paint.  Brockport appears to be very athletic and quick so Wooster will need to take good care of the ball and defend their shooters.  Sherod Harris (4), Aaron Poles (3) and Mychal Wilkes (2) combined to make 9 three pointers tonight vs. St. John Fisher so Wooster will need to play tough defense if they are going to get the win.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Wow!  That's quite a rave review for a team that was not ranked in the top 25 and has not beaten any team in the top 25 to reach the elite eight!

While it would obviously be foolhardy to take ANY tournament team (much less an elite eight team) lightly (as top 10 teams Augustana and St. Thomas found out the hard way against Carroll), if Wooster plays their game they should have a pretty clear path to Salem.

[pg04]

That's a pretty sweeping statement to say Wooster should just breeze through  Though it does seem, even to me, that Wooster should win the game...

The fact that Brockport hasn't even had the opportunity to play a Top 25 team yet means we have no real idea how they will play against one.  It's a definitely a big step up the ladder, it should be interesting to see.  Sherod was a force tonight for sure and will need to be so again.

[wooscotsfan]

#1 UW Stevens Point has been upset tonight on their homecourt by Washington University.  So, here are the ELITE EIGHT matchups for tomorrow night:

Washington University vs. Hope
Virginia Wesleyan vs. Guilford
Amherst vs. Rhode Island College
Wooster vs. SUNY Brockport

[wooscotsfan]

Here is the link to the Daily Record article on Wooster's big win over John Carroll:
Johnson puts in a good night's work

Let's hope that Brandon got a good night's rest because he will be facing some quick Brockport guards tonight!

GO SCOTS!

[WoosterFAN]

Never sure how much wieght to put on it but remember that Brockport St was NCAA #1 in the East Region this year.

This game will be very interesting as it appears to be strength vs. strength is this where the tough pre-NCAC schedule plays a part??

[wooscotsfan]

The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article this morning on Wooster's big win over JCU and noted that JCU Coach Moran tried to convince D1 Cleveland State to offer Tom Port a basketball scholarship before he went to D1 Miami University to play football.  Good thing for Wooster that Coach Moran wasn't convincing enough!  

Here is the link to the Plain Dealer article:
Port carries Wooster past JCU

GO SCOTS!

[pbrooks3]

Good to see the Scots got by JCU.  Defense will be the key as someone noted getting past Brockport State and into the final 4!  No pushover games from this point forward; every team has advanced thus far based on being solid on the defensive end.

Good luck Scots!  At least one Centre supporter is behind you.

[woosterbooster]

The Above the Rim basketball game predicts Wooster over Brockport, the Scots holding on for a 92-86 win.

Behind the spectacular shooting of James Cooper (29 points on 12-16, 3-4, 2-2), Wooster led by as many as 14 in the first half.  A pair of Aaron Poles free throws eventually tied the ballgame with 12:54 remaining in the second stanza.  With 6:29 left on the clock, Jermaine Johnson found Sherod Harris for two, giving Brockport their largest lead of the game at 79-73.  Wooster, though, then went on a 13-point run, fueled by 7 points from James Cooper, taking a lead of 86-79 at the 3:25 mark.  Soon after, Brockport was forced to foul and never could get closer than 5.

The boxscore:

http://arkski.com/~jwood/suny%20brockport_(86)_vs_wooster_(92).html

[WooMix]

Here is the link to the Plain Dealer article:
Port carries Wooster past JCU

GO SCOTS!

For some reason, the Plain Dealer article isn't coming up.  Will it be a violation of some kind to paste the article here?