MBB: Conference of New England

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Time for the rundown:

RWU 70 Coast Guard 73 in OT.  This is a great result for RWU.  They hung with a good NEWMAC team at this point in the season.  I'm sure they would have liked to win, but its a good result.  Barrett and Camobreco had 14 each with Camobreco dishing 6 assists as well.  Parrish and Wooley each had 11.  Coast Guard shot awful from three, but they took almost three times as many FTs as RWU and that was the difference.

NC 67 Clark 75.  Good showing for Nichols, again another middle of the pack NEWMAC team.  Lewis had 21 with 6 steals; he is seemingly taking over the leadership from Butler.  Vallee had 13 and Butler had 10 with 6 assists.  Both teams were virtually even in every category, but Clark hit a couple of extra threes.  Decent result for Nichols.

SRU 70 ENC 48.  And there, ladies and gentlemen, is the line of demarcation in the South.  After that result to we still think ENC has a chance of making the playoffs?  Where's the payout Chewning?  No one got to double figures for ENC; Jasmin was shut down by Grendal for only 9 and Jean-Noel added nine himself.  Coute had 29 and Grendal put in 16.  Goodridge had 6 points, 6 assists and 5 steals.  Marcellus had 11 boards for ENC and Walsh had the same for Salve.  It was only a three point SRU lead at halftime and then they just took off.  Unless they get some big-time help, playoffs are no longer a possibility.

NEC 54 EC 84.  OK, I hope this alleviates any fears we may have about how ready EC is to play tough competition.  This is a big win on the road, NEC is usually a pretty tough place to play (I'm not sure if its the drive or what; I've never actually been to a game there, so I don't know, although the facilities are decent).  Jaziri had 15, Montrod had 12 and Quinn had 10.  Onyechi didn't play; do we have word from EC if he was injured or what happened?  EC was led by 23 from Ellis, 14 and 10 from an unchecked Marinkovic and 11 each from George and Sullivan.  The EC bench got some good minutes again and held NEC below 35% shooting.  Half of EC's shots were threes and the hit at 41%, including 7-14 for Ellis.  Just another dominating game for EC.

GC 57 Newbury 42.  We hashed this one out quite a bit in previous posts.  It's a W and a good win despite poor play from GC.  Kauffman had 15 with 7 assists and Herr had 13.  GC didn't play that poorly, but not all that well either.  It should be enough of a wake-up to get them ready for EC.

WIT 63 UNE 62.  A nice close one that puts UNE in some trouble for the playoff hunt.  McManus had 16 and Stickney had 13.  Prezzie-Blue went off for 25 and WIT got 11 each from Hall and DaCosta off the bench.  Neither team played well at all and I doubt it had too much to do with defense.  Still, it was probably an exciting finish and certainly the best game of the night.

[Popsman]

Another note on the RWU - Coast Guard game, Baranger did not play.   He wouild have made a difference against the CG big men which is where most of the CG points came from.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Weekend matchups:

Saturday
SRU @ AMC
RWU @ CSC
CC @ NC
ENC @ UNE
EC @ Springfield
WIT @ GC

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Thanks for the update pops, any idea why he didn't play?  Will he be there for the CSC game tomorrow?

[gsmizzle22]

The story with Onyechi, from what his teammate told me, is that he is out for the year due to a dislocated shoulder that was suffered in the Gordon game.  He sat on the bench in street clothes with a sling on, and it does appear that it is going to be a very long time until he comes back, assuming that this is even a possibility

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Props to smizzle as well.  Onyechi is a big loss for them.  I have to assume WIT becomes rhe favorite for the #4 spot up north at this point.

[cant dog]

From what I understand Onyechi, during the Gordon game, got his hand caught in the net while trying to block a shot.  That led to his dislocation - a direct trip to the hospital.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Fun...




...ouch.

[24/7/365]

So can we get some insight into this WIT team?  I can see that  PB & J, Hall and Doyle lead the scoring attack with Doyle and Gaine being their primary rebounders.  It looks like they rest heavily on the 3 ball and the mid range jumpers as well.  They have some big guys, but they're both freshman and they ride the pine pretty hard.  So I'm left to think that they are a group of slashers and shooters, basicly a typical WIT team of the years before.  If that's the case, GC is going to have a good time with Marstaller and Herr getting on the blocks and taking it to the undersized WIT defenders.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

THe backcourt talent will be even, but he GC experience and ballhandling/ball control advantage will make this game not even close.

[akirk]

Hoops Fan,

I would agree with you that the talent level might be even but how is that if the "ball handling/ball control" is not the even.  Experience YES but once you talk about fundamentals of the game you can't really say the talent is even.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I think Kauffman and Logan have been around the league longer and understand what is necessary for a team to do well in the CCC.  I think the potential for PB & Todd is just amazing, but they haven't proven they can adjust to succeed against top competition.  In other words, the experience of the Gordon backcourt makes them better players, whether or not the talent level is even.

Again, I had this convo with someone a while back.  I consider talent to be pure athletic ability.  Some guys, with equal amounts of hard work, will just be better than others.  The WIT guys can flat out play, but they haven't gotten the intellectual part of the game all down just yet.  Not to say anything about the guards at GC, who are quite talented in their own right, but even if they weren't as "good" athletically, I would have more faith in them because of their experience and proven decisionmaking in big games.

[24/7/365]

One thing I think we all tend to over look is how much a coach actually helps or hinders a team and their ability to develop into a championship caliber ball club.  Coach Schauer for GC is a very energetic/intelligent coach when it comes to the game of basketball, as well as the mental aspects of players.  No one who has ever played for Schauer would say he does not do his best to focus his players on the task at hand, as well as prepare them for anything and everything their opponent might try to throw at them.  Obviously I can not speak for other coaches in the league concerning this matter, but it is apparent that Foti from CSC is strong in those categories, and I think we can throw Millette of EC with them as well.  A coach, though seemingly off in the wings, is the biggest definition of who a team is.  The coach will mold them into his personality and what he feels will best get the team in the winning direction.  Yes GC and ECs teams are good, but they have some solid coaches heading the effort too.

[Maq Diesel]

Gordon over WIT BIG 78-50.  The game started out close and 12 minuets into the first half WIT led 20-18, then Gordon out scored WIT 23-4 over the last 8 minuets of the first half.  Gordon's defence has been on fire of late and they continued locking WIT down for most of the game.  Gordon was up by as much as 39 points at one point, the game only became close when WIT scored about 10-12 points with all of Gordon's regular players resting on the bench.  Gordon had four players in double figures, Marstaller had 20, Vogelzang and John Beebe had 12 each and Kuafman chipped in 10, other guys would have had more but Schauer played the entire bench and the regualrs were gone about half way through the second half.  The only player in double figures for WIT was Hall with 14.  Gordon simply crushed WIT and looks ready for Endicott on Tuesday.

[CCC Fan]

CSC over Roger Williams, 71-53