MBB: NEWMAC

mass_d3fan · November 26, 2011, 11:36:09 PM

MIT handles Suffolk today, 81-59. Kates scored 22, Karraker had 16 points and 6 steals, Tashman 14 points, 13 boards and 4 assists & Hollingsworth posted 10 points.

HN - Did you see the game? Looking at the box score & play-by-play, it appears Hollingsworth only played 19 minutes and did not play at all in the final 14 minutes. Also he had zero rebounds in the 19 minutes he did play. Was he sick or injured today ?I hope it was just an off day for him.

mass_d3fan · November 27, 2011, 09:39:21 PM

I attended the WPI/Salem St game today, WPI came out with big win, 105-80. This was a great display of team basketball by the Engineers. I was pleased to see the ball moving inside & out with assists coming from 8 players. 27 assists on 43 field goals, Most assists I remember seeing this team put up - and only 11 turnovers. Marco Coppola played a great game, dishing out a game high 11 assists, Jamime Shannon & Matt Carr each had 4 and David Brown handed out 3. 6 Engineers posted double figures in points: Carr(19), Coppola(14), Brown(14), Shannon(12), Ryan Kolb(11) & Jameel Galloway(10). Kolb hauled down 7 boards, Carr had 6, Galloway & Domenick Mastascusa each had 5 to lead WPI to a 42-31 advantage on the glass. The Engineers shot 58% from the field.

Salem State had a 12 point lead (42-30) at 4:08 left in the first half, but the Engineers exploded behind Coppola, Carr & Mastascusa who combined for 13 points. The run was highlighted by an alley-oop dunk by Carr on a great pass from Coppola. He also found Carr for a nice reverse lay-up at the buzzer as WPI took a 47-46 halftime lead. Galloway came out on fire at the start of the 2nd half hitting a 3 and bringing the crowd to their feet with a monster two-hand dunk. He also had a big block on Brian Clark. Ryan Kolb gave the Engineers a boost during that stretch as well with two big 3s. What had been a close game was had turned into a 15 pt lead for WPI after a Mastascusa lay-up at 15:52. The Vikings cut to 10 one other time, but WPI opened the lead back up and Salem State never threatened again.

The battle of two pre-season All-Americans was pretty one-sided as Carr outplayed the Vikings Bryan Clark. Clark was virtually shutdown by Carr & Galloway. He had 7 pts on 3 of 10 from the field, 3 boards and no assists after coming into the game averaging 20 pts & 6 rebs in the Vikings' first 4 games.

Salem St. was led by Andrew White (18pts), Justin Nieves(16pts), Dan Clark(12pts) & Apollos Wade(10pts). Nate Simpson tied Kolb for game-high honors with 7 rebounds.

WPI moves to 4-0 and I would expect them to be in the Top 25 this week. The Vikings fall to 4-1.

Hugenerd · November 28, 2011, 06:53:28 AM

Quote from: mass_d3fan on November 26, 2011, 11:36:09 PM
MIT handles Suffolk today, 81-59. Kates scored 22, Karraker had 16 points and 6 steals, Tashman 14 points, 13 boards and 4 assists & Hollingsworth posted 10 points.

HN - Did you see the game? Looking at the box score & play-by-play, it appears Hollingsworth only played 19 minutes and did not play at all in the final 14 minutes. Also he had zero rebounds in the 19 minutes he did play. Was he sick or injured today ?I hope it was just an off day for him.

I won't be at any games this year, as I graduated and moved from the area. I haven't heard of an injury, but he could be banged up. He is getting double and triple teamed, though, which is opening things up for his teammates. As long as they keep winning...

Good win for WPI, especially after what Salem did to Williams. NEWMAC still only has 4 combined losses.

BBallers · November 28, 2011, 08:36:16 AM

Quote from: mass_d3fan on November 26, 2011, 11:36:09 PM
MIT handles Suffolk today, 81-59. Kates scored 22, Karraker had 16 points and 6 steals, Tashman 14 points, 13 boards and 4 assists & Hollingsworth posted 10 points.

HN - Did you see the game? Looking at the box score & play-by-play, it appears Hollingsworth only played 19 minutes and did not play at all in the final 14 minutes. Also he had zero rebounds in the 19 minutes he did play. Was he sick or injured today ?I hope it was just an off day for him.

Suffolk had a good guard and a good big. Hollingsworth got blocked on a couple of shots by their big that got him out of his rhythm, but basically he had an off game. Their guard made some unbelievable shots. I would guess that Suffolk gave it their best shot while playing as an underdog against the #10 ranked team. Mitch played good. I won't discuss the referees, but there were some awful calls going both ways (of course I noticed the ones going against MIT). I am disappointed about the quality of MIT's opponents, but am extremely excited about the conference. What a fantastic start. I hope that the NEWMAC will get 2 invites to the NCAA's this year again.

WPI89 · November 28, 2011, 03:15:24 PM

Lost track but there are at least 4 teams ranked between 11-25 pre-season with 1 or more losses - hopefully enough for WPI to make a significant jump into the poll. Doesn't mean much in November - besides being fun!

amh63 · November 28, 2011, 05:12:11 PM

Seems WPI is doing well. Developing its rotation and "character". Amherst is still evaluating its large roster and will need to make some tough roster reduction soon. On Tuesday, Amherst resumes it's play at Lasell. I hope to catch it online to see how Amherst handles a quick smaller team. It is interesting that WPI plays Lasell away later in the week. Hope to catch it on-line too. May give me a early season look on how both WPI and Amherst handle a common opponent. Plan to post my comments on both games here and looking forward to reading comments from WPI posters.

mass_d3fan · November 28, 2011, 09:27:34 PM

Congratulations to WPI's Marco Coppola for being selected as NEWMAC Player of the Week.

http://www.newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/POTW/mbkbPOTW112811

mass_d3fan · November 28, 2011, 10:45:00 PM

Babson moves to 6-0 with a 70-60 win over Curry.

Russell Braithwaite posted a double-double scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Marcus McDermott socred 19 points and dished out five assists, Matt Palazini scored 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc & John Wickey put up 8 boards and 6 pts.

Hugenerd · November 28, 2011, 10:46:18 PM

The NEWMAC is a combined 23-2 in their last 25 games (27-4 for the season).

Hugenerd · November 28, 2011, 11:59:53 PM

MIT gains 148 points, but only moves up 1 spot to 9 in the polls. WPI debuts at #18, after their undefeated start. No votes yet for Babson and Springfield, but Springfield has 4 of their next 5 against ranked or ORV teams, including #3 and #7, and Babson has upcoming match ups against one ranked and one ORV team, so both teams will have multiple opportunities to make a strong case. Hopefully the conference can demonstrate some strength on the national stage this year.

Hugenerd · November 29, 2011, 09:14:30 PM

Perfect night again for the NEWMAC. Biggest wins were for Springfield and Clark. Didn't think I would see the current last place team in the conference destroy a top 3 UAA team by 19, who was preseason ORV #26 in the polls, but really glad they won. Springfield also beat an ORV team in Keene State. MIT, CGA, and Wheaton also won.

amh63 · November 29, 2011, 09:57:04 PM

The promised report on the Amherst vs. Lasell game will have to wait until I see the boxscore. The video feed was late and good for awhile. When it was on, it was a clear picture. Amherst did not start its big center P. Kaasila. When I caught the last 8 minutes of the first half, the pg was Kalema who had a hard time bringing up the ball. Workman, a 6'6" guard, brought it up and scored whenever he wanted. It was a ragged game as time was stopped to mop up the wet floor.....many players were slipping under the basket where players had fallen. Amherst was ahead by 12 at the half....44-32, I think. The video feed was on during the half but went out a few minutes into the 2nd half. Did see A. Toomey in the game. Oh yes, Amherst's big center entered the game in the last minute of the first half.....so he is not hurt.
Hope the video feel is better for the WPI game. The live stats was not working. It had the Amherst seal but only gave the women's game results that was played earlier.

toooldtoplay · November 30, 2011, 10:07:54 AM

Congratulations to MIT and WPI on the #9 and #18 ranking. It appears the only competition this year for MIT will come from Salem State and the league schedule. I am impressed with the start all the teams have had. Billy Bender is playing the best basketball of his career right now and he appears to be the X factor at this time. 6 for 7 from 3 is not shabby.

WPI89 · November 30, 2011, 02:25:04 PM

This is heady stuff fellow NEWMAC fans! You think we could line up against NESCAC and not get blown out - team for team?

They still certainly have the most dominant top 3 in the nation but maybe the gap isn't as far apart as I would have thought.............getting ahead of myself I am sure - but sure would be fun going into the tourney this year with a real chance to win a couple of games +.

Looking forward to heading up to Worcester twice in December to see the boys play Fitchburg and then West Conn.

7express · November 30, 2011, 03:50:00 PM

Looking forward to heading up to Worcester twice in December to see the boys play Fitchburg and then West Conn.
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I'll be up there as well. Not expecting a good ride back to Danbury. WPI has a big one next Thursday down in Providence @ RIC. If West Conn wasn't playing at the same time I'd definitely take the drive out there.