MBB: Coast 2 Coast Athletic Conference

[Matt Letourneau]

A great night of basketball and somebody is trying to nail Pat for copyright infringement? Please...

It was an unbelieveable basketball game at DuFour tonight.  Catholic has really been looking for a leader all year.  Tonight, they found it with Pat Dwyer.  York ran an extremely effective soft zone defense that double teamed Shane Sowden and shut him down (5 points, 4 boards).  It wasn't so much Shane, it was just that there was no lane to get him the ball.  That left it up to Patrick Dwyer to deliver, and did he ever--11/19, (2-4 from 3) for 27 points, 7 rebounds.  

A key factor in this game was the depth of Catholic.  York had just an 8 man rotation, Catholic rotated 11 guys in and out and was able to stay just a bit fresher at the end of the game.  Both teams played great defense---York played an extremely effective zone, but Catholic was able to hang with York's shooters and force them into contested shots all night.  York was just 4-14 from 3.  Brian Singer impressed me with his work on Sowden and his offense--even his free throw shooting.  Sowden and Dwyer did a great job on McGowan and forced him into 3-13.  He had nowhere to go and couldn't spin around CUA's big guys.

By the way, for those of you who want to cry foul (literally), free throws were virtually even--York was 11-19, Catholic 13-20.  I don't know that I particularly appreciated the hands off officiating, but it was consistant for both sides.  

As you know, CUA jumped out on all cylinders, but they went ice cold.  Because of how soft York was playing and their emphasis on inside defense, they had numerous open jumpers but just simply missed them. Fumai was 2-9, Satalin 3-10.  York pulled ahead in the half and steadily built a 11 point lead wtih 6:40 left.  The lead was 9 until 3:34 when Catholic started their run.  It was all precipitated by great team defense.  CUA was able to get some transition baskets after struggling in the half court.  York got flustered with the increased pressure and had some bad turnovers.

Pat Dwyer, a 57% FT shooter, hit 2 FT's to tie the game (though he missed 2 at the end of OT to ice it).  Catholic had a chance to win after Paddy Lee turned the ball over with 12.2 left but Stolenthaler's shot was blocked.  Sean had a great game though, 13 points (2-4 from 3) and only 1 TO in 33 minutes.  He's turned into CUA's most promising freshman.

In OT, the teams traded baskets until York yanked Singer for a quick breather, but McGowan had fouled out so Sowden was finally able to get the ball inside for an easy layup.  CUA played great defense on the next posession and forced a bad shot.  The game was just about sealed when Scott Fumai missed his shot but got the offensive rebound.  Satalin missed just his 3rd FT of the year (he leads the nation in FT %), which gave York a sliver of hope with 4 seconds left, but they couldn't get a decent shot off.

Frankly, what was remarkable to me about this win was that Catholic really didn't play very well. They did take good care of the ball (13 To's, +4) but they were outshot 45-42%, outrebounded 46-32(!) and shot 27% from 3.  They gave up 14 offensive rebounds! Its remarkable that they won and it gives me a good deal of hope--if they can beat York playing like this, who can they beat if they playing well? They've got a high ceiling.

Kudos to CUA for coming up with a good home court tonight.  It absolutely made a difference--when DuFour is full of Catholic fans, its a very tough place to play.  I know that CUA's trip to York will be no picnic at all, but this is a great win for CUA and puts them right back on the national map--where I think they belong.

D-Mac--thanks bro.  Nice win!

[ycp]

Matt,

Thanks for the game recap but I do have to make a minor correction to your report. I would be willing to guess that the York defense was not zone but man-to-man. I would guess that most of the time we did double down but I am sure, without seeing the game, that we didn't play a traditional zone.

Hopefully this will quiet some of the overzeolous "Spartan Fanatics" (and I use that term very loosely).

And another thing while I am on the topic, If you (as a poster) are going to trash other teams, other programs and make your institution look bad (as some fans have done on this site), sign your name to your posts. Don't chicken out and hide behind an email address. It's pathetic! If you want to be a man and tell everyone how bad everybody sucks, great, but have enough stones to put your name to it. Maybe you think it's cool but it really shows what a little person you are. Most of the fans on this site are very knowledgeble and are interested in what other teams are doing in the CAC. I also know that there are many people that read the board but don't post (right A.K?). The stupid trash talk does nothing but diminish the quality of the board and that is sad.
I am sure this will be met with their venom but I just couldn't sit back and watch this garbage continue to happen without saying anything.

and now back to basketball...York sits a game back of CUA and UMW with both still scheduled to come to Wolf Gym but they are just two of the remaining ten games. It should be a great race over the next five weeks and hopefully it can be enjoyed in a civil manner by all fans on this board.

[Pat Coleman]

ycp,

I'll be honest, it looked like a zone to me, at least for a significant stretch of the first half. And even if it was technically a man-to-man, it had a zone-like influence, forcing Catholic to beat them from the perimeter.

Which they did not, not in the first half at least.

[ycp]

Interesting. Having been at York for 11 years, I haven't seen us play zone very much at all. Having said that, I wasn't at the game so I will have to trust the people that were there.

[Pat Coleman]

By the way, I don't have more to post on this game because I am still trying to figure out how Catholic won. Just an odd game.

I am no X's and O's guru, so perhaps it was a man and I just didn't recognize it.

[ycp]

No problem...
I was surprised when I saw the stats...
York outrebounds the top team in the CAC in rebouding margin, by alot. York shots a better percentage from the floor, both teams aren't great from the line, and Catholic makes one more play than the Spartans.

Coach Gamber likes to say that most Division III men's games are won in the last four minutes of the game. We did a great job of that last year and have done pretty well with that this year. This one looked like it just got away.

Time to move on and get ready for Mary Washington.

[Matt Letourneau]

I guess it could have been man, but it looked like a zone to me.  If I was trying to beat Catholic, that's what I would have done--force them to make jump shots while shutting down the lanes inside.  And really, it worked.  If you find out exactly, ycp, share with us...I'm still thinking that it was a zone, or the closest thing to it.

I appreciated the rest of your post, too. You're right--I put my name on these posts because I want to be accountable.  Sometimes I make mistakes or make people angry and get called out, but that's ok.

And I just want to add, once again, how much I appreciate the York program and the way they conduct themselves.  They always display sportsmanship and discipline.  So often I see visiting teams with coaches that constantly scream and curse at the refs and players (and there is a place for that when the situation warrants--not cursing, but getting your guys in gear or giving the refs and earful when they blow it, but not ALL the time), and Coach Gamber and York never displays any of that.  There was nothing but respect and good sportsmanship from both sides after the game.  They know they'll be seeing each other again soon--maybe even twice.  

Tonight really was what D3 basketball was about--two really good teams, a great atmosphere, two excellent coaches (I neglected to specifically mention earlier what I great job I thought Steve Howes did keeping his team composed, in the game and refraining from trying to get all 10 points back at once) and no animosity afterward.

I know what you mean Pat...the stat sheet doesn't really tell the story.  Sometimes you just have to chalk it up to will and heart, I guess.  

We missed you YCP--I was looking for you...

[The York 06]

Great game tonight...i thought the officiating was rather poor in the final 3 minutes with york up by 9.  Catholic better be ready to play when they come to york because they are going to have a tough time winning.  At this same time last year, york lost their second game and then began thieir run to the final four.  Hopefully this is the beginning of showing the league what york college has to offer.  I feel bad for mary washington on saturday because they will get hammered for the first game back for the students.  It will be loud and impossible to play at.  Catholic...be ready for febuary 10 because we will be ready for you.
By the way pat sorry i am from new jersey and logged in from two different places.   get a life and stop living through d3hoops.  

Great game and i will see all of you at york when you shut your mouths about york college.  When you watch this team daily like i do then you can talk, but when catholic comes in here keep it shut because they will get beat badly

Peace out your all waste of life

i hate you pat

[Pat Coleman]

Good news is, as you can read, one of your school's own representatives has asked me to shut you down, and I have no qualms about doing so.

Thankfully there are plenty of York fans who are not a**holes.

[manofgor24]

Im sure this was a great game tonight.............Lets focus the discussion towards Goucher.  Makes the conference a little more interesting.

[unreallawns]

Congrats to Salisbury for their win against Marymount.  They will definitly be contending for home court in the playoffs and they play very well at Maggs.

[x33ycp]

Sounds like it was a great game last night.....couple questions for anyone who was at the game. I got to listen to the OT on CUA's website. Sounded like Bushey was knocked down pretty hard late in OT and no foul was called. Also, did Zerfing get called for 3 seconds or an offensive foul in OT? After CUA missed the second foul shot with 5.5 seconds left....sounded like we could have dribbled the ball over half court and call TO with about 3 seconds left.....but it was called when we were a couple feet away from midcourt? Obviously that is a big difference inbounding with little time left. Can someone give me some insight on any of this? Sounded like YCP couldnt close the deal...up 9 with 330 left...no excuse to not win that game....gotta expect to not get calls down the stretch on the road. Congrats to CUA....great win for you guys. MWC's loss to Goucher helps YCP alot though. With both MWC and CUA still having to come to the kitchen, I still think YCP is in fine position. I have a feeling that on Feb. 8 it will be a different story. Congrats CUA, and we need a big win on Saturday against MWC!!!

[eaglemaniac]

It's UMW not MWC 

[mwgoonie]

Saturday will be a big game.
Let's see how those Eagles rebound from a tough loss to swallow.
As always, the CAC never lets us fans down - always action, always intense.

Gotta love CAC b-ball!

[Matt Letourneau]

I don't remember that Bushey play you're talking about, and the stat sheet doesn't list any Turnovers for Bushey in OT. Anyone else?

In any case, Satalin got called for a real ticky tack reach in OT that hadn't been a foul all night (it was right in front of me and I didn't see contact).  At the end of regulation when Stolzenhaler was driving down with a chance to win the game, he took it to the basket and got knocked down pretty hard at the buzzer.  Could have been called a foul but wasn't.  I don't disagree with the non-call, mind you, but there was a lot of contact.  Obviously CUA could have won it at the line in regulation.  The officials wanted to let the game be decided by the players.

Zerfing got called for 3 seconds.  Yes, York could have inbounded and gotten it up to midcourt.  That was a mistake.  In fairness, CUA had set up on defense pretty well.  But still, that would have been a smarter play.  A bigger problem was not boxing out on Fumai's jumper---he was able to get right through the line and get his own miss.