MBB: NEWMAC

[BaboNation]

That was one of those games where having a PG like Ainge makes a real difference.  They needed good shots at the end of the game and he seemed very confident to get the ball where it needed to be.  That's going to be invaluable come tournament time and pretty exciting that he's only a junior.

Agreed.  Distributing the ball is only part of the job - getting the ball to the right player, at the right time, at the right spot on the floor, with the best matchup is a skill that few have.  A player like Bradanese, notwithstanding his personal development from his freshman year, has been a prime beneficiary of Ainge's arrival (among many).
Now all we need is for him to be as good a "recruiter" as Flannery was and get some bigs to transfer or matriculate for his senior season.  Someone like an Isaiah Nelson 2.0. 

[BaboNation]

Clark 92    Babson 89  (OT)

Well, the immediate concern for Babson fans is the well-being of Oftring who went down to the floor less than 5 minutes into the second half, Babson up 15 at the time, and never left the trainer's area the rest of the way.  He seems to have been playing with leg problems most of the year.  Suffice to say, for a team that is already limited with size and interior offense and defense, Oftring is absolutely essential to any postseason run the Beavers may make.

Though Babson was able to hold/increase their lead for a while the lack of rotational depth started to play a factor and CU was able to take advantage of matchups inside and let Biko Gayman use his quickness to alternately drive past his man to the rim or pull up for 3's.  Gayman finished with 25 and is my POG.  CU's Davern (on both ends) and Waggett were especially effective with Oftring out.

Ainge, who played the last 13+ minutes with 4 fouls, had a pull-up 12 footer at the end of regulation that rimmed out.
Jaworski (back-to-back stellar games - 31 points) had a contested 3 for the tie in OT that wouldn't fall, and Coolahan's rushed 3 at the buzzer also caught some iron.

[BaboNation]

And, just like that, Emerson takes down Springfield.  Just 4 games into the conference season and there are no undefeated teams left.

I caught the 2nd half, and Jack O'Connor was outstanding.  Down 67-66 with 1:30 to play he hit a 3-pointer.  On the next possession he poked the ball loose from Ross at the FT line and took it coast to coast for a difficult layup.

Emerson has been trick or treat all year.  The O'Connor I saw in the 2nd half is the guy that can take the Lions back to the NEWMAC finals.

[rlk]

And, just like that, Emerson takes down Springfield.  Just 4 games into the conference season and there are no undefeated teams left.

The wild and woolly NEWMAC strikes again!!

[BaboNation]

Babson  76   Wheaton  51

Oftring was in street clothes, walking with a crutch, but the rest of the starters all had strong games and Bradanese filled in nicely with 15/11 and 3 blocks.
I'm really going to miss that 3-pt stroke from Coolahan when he graduates.  I come to expect every shot to fall.  Ainge (or "Aingie" as the play-by-play guy called him) didn't have his shot falling, but was very productive with the ball 7/0 A/TO, and 3 steals.
Wheaton is now on a 6-game losing streak and had a horrible night shooting all around - at the rim, from 3, and at the line.  They also didn't take care of the ball very well and I can only partially credit Babson for that.

Babson is going to have to give maximum effort the rest of the way to get to 20 wins and try to lock up a Pool C.  Every game will be a slog until and unless Oftring is able to return this season.

Elsewhere, I caught a half of the WPI-Emerson game.  Emerson continues to baffle me.  WPI put a beating on the Lions in their own gym and they did it without Stephenson and Walker.  Meanwhile, FY John Lowther has played himself into NEWMAC ROY consideration.  His last 4 conference game point totals are 14, 20, 13, and 15, and he has started the last 3 games, with increasing work loads.  If he works on putting the ball on the floor in the off-season WPI could be scary good next year with a strong senior class (not that I'm discounting them this year).

[BaboNation]

 Babson  72   MIT  52

(Limited viewing due to intermittent video feed)

Babson was able to build a double-digit 1st half lead behind Coolahan's hot hand (18 at halftime; 24 for the game in only 19 minutes), Ainge's steady PG play (12 assists, 0 TOs in his last 2 games), Jaworski taking care of the defensive boards (8), and another solid starter contribution from Bradanese (14), filling in for the injured Oftring.  Pattyson got the start in place of recent starter Kirkpatrick, who never saw the floor.

MIT is very good defensively, but lacks offensive firepower after Hinkley who had a quiet game.  FY Kordonowy (in my mind in the mix for ROY) nearly matched Coolahan's 1st half with 15, but finished right there.  MIT shot 1/15 from 3, but better than 50% from 2-pt range and had Babson in foul trouble in both halves.  With their size advantage I thought they should have played harder for shots in the paint.

Had to have this one at home.

[BaboNation]

Babson 86   Emerson 84

Great, great, NEWMAC basketball game! 

This is such a tough matchup for Babson with Oftring out.  Houston is a force down low on offense and contests everything around the rim on defense. 
In the first half Babson seemed content to settle for 3-pt shots, whereas Emerson mixed it up and shot 65% overall and 63% from 3-pt range.  Waterhouse had something like 20 at halftime, with Emerson up 52-43.

In the second half Babson extended their defense and started trapping the ball before the Lions could feed the post, to great success.  Emerson had only 13 more points in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half, though still up 65-63.  Additionally, the Beavers made an obvious effort to take the ball to the basket more and force the issue.

The rest of the game was back and forth right to the end.

Final 90 seconds Bradanese made a huge tip-in off a miss to put Babson up 84-81.  Just when you think, "one more stop", O'Connor makes an NBA 3 (nothing but net) to tie it at 84.  After a Jaworski 3-pt miss, Emerson fed O'Connor again for a fade away baseline jumper heavily contested by Bradanese that didn't fall and Babson had the ball out of bounds with 27 seconds left.  They worked the clock down and fed FY Kirkpatrick (who had a terrific game) for a corner 3 that rimmed off, but Bradanese again cleaned up with a put-back just before the final buzzer.

Bradanese continues to make huge contributions, and finished with 15 points, 8 boards, and 5 blocks.  The jump he's made from last year to this, his sophomore season cannot be overstated.  How great for him to sink the game-winner.
I see a lot in FY Corey that Bradanese showed last season ... rushing just a bit on his shot, reaching on defense, rather than moving his feet.  If he can keep working like Bradanese has he may yet blossom too.

Meanwhile, FY Kirkpatrick played like a vet and finished with 18, 4 assists, and no TOs.  Ainge (15) and Jaworski 26;  17 after halftime) took turns willing the team to victory.

This was another game Babson needed to keep within striking distance of Springfield and WPI, and keep in the mix for a Pool C bid.

I saw Oftring without crutches, but still limping noticeably.  Fingers crossed.

[BaboNation]

Babson 96  Coast Guard 84

It's that time of year where injuries and attrition play an increasing factor in overall team success.  Coast Guard lost Baldez (2nd team NEWMAC last year) on the very first possession of the game, never to return.  Then, their backup point guard Drummond, who poured in 33 in his last game, got hurt in less than 5 minutes.  He tried to go again and couldn't.

But, you want toughness?  CG's big man Kane went down in a heap on a baseline charge a minute into the 2nd half, got called for an offensive foul, came up bleeding from his mouth, went looking around the floor for his missing tooth, but all the while he wanted to stay in the game.  (The tooth was found and he was left out for the remainder of the 2nd half).

If you're a fan of foul-plagued games (do those people exist?) this was not a game to miss. Jaworski & Coolahan (3 fouls at the half), and Bradanese & Ainge (2 fouls) all had their minutes managed more than usual.  Coolahan fouled out eventually and the rest of those mentioned all finished with 4 fouls and had to be careful in the last 10 minutes.  Gao came off the bench with his best game of the season with 11/6 in 25 minutes.

Ainge (22 for the game) and Jaworski (24) carried the lion's share in the 2nd half whenever they needed a bucket - Jaworski finishing the game with 2 straight dagger 3's when CG started to make things uncomfortable, whittling the 18-point halftime  lead to 6.

For CG, Witkowski was excellent (28) and Perez (16/6) helped keep them in the game.  But they sure could have used Baldez and Kane down the stretch with their senior leadership.  As it was, Kane finished with 8/9 in only 18 minutes of action.

[BaboNation]

Babson 90   MIT 85  (OT)

Weird game.  Babson jumped out to a 15-0 lead.  Then MIT toughened up defensively and took advantage of their size to score inside on back cuts, drives, and post ups.  MIT had the lead at the half 32-31 and Hinkley already had a double-double, with 14/10.


Babson went on another 12-0 run to start the second half, but MIT would not go away.  MIT dominated the boards (47-30 for the game), but gave some back with 18 turnovers.

For Babson Jaworski (32) and Coolahan (33) were outstanding, and while Ainge had an otherwise quiet game, he put the team up for good with a spinning 5-footer in OT.  Bradanese was a warrior to play 38 minutes against a rotation of big men, with no real backup of his own.  The offense struggled at times, and could have used FY Kirkpatrick who has been starting, but was in streets, and has oddly missed both MIT games.

Hinkley had a costly TO at the end of OT, but had a very good game (23/13), as did the Greek Geek, Chatziveroglou (19/11), and Kostolansky (17/6).  Alex Cho, who returned from injury after being away for 2 months added 13.  As MIT's 2nd leading scorer, they've really missed his offensive infusion.

All in all, this was more like recent games between these 2 teams, regardless of who is up or down.  It seems like we average one OT game per year.

[middhoops]

What a game by Jake Ross against Coast Guard tonight.  Playing 43 minutes, he put up 55/21 and five steals.  Amazing.

[BaboNation]

Elsewhere in the NEWMAC, some guy named Jake Ross put up a ridiculous line of 55/21 to help Springfield outlast Coast Guard in 2OT.  Nice to see CG's Kane, Baldez, and Drummond (all hurt in the Babson game) return to action.
I'm going out on a limb to predict Ross will be on this week's D3 Team of the Week.

WPI seems to be getting healthy (Stephenson and Walker).  They win big at home against Clark.

As I mentioned in December, Springfield, WPI, and Babson could realistically all get to 20 wins before the NEWMAC tournament even starts, which bodes well for their Pool C chances.

[BaboNation]

What a game by Jake Ross against Coast Guard tonight.  Playing 43 minutes, he put up 55/21 and five steals.  Amazing.

Yeah, I was watching the Babson-MIT game, so missed Ross' magnificence.  He's a lock for All-District 1st team, and Heath Post is probably on the 2nd team. 

[SpringSt7]

What a game by Jake Ross against Coast Guard tonight.  Playing 43 minutes, he put up 55/21 and five steals.  Amazing.

Yeah, I was watching the Babson-MIT game, so missed Ross' magnificence.  He's a lock for All-District 1st team, and Heath Post is probably on the 2nd team.

All-District Team lock feels like we're underselling it a little bit, no? He's been the best player in New England, a surefire 1st team All-American, and is firmly entrenched with Nebraska Wesleyan's Nate Schimonitz in a two man race for National Player of the Year.

[BaboNation]

What a game by Jake Ross against Coast Guard tonight.  Playing 43 minutes, he put up 55/21 and five steals.  Amazing.

Yeah, I was watching the Babson-MIT game, so missed Ross' magnificence.  He's a lock for All-District 1st team, and Heath Post is probably on the 2nd team.

All-District Team lock feels like we're underselling it a little bit, no? He's been the best player in New England, a surefire 1st team All-American, and is firmly entrenched with Nebraska Wesleyan's Nate Schimonitz in a two man race for National Player of the Year.

I won't disagree with anything you've said.  Having not watched enough games outside the region, I didn't want to be a "homer" and overlook other guys outside the region.  It's kinda like when people say "this movie has to win Best Picture" when they haven't seen any of the other movies nominated.

Suffice to say, if he is indeed 1st team All-American (likely) he's also a lock for 1st team All-District.

[BaboNation]

A few more observations about Springfield ...

First, I was dead wrong at the start of the season.  I didn't think there was enough production/talent from the supporting cast to elevate The Pride to the top of the NEWMAC.  I'm now convinced.  Witter, Costa, Lindsay, and others make this team (health permitting) the one most likely to go deepest in the tournament.

This is going to sound like heresy, and some people might question my sanity, but if you look at the 10 games played since coming back from winter break, and before last night (I know what you're thinking), I could make the case that Post, and not Ross, was the team's best player.  Over that 10-game stretch Ross averaged 18.7/9, while Post averaged 16.4/10.  Post was steady in every game.  Put him down for a double-double before the jump, going against the best big men in New England.  Ross was still a star over that period, but had a sub-par game against Middlebury, and a head-scratching bad game against Emerson that had me wondering if something was wrong.  Last night was an indication that Mr. Ross is just fine, thank you.