MBB: Conference of New England

[threeball23]

Wish I could have seen the WIT/GC game.  From what I read on the Gordon website, sounded like a good one.  20 lead changes and a buzzer beater that did not go down.  Unfortunate outcome for the scots, they were up by five with about a minute to play, but couldn't hold on.  Prezzie-Blue went for 30, and had a big steal in the final 30 tics. 

[scout]

I'm not trying to be a homer...
But everyone in that gym knew that 'steal' was a foul that should have set up another inbounds play...

Other than that...
Prezzie-Blue proved the 'sometimes the best performance on the court wins the game for a mediocre team performance' theory...
For more examples of this, see Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, Steve Smith, Dominic James of Marquette...

[Maq Diesel]

PBJ is without a doubt the POY.  If you want to say MOP or MVP for his team, it doesn't matter take him off that team they don't make the playoffs and wouldn't have been in that game.  He carried his team and made guys around him better.  He could have hit water in the desert tonight, he was that good.  As for the steal, that one was with out a doubt a steal, other calls were questionable but overall I liked that the refs let them play.  I was two feet from the ball and PBJ stole it clean, there might have been a reach foul on Bynes but it doesn't matter now.  Herr and Logan stepped up huge and showed their leadership in their last games.  Gordon is going to miss those guys big time, class acts all around and a pleasure to watch.  Wish they could have won, but doesn't always end like you want it to.  Gordon has a bright future and Bajema and Trigg are going to both be stars down the road.  As for Curry and WIT, I like the guys on WIT (with the exception of Gaine who time and time again displays a lack of class ie. throwing the game ball at fans and taunting) and their coach seems to be a nice guy, but Curry has the kind of athletes that could make some noise in the tournament but am not really found of their team or coach, but that is one mans opinion.  It will be interesting championship and an unexpected one to say the least.  It has been a good season and it will be interesting to see how the CCC team does in the tournament.

[Maq Diesel]

I just looked over the EC vs Curry box score, I am guessing Corbet did not play because of an injury?  What exactly happened to him and can anyone confirm the injury is indeed what kept him out?  I obviously doubt it was something else but I am just curious.  I don't think Corbet is as good as some people on the board think he is but with that said, against a team with Curry's size he would be an important piece for Endicott.  Secondly, nice to see that Johnathan Bowers actually descided to realize he is an athletics 6'10" and play like it.

[backboard]

An amazing game last night in Wenham.  Gordon and Wentworth truly played the best game of the season with WIT pulling it out in the final minute.  Both teams exchanged blows the whole game (20 lead changes) with the biggest lead being 8 points.  In the second half, both teams had runs where it looked like they could break the game open.  Gordon went up seven with 5 minutes to go but Wentworth was able to remain in striking range.  Gordon started taking three's, trying to end the game immediately, none of which were bad shots.  Luck wasn't on their side as the ball just wouldn't fall.  Prezzie-Blue then puts his team on his back and takes over.  Everyone in the building knew that the ball was going to him, but Gordon was uncapable to stopping him.  This isn't a knock on Gordon, just simply stating the amazing performance by Prezzie-Blue.    Bejema nails a three with little over a minute left, putting Gordon up 5 with the crowd roaring and momentum on their side.  But Prezzie-Blue calmly comes down and hits a contested three to bring his team back within two.  Wentworth then decided to begin fouling but were able to trap Kaufman in the corner and Prezzie-Blue ripped the ball from his hands (not a  foul).  On the ensuing possession, Prezzie-Blue drives and then kicks it to Doyle for a contested three with 25 seconds left.  WIT was able to hold off Gordon as Bejema missed the game winner with .08 seconds left in the game.

Mike Herr and Jerry Logan both scored 18 points in the final game of their brilliant careers.  Marstaller contributed with 12 points and 10 rebounds but was completely ineffective in the second half in the post.  Kaufman and Bejema had 9 points each with some big shots towards the end of the game.  Gordon shot 49% for the game and 44% for the arc.

Prezzie-Blue recorded a career high 30 points on 12-17 shooting with 2 assists and 3 rebounds.  Doyle had 16 points (4-4 from long range) including the game winner.  Gaine's ankle was fine as he dropped 11 points and played 35 minutes.  A great performance last night also from Weonard Bynes.  Each time Gordon would drive to the rim, Bynes was there to contest the shot, finishing with 5 although it certainly was more.  The biggest block being on a Mike Herr dunk.  More importantly, he shutdown Marstaller outside two 3 pointers.

Saturday's game should be really entertaining as well.  The two teams played recently as Wentworth blew the game and Curry won by 5.  The battle of Tim Jones and Prezzie-Blue is perhaps the matchup of the best guards in the conference.  Wentworth by 2.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

what the heck happened?  I go away for a few days and all hell breaks loose?  We could potentially have a CCC champion who got beat by ENC and the final game will be played ina gym that can seat 250 on a good night?

[gullfan]

 Congrats to Curry, they shot lights out! They are big, jump through the roof and showed more discipline to the system than in the first EC / Curry game. They will be tough to beat.
  To answer Maq Diesel's question, Gary Corbett (2 t's by the way, Maq) did not play last night because of an injury. He was wasliking around in a boot of some kind. If you watch the EC/Nichols game, you can see where he gets stepped on, big time. Tough way for a hard nosed player to finish a year. I'm sure he'll be back next year with no lingering issues.
  A HUGE thank you to Nemanja, Mike Sullivan and Tom Connor. They represented EC with pride and were great to watch. They will be greatly missed. You don't just plkug in another Nemanja, who did so much in his time here. Sully is a beast who was so much a part of the great run in the CCC that Endicott was on. Tom Connor stepped up big time too. It was great watching you guys!

[buddy]

First of all, I'd like to thank all the coaches & players for bringing their best to the season. It's a special group of people that allow us , the fans, so much enjoyment.  That being said, I want to say that the reffing this season has been much improved over the past seasons.  I don't understand how some people can make "off" comments about not liking certain teams & coaching without explaining themselves. I wish that would stop in the future.
I'd like to say something about Curry.  It's obvious that I'm a Curry fan and I've waited a long time for Curry to be put in this situation- a championship game. Malcolm Wynn has done a wonderful job in bringing Curry's program to where it is today. I just want to wish all the team members good luck for tonight's game.

[Bill Gorman]

Wentworth 98, Curry 90

Doyle--23
Bynes--18 &10 w/ 5 blocks
Prezzie-Blue--17
Gaine 16 & 6
--
Jones had 30 for Curry; Mastrullo 25 & 6

Wentworth wins third CCC title; first since 1998 & earns second NCAA berth in program's history

[backboard]

Thanks Bill for the update.  Congrats to WENTWORTH

[CCC Talk]

I had not seen either team in person until last night. I'm glad I got there early. Talking to some fans the Wentworth Leopards are a crazy story. They didn't have a gym until about a month ago, they practiced all over the place, played all over the place, and now somehow beat RWU, GC and CC in a week to win the title. Ridiculous.

Just proof that it's not the best team that goes, it's the team that's playing the best.

Yesterday's game was a bizzare affair with a ton of whistles and honestly it wasn't as close as the score, WIT had control throughout the 2nd half and held off the frantic Curry run. Prezzie-Blue is very very good, Doyle is very good but the kid who impressed me was Weonard Bynes, he was flying all over the place against the Curry athletes with blocks, boards and dunks.

For Curry, Tim Jones is a special talent and showed it yet again.

Great season CCC and congrats to WIT

[backboard]

Wentworth will be taking on St. John Fisher College in New York.  St. John's has plently of size and a couple strong guards, but I doubt they've seen a team similar to Wentworth.  The Leopards will have to play another great game to surpass St. John's strong defense and all around scoring (4 players in double figures).  St. John's aren't know for their high scoring games but they were able to defeat R.I.T and Utica to win their conference tournament.  Should be a real interesting game.  Hopefully Wentworth can represent the CCC well and perhaps pull one out.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Jaziri, Marstaller, Prezzie-Blue, Marinkovic and Tim Jones on the first team.

PBJ gets the POY.  Evans and Wilcox share ROY and Devitt from WIT wins COY.


Hard to argue with those.

[FisherDynasty]

Congrats to Wentworth for winning the CCC. Now that the brackets are posted and Fisher is playing Wentworth, I am trying to get a feel for what the game is going to be like.  I was looking on the website and it looks like Wentworth is extremely small, tallest starter is 6'3.  From looking solely on that I'm guessing they play a faster style of basketball and most likely have pretty good athletes.  Can someone please fill me in on what type of team wentworth is?

[backboard]

Yes they're tallest starter is 6'3'' but he can jump with the best of them.  They're primarily driven by their two guards, Prezzie-Blue and Doyle.  They're senior forward, Bryan Gaine, is capable of hitting shots from almost anywhere within the three-point line.  Often times they allow teams to shoot a high percentage, but they're perfectly capable of coming down and shooting just the same.  It should be an interesting game although their high disadvantage may really hurt them since Fisher has some really strong inside threats.