MBB: Conference of New England

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Coast Guard roughed up Albertus the other night; that's a decent win for GC, especially considering the last game.  WIT is up 5 at the half.  They've already given up one big lead.  Guard play must improve.  More when I get home and am not typing on my phone.

[scout]

Coast Guard roughed up Albertus the other night; that's a decent win for GC, especially considering the last game.  WIT is up 5 at the half.  They've already given up one big lead.  Guard play must improve.  More when I get home and am not typing on my phone.

It's always fun to have live reporting! I miss watching some D3 ball live...

[tcccfan2010]

Gordon played well tonight. To be honest I was shocked that Coast Guard backed off their full court pressure. That is going to be a problem for the scots all year. Luke Hamilton had a big night it will be huge if he can keep that up for the scots to take some of the pressure of Dempsey and Walker. The Scots certainly don't look like the defense Scots of the coach Schauer days, but I loved the effort they gave tonight.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Down 5 with 5 to play.  Who wants to give this game away? Sloppy!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

WIT loses 63-69.  I'm putting this one on the coach.  Missed some adjustments in the second half.  WIT was definitely the better team.  Rowan missed a ton of FTs down the stretch, trying to give it away.  WIT should beat Adrian tomorrow.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Ok, so I have no rooting interest in this game (Rowan is the closest D3 school to my house and WIT is in the conference where my school plays).  However, it was really frustrating to see the way Wentworth finished this one off.  The last ten minutes were sloppy as all get out.

This was my second live d3 game since 2003 (now that I've escaped the d3 dead zone in Kansas) and it's amazing how much doesn't show up on the box score.  Without further ado, here's my Wentworth pre-Thanksgiving scouting report (all you coaches out there, break out the notes):

Clearly Sam "cement shoes" Herrick is the focal point of the team.  He's a man among boys.  Rowan had a 6'8" 260 guy guarding him and Sam still looked big.  I was amazed how long it takes him to wind up to jump, though.  He was also much less effective after ten or twelve minutes - gotta wonder about his conditioning.  The guys got decent hands and seems really even keeled.  He's going to have to score more for them to win.  He went for 16 and 16, but both numbers were deceptive of his impact on the game.

Eric Prue is a gunner.  The dude shot every time he touched the ball.  All the confidence in the world.  He's a strong defensive player and very fiery.  The kind of guy you want on your team, but if he gets an assist this year, I tell you its a statistician's error.

Corey Therriault played big.  He did hard work on the defensive end and hit some big shots down the stretch.  Nothing too special yet, but there's promise there (he's only a sophomore).

Keenan Burke-Pitts is the senior PG.  I respect that the coach is honoring his vocal leadership and time served, but he's not a strong ball handler and he got way too many minutes.  He's a real leader and he does have the strongest decision-making skills in the back court - that doesn't matter if he can't get the ball up the court.

Freshman James Towner came in as the third PG, but his minutes were all good.  I liked what he showed me.  Strong on ball skills.

Another Freshman, Denzell Sanders gave some good energy minutes.  He was a bit out of sorts at the beginning, but he got crunch time minutes near the end and is a strong bench player.

Mike McClure is the other senior, and gave good minutes off the bench.  He's a gap filler the coach can rely on to keep the team afloat and rest the starters.

For me, the big revelation was freshman guard, Derek Mayo.  I thought he should have been the primary ball handler throughout and the coach going with Burke-Pitts in the second half cost them the game.  Mayo is big (6'4", 200) and actually serves as their only other real post player (when Herrick is out).  But he's a good shooter with strong ball skills and a good eye for passing.  I thought he played very well.  They've got him starting and I think time will do him a lot of good.

My overall thoughts:

In this game, it was clear that the coach missed some adjustments in the second half.  I thought the zone (and they were using both a 3-2 and 1-3-1) were working well; he didn't go to it enough and it really cost them.  Rowan had better athletes and they took advantage of the 1 on 1.  Also, I mentioned the use of Burke-Pitts.  It's tough to bench a senior, but he'd be much more effective as the sixth man to bring energy and leadership off the bench.

As a team, they shot free throws well, but were not aggressive enough to get to the line.  At the beginning they were feeding Herrick every time down and he was hurting Rowan, but there isn't a reliable second scorer on the team, so they tripled Sam and he couldn't do a whole lot.  I think Mayo can be the second scorer, but it will take some time for him to build into it.  Prue is a good shooter; they've got a couple.  Along with some good bench guys to fill roles.  I could see them playing well in the Spring if things come together.

The guard play will have to improve, though.  Prue plays well on defense, but is a bit of a mess on offense (unless his shooting touch is on).  Towner and Mayo handled the ball well, but there's not enough there to sustain the team just yet.  The big hole is in the post.  They list a few Forwards and some G/F players, but in reality Herrick is the only interior player who gets any time.  That can be exploited.  His defensive footwork isn't great; I think you could get him to shuffle his feet and pick up some fouls (at least on an off night).

They played pretty well together and responded to coaching.  I do think the coach will figure out what he's got; I just hope he's got the will to move Burke-Pitts.  That's a tough call for a coach to make, but it seemed pretty clear watching the game tonight.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

To wrap up the other games:

Nichols 45 - WPI 73.  17 points for Sheehan.  23 turnovers; out rebounded by 10.  Shot 30% from the floor.

Regis over SUNY-Cobleskill @ Williams (47-46).  Phil Alibrandi went 15 and 9.  They didn't hit a single three-pointer and missed more than half their FTs.  This was a battle of two bad teams duking it out.

AMC hung tough with Wesleyan, losing 69-74.  Respectable team numbers all around.  Peterson had 17 and 7, Pinsoneault had 15 and 6 on a poor shooting night, De La Hoz had 14 on a good shooting night.  Solid performance.

We got Gordon and Wentworth break downs already.

RWU over Medgar Evers 65-60.  Fava went 13 and 5 with 7 assists.  Petrucelli had 17 points.  RWU hit FTs to win.

NEC over UMPI 86-72.  21 and 6 from Faragher with 4 assists.  Muhammed had 19 off the bench (13-19 from the FT line).  A lot of free throws (34 total); they get to the line.

EC over ME-Maritime 79-51, puts them at 3-0 and looking strong.  Karkow had 10 points and 15 boards.  Bench got a lot of minutes - Freshman Bennett Knowlton had 20 points off the bench.  14 and 7 from Freshman forward Magee.  They took a lot of threes and hit about a third of them.

CSC ekes by Daniel Webster 67-64.  No box score.

Curry over Colby 73-71 @ Brandeis.  Colby lost a lot from last year, but they're still a strong team and its a great win for Curry early in the season.  Jackson had 21; Connery had 15.  Curry was completely dominated on the boards (17-39), but still pulled it out.  Jackson hit the game winner with 6 seconds to go.  Colby had 32 turnovers, which led to an extra 21 shots for Curry.  The CCC might see some ball pressure from CC.  They get Brandeis tomorrow.

[GC Oldtimer]

If this is a sign of things to come for Gordon, then we need a new coach who can actually recruit.  At this point, Gordon will struggle to win 10 games.

I would give coach Murphy a year to get settled in to the recruiting at this level. Very different from D1. He obviously can coach up the talent from last years team.

I hope you're right...I spoke a little out of emotion the other night after seeing the score but that was bad.  I am a little removed from all of this so who is Gordon's point guard this year and is he good?  It sounds like they will have their hands full with Endicott tonight.  Can some explain why you would play in a tournament with a conference opponent?  Seems to me like a waste of a non-conference game...

[tcccfan2010]

If this is a sign of things to come for Gordon, then we need a new coach who can actually recruit.  At this point, Gordon will struggle to win 10 games.

I would give coach Murphy a year to get settled in to the recruiting at this level. Very different from D1. He obviously can coach up the talent from last years team.

I can understand where you are coming from GC Oldtimer. If Coach Murphy doesn't get a good recruiting class this year the program will have a major setback. They should have there hands full tonight with EC. EC is a pretty athletic team wit some great freshman. Coach Rowe obviously got a front row seat last night at the Gordon game to see their strengths and weaknesses. I also saw the Salem State coach in the crowd preparing for Tuesday nights game. I love Gordon hoops and the job coach Schauer did was amazing so I am with you to want to see it continue. It was shocking to not have a good recruiting class after winning the conference and making the NCAA tourney and losing 5 seniors so you can tell your recruits your probably going to get minutes as a freshman is a nice carrot to dangle. Anyway I am not sure why they starting this tourney with Endicott, does seem a little strange.

I hope you're right...I spoke a little out of emotion the other night after seeing the score but that was bad.  I am a little removed from all of this so who is Gordon's point guard this year and is he good?  It sounds like they will have their hands full with Endicott tonight.  Can some explain why you would play in a tournament with a conference opponent?  Seems to me like a waste of a non-conference game...

[scout]

If this is a sign of things to come for Gordon, then we need a new coach who can actually recruit.  At this point, Gordon will struggle to win 10 games.

I would give coach Murphy a year to get settled in to the recruiting at this level. Very different from D1. He obviously can coach up the talent from last years team.

I can understand where you are coming from GC Oldtimer. If Coach Murphy doesn't get a good recruiting class this year the program will have a major setback. They should have there hands full tonight with EC. EC is a pretty athletic team wit some great freshman. Coach Rowe obviously got a front row seat last night at the Gordon game to see their strengths and weaknesses. I also saw the Salem State coach in the crowd preparing for Tuesday nights game. I love Gordon hoops and the job coach Schauer did was amazing so I am with you to want to see it continue. It was shocking to not have a good recruiting class after winning the conference and making the NCAA tourney and losing 5 seniors so you can tell your recruits your probably going to get minutes as a freshman is a nice carrot to dangle. Anyway I am not sure why they starting this tourney with Endicott, does seem a little strange.

I hope you're right...I spoke a little out of emotion the other night after seeing the score but that was bad.  I am a little removed from all of this so who is Gordon's point guard this year and is he good?  It sounds like they will have their hands full with Endicott tonight.  Can some explain why you would play in a tournament with a conference opponent?  Seems to me like a waste of a non-conference game...

I haven't confirmed this at all, but my guess is the following:

In the past few years, Gordon has hosted its own 'Tip-Off tournament to start the year. This year, in lieu of this tournament, I think Gordon and Endicott went in on hosting a tournament together. Two games apiece would be played at each location. This game against Endicott replaces the early non-conference matchup Gordon has had with its cross-town rival in years past.

So, in name it's different, but otherwise it ends up the same.

[tcccfan2010]

I am calling it now. David Dempsey will be the player of the year before he graduates. He is starting to shoot it more from the outside which he did in high school. If he gets that shot going no one in the league can stop him. Gordon dominated tonight. Luke Hamilton is bringing key scoring to that team. Way to go Scots. Big game on tuesday vs. Salem State.

[GC Oldtimer]

I am calling it now. David Dempsey will be the player of the year before he graduates. He is starting to shoot it more from the outside which he did in high school. If he gets that shot going no one in the league can stop him. Gordon dominated tonight. Luke Hamilton is bringing key scoring to that team. Way to go Scots. Big game on tuesday vs. Salem State.

Well, credit where credit is due, this game was 20 points most of the night.  Surprised the heck out of me...I guess this is going to be one of those years.    You are right, though, Tuesday (as will be the next five games) is a big test.  We should know a lot about this team by mid-December.

[gogordon11]

agreed; it was a very impressive win, I thought. the blowout to Husson obviously made us students wonder if this year might be even tougher than already expected, but these last two games have been a great recovery.
As for Dempsey, he needs to be a star this year, and tonight was a great showing: 25 pts, 15 rebs (including 7 offensive), 6 assists.
I would like to be seeing more out of Greg Walker early on (or any of the bigs), but the season is still very young.
Disappointed I can't be at the Salem State game, hopefully there will be some students still around to give some sort of home court advantage.

[tcccfan2010]

I would agree that Walker needs to be involved, but he is going to see double and and triple teams all year long. That is great to have Luke Hamilton involved to be a third scoring option at this point. It is a long season though. My biggest fear is teams that pressure the ball like Curry.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Regis kept it close with #8 Williams, losing 48-58.  Either the NESCAC is really down this year, or the rest of New England is picking up the level of play (Amherst almost lost to Farmington last night).  Williams only has the first half box score up.  From the recap it looks like it was a five point game with under three minutes to go.  Alibrandi had 12 points.  The team shot less than 50% from the FT line.

Just as a side note, the Framingham team that EC beat by 30 beat MIT tonight.

WIT loses to Adrian 43-54.  It looks like the WIT defense did well forcing 23 turnovers, but they were massively outrebounded - something they really struggle with.  Dombroswski came back from injury, played 27 minutes, but missed all six of his shots.  They'll be improved when he's back to full speed.  Therriault led the way with 15 points.  Looks like a really poor game for Wentworth.

AMC took out Ursinus 91-76.  AMC is no slouch this year.  Click went for 16 and 11 with 4 assists.  Pinsonault had 19, De La Hoz 11 (on a bad shooting night); Ross 15, and Bristol 11 and 8, both off the bench.  Lots of FTs on both sides, AMC could do with hitting a few more.  They dominated the glass and had 14 steals.

CSC lost to Rivier 63-75; they're certainly having an off year.  15 and 7 from Robbie Burke, who got most of his points at the FT line and also fouled out himself.  14 points from Bardaglio.  Only 10 turnovers, but really poor shooting from the floor.

RWU lost to Bowdoin 71-74.  Petrucelli went for 26 and 10.  RWU played well all around, good on the boards, not too many turnovers.  They seem to have lost because Bowdoin shot almost 50% from three.

Curry loses to Brandeis 69-81.  Jackson scored 35, Jones added 23 with 8 boards - they took 44 of 55 total team shots between them.  Brandeis dominated the boards and, predictably, Curry had no answer for Vytas Kriskus.

Nichols beat Worcester State 86-79.  Sheehan had 27 to lead four guys in double figures.  He's the front runner for ROY right now (6-10 from three)!

Salve beat SUNY-Maritime in NJ, but I can't find a box score yet.

Gordon over Endicott 88-74.  Never underestimate a rivalry game.  GC seems to have gotten things together a bit since opening night.  Dempsey went for 25 and 15 (with 6 assists) to lead Gordon.  Bentson went 14 and 9.  Not much bench production, but they hit their outside shots at better than 50%.  For EC, Knowlton led the way with 17 and 6; Karkow went for 14 and 8.  Endicott had better individual rebounders, but GC won the team battle.  ECs bench was much shorter tonight and they were unable to manage the steals they'd had in previous outings.  EC did recover from a 47-28 halftime deficit, but it doesn't appear to have ever been close.

ENC picked up their first win over Wheaton (MA) 63-60.  No box score yet available.

WNEC and UNE are in ongoing games presently.