MBB: Coast 2 Coast Athletic Conference

[hoodfan]

Hood 88 York 78- Great game today in Frederick, York played awesome in the first half scoring all kind of ways. They had their transition game going and scored some easy baskets that way, and they also shot 6-8 from behind the arc to pull ahead to a 9 point lead at the half. Held Hood to 37% FG shooting in the first half. Hood clawed their way back into the game in the 2nd half by playing better defensively and getting the ball to Gutekunst inside. Hood couldn't seem to get the York lead below 6 for most of the half and then late in the half with about 3minutes left Hood finally got a lead, and the lead seesawed back and forth from there. York had the ball with 10 seconds to go down 2. They took a shot and Brady rebounded and drew a lot of contact, but no foul was called. It got a little bit ugly as the game ended as York's players and coaches started jawing with some of the Hood fans. It was a pretty emotional ending to a well played game.

[hoodfan]

McGowan scored 27 on 12-17 shooting from the field, He's a player that you ask yourself why isn't he playing in a smaller D-1 conference. I guess that's the beauty of D-3 players like him who work and improve so much in their careers. My question to you veteran CAC guys is "How much better has he gotten since his freshman season?" I'd like to know peoples opinion.
Hood got a monster game from Gutekunst 25 points, 14 boards, Junghans had 23 points he got hot late in the game, and Robine had 15 points. Hood dominated the glass getting 42 rebounds to York's 29. Hood had 18 offensive board compared to York's 5. Hood has had 5 straight home games, and looks like they benefited from some upsets in the conference today.

[cac]

Menakaya is no longer playing for SU which is huge. He  was the only legit inside player for them and top rebounder. Without him it will probably force them to play more zone which they did against Catholic. This will cause a slower pace and limit their transistion game. I think this should help teams like Catholic, MW and York who are bigger but not as athletic. Frank Gerald who was playing well before break should be back next week.

[mwcsid]

Were these really the scores today??
WOW. The CAC standings are bunching up nicely, should make for a whale of a rest of season and tourney. Unfortunately, unless Hood wins out and would be upset in the final, maybe a one-team-in-the NCAA year for the CAC. Fortunately, the rest of the region seems to have "parity" as well.

[bisonpride]

Gallaudet Bison won in a HUGE upset, 55-51 over Catholic Cardinals. It was very exciting and close game all the way. The Bison won at DuFour Center for first time since probably during the Anthony Jones' squad in the 1994 CAC play-off. The Bison end the 4 games losing streak and also end the Cards' 7 game winning streak.

More game details to come up soon.

[Matt Letourneau]

Well, thanks a lot Cardinals for making me look like a COMPLETE jackass!  That's what I get for talking them up. 

I had to leave to go to an event, so when I left the score was 40-38 CUA.  I don't know what happened down the stretch.  Probably just as well.

Classic Trap Game. The gym was totally dead despite a decent crowd, nobody was much into anything, the players had absolutely no rhythm, no sense of urgency...it was just a dead atmosphere. 

There's still no explanation for what I saw.  No offense,, bisonpride, but it isn't like Gallaudet played well.  They didn't.  They looked pretty bad.  Catholic just looked absolutely awful.  It really just comes down to making shots.  I don't ever remember a game in which they just missed so many shots, many of them GOOD shots.  They were 4-24 from 3.  I mean, that's staggering.  Many of those were good clean looks at the basket. 

With the extremely cold shooting, Gally was able to get themselves into a tight zone and just prevent Catholic from getting the ball inside.  That opened up the outside big time for the Cardinals but they couldn't hit...anything.  You can't beat the zone if you can't make a damn shot.  I don't know what else there is to say.

BOTH MW and CUA are going to be pretty motivated for next week.  WORK HARD Cardinals! Quality teams don't get derailed after a loss like this. 

As for Hood, D-Mac, go back about a month when I was trying to talk you into the fact that I thought they were totally legit...you were using words like maybe and could be, I was uh uh, more like are and will be.  Their win today is about the only thing that isn't surprising, but now they are in the driver's seat.

[cac]

The guard position for Catholic is average at best. If you can limit the inside game
you can cause some problems. I think that is why Hood matches up well with them. Hood does a nice job isolating their big man and he can step out to 10-12 feet.
Salisbury will have a hard time with Hood on Tue. Im sure they will try to double in the post but if SU not shooting well could be a fourth L in a row.
CAC is wide open. Still like MW only because they have four players that can score.
Need to defend better.

[MuMu]

Mu gets a winnn, but most important when I looked at the box score Coach Mac went with only 7 guys. I like it. Don't count MU out yet, we have some work todo. With Corey Diamond nack in the line up and Mike Grey having his ways down low, lets make a run.

CUA lost to the Gally, wow.
Hood just blows my mind.

I still think CUA wins CAC.

[mwgoonie]

Yeah, talk about a crazy Staurday. At SMC, it was a tale of 2 halves. The first half MW hit its three and SMC only had Lesesne going (who finished with 23, mostly in the 1st half). SMC must of had a dousy of a halftime speech becuase they came out firing. Wiped an 11 point 1/2 time lead to catch up. It was then back and forth the rest of the game. MW certainly could of toughed it out but there were some bad missed and a questionable T called on Hale with 2 minutes to go that forced MW to take a 3 instead of a 2 at the end of the game. Baker lead the Eagles with 15 points and 15 boards, he was very active. Hale was hot, hitting from inside and out, and finished with 19.

I personally felt awful after the game but was cheered to find out all the other big guys had off days too. Yes, it hurts the chances of the CAC getting more than one in the tourney.

Also, kudos to SMC's Alex Irmer who had a thunderous alley oop dunk.
As for Tuesdays game, who knows, as long as the CUA and MW teams that played yesterday dont show up, it'll be a good game.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Well... the CAC has certainly turned into a... question mark!

I agree... I don't see the CAC getting two teams in the tournament at this point in time... unless two teams win from here on out... with just the championship as a loss (but, that still makes it tough to get a Pool C bid).

Matt... first off... you are so right about Gallaudet being a trap game. It doesn't matter if you play them at home or on the road... they are always a trap situation. However... play them at thier place... and you might as well start the game down 10-0.

Now to another topic. I agree that at the beginning of the season I didn't know what to make of Hood. I saw them play twice on back to back nights and was impressed... but just wasn't sure they could keep up that style of play through the CAC season. I also said I thought they would finish near the bottom of the conference because they were new to the intensity in the CAC. Though, I did say I thought they would have their upsets along the way... early on I didn't see them being in the top three.

Now... that all being said... since mid-December I have been saying Hood has surprised us all... and me! And since I have said that I have been more than impressed with the Blazers and think there is a legit chance they could win the conference in their first season!

Final, quick thought before I get back to working Hoopsville (in which Coach Dickman will be a guest in the Coach's Corner... hint, hint!)... this week is a very important week for the CAC:
For starters... this is the first week nearly everyone is playing three games a week. That will last until the end of the season... enjoy!

- Tuesday: Hood @ Salisbury, SMC @ Goucher, Marymount @ Gallaudet, CUA and UMW
Unless Salisbury can find some offense and stop Hood... UMW is hoping to stay pace... and CUA is hoping to not fall more than two game back (pick-em). In the meantime... Goucher or SMC is going to make it a three horse race for fourth.

- Thursday: Hood @ Gallaudet, CUA @ SMC, Marymount @ UMW, Goucher @ YCP
Hood has to watch out for that "trap game" was refer to anytime anyone places Gallaudet. If Hood losses... we have another toss-up at the top! CUA needs to prove they won't over look some teams. SMC is a team that seems to be struggling... but will bite you if your not paying attention. And if YCP wants to remain in the race for a top seed... they better beat Goucher at their new home... a place they have not been able to do easily against anyone this season.

- Saturday: UMW @ Hood, Salisbury @ YCP, SMC @ Marymount, CUA @ Goucher
First place could be on the line in Frederick, especially if Hood slips against Gallaudet. Either way, the rematch will certainly tell us which team is to beat in this conference. Salisbury is going to be looking for themselves, now that they are without Ozi, YCP needs to prepare to play consistent basketball - especially at home. And CUA at Goucher... hmm. Should be a good match-up as always... but if Goucher wins this, CUA is in trouble. I honestly don't see the Gophers able to do it twice this season.

Oh... and if you thought things were tight this weekend... wait until next weekend. There is a chance first through sixth could be seperated by the same spread of three games as they are now!

[ex_mu14]

Marymount looked good yesterday against Salisbury at home. I think Mike Gray is under rated b/c of his size. When you get him the ball, he can get you a double-double every night. What's his chances of making 1st or 2nd team all CAC?Salisbury had no one to stop him yesterday on the inside.  He scored eight points in a row to stop Salisbury late run in the second half.  He's averaging 14 and 7 on a team that doesnt look inside. When you play inside/out good things will happen..

[bbald eagle]

Mary Washington couldn't hit a three to save its life in the second half. Baker did a great job on the offensive boards for putbacks though. It was hard to tell if the technical foul was warranted as something apparently was said on the court. Coach W was quite reserved after the ref explained to him what happened.

[CACsportsnut]

WHAT A CRAZY WEEKEND!!!!

I was at the Catholic - Galluadet game, and I must say, I have never seen a team as talented as Catholic, so flat for so long. They had one decent spurt, but the rest of the game they seemed to be in slow motion. In their defense, that can happen against a team that is known to be the "least talented" team in the league. Also, the place was dead, their fans were there but mide as well not have been, make some noise for your home team people, especially when there as good as Catholic is! Galluadet seemed to of held Fumai and dwyer in check, held both in single digits. Catholic had many more turnovers then assists, and just seemed almost uninterested. I pity Galluadet next time they play. Big game Tuesday though, let's see how well they bounce back...

Question: Did Catholic ever hear of air-conditioning for their gym though?

I had a friend at the MW - SMC game, said it was a great game to watch. Leseasne was unstoppable, Irmer's dunk had the crowd going INSANE, he said you could see SMC wanted it more. For MW, he said Baker put on an insane performance, and i checked the box score and saw that he had 15 rebounds, 7 of which were offensive? WOW! He said they key to the game, While SMC was working for good shots, while MW shot alomst 40 3-pointers and made only 12. Also....Mike Lee went scoreless?

My brother in law was at the Hood - York College game, informed me York had a double-digit lead and was 2 or 3 plays from blowing it wide open. Once again, they couldn't put the thing away. I was told Gutekunst and Junghans put on Player of the year performances, notching 25 and 23 respectably. McGowan looked dominant as usual. Heard York point guard Brad Zerfing got a look at a driving lay-up, got hit, no call, and Nick Brady got a look off the offensive rebound with one second left. I was told he was fouled also, but I think the refs were smart not calling the foul and I didn't even see it, you have to make the kids win it like that on their own. Heard reffing was sketchy both ways, and the last call brought about some moans and groans from the crowd, which brought shouts from Hood fans at York players, which almost had Brady and McGowan in the stands. Thankfully nothing came of this.

2 morals to the stories: Players, do not worry about the fans, you are representing yourselves, your team, your families and your school. Tune that stuff out.

Fans, learn to be fair sports, whether its winning or losing with class and dignity, do not yell at the players, they are the reason you are at the game anyways, you payed to come see the, they didn't pay to see you, so either way, the joke is on us, right?

Just my thoughts...

[Matt Letourneau]

Interesting observation.

Yeah, the Catholic gym can get HOT.  Life in D3.  Its a nice facility overall, but I'm sure climate control would be extremely expensive--prohibitively so for a school at that level.  Especially when you consider how often they really need it--for basketball games but that's about it.   Hey, the CBS Announcers tonight was saying the RCA Dome was a total sauna...it happens indoors.

McGowan seems like a good kid, but he's got to worry about his dad.  He gets very hot under the collar on the road and Chad has to calm him down after the game to keep him from doing something stupid.  By the way--I like to see the refs let the guys play, too, but if there really is a foul on the last play of the game, than they should have the courage to call it.  It drives me nuts that all the rules go out the window at the end.

[bisonpride]

Bison upset the Cards in defense battle at the DuFour for it's first CAC win!

Gallaudet (3-12, 1-6) - 55
@Catholic (12-3, 4-3) - 51

Half: Gallaudet led 25-24

Gallaudet Bison end it's 4 games slide by beating the in-town conference game over Catholic Cardinals at the DuFour Center for their first conference win of the year. Catholic was on 6 games winning streak prior the game. The game was closing (look at the largest lead below) for the whole game. The CUA Cards last led, 40-38, with 9:01 to go. Gallaudet responded with a 14-6 run to lead 52-46 with 28.7 seconds left. Gallaudet Bison hit key free throw down in the stretch at the final minute, while the CUA Cards couldn't convert them.

Gallaudet Bison
Jon Mowl - 13 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals in 39 minutes
Onye Davis - 13 points (5-6 FG) and 7 rebounds
Sekoe White - 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and block in 39 minutes
Jonathan Valencia - 10 points (5-6 FT), 2 rebounds and assist

Catholic Cardinals
Stephen Wheeler - 11 points (4-6 FG, 3-4 FT), 3 rebounds and block
Nick Olivero - 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and steal in 24 minutes off the bench
Scott Fumai - 9 points (2-10 FG, 1-7 3FG), 6 rebounds, and block in 31 minutes
Patrick Dwyer - 6 points (0-7 FT), 13 rebounds, block and foul out in 34 minutes
Sean Stolzenthaler and Steven Papageorge - 6 points each
Mike Wasilenko - 0 point, 3 steals and 3 turnovers in just 9 minutes

Stats of the Game
Field Goal %: GU - 39.1% (18-46), CUA - 35.4% (17-48)
3 Point FG %: GU - 28.6 (4-14), CUA - 16.7% (4-24)
Free Throw %: GU - 71.4% (15-21), CUA - 56.5% (13-23)
Total Rebounds: GU won with the margin of 6. GU - 12 off./26 def.= 38, CUA - 12 off./20 def.= 32
Largest leads: GU - 6 (52-46 in 2nd half with 30 seconds left), CUA - 3 (17-14 in 1st half with 10:12 left). There was 10 ties during the game. After the 10th tie (40 all) of the game with 7:18 left on the clock in 2nd half, the Bison grabbed the final lead and seal the game away for the final 6:48 remaining in the game.

The Bison will play at home in the Field House for next 4 games and look to increase their winning streak. Marymount Saints (7-8, 2-5) is coming up next for Gallaudet on tuesday, January 23th at 8pm. On the same day, the Cards will try to renew their winning streak with the other conference rivalry and tough road game at the Goolrick Gymnasium, the home of the Mary Washington Eagles (11-4, 5-2) at 8pm.