MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[WUPHF]

Looks like Webster vs. Westminster may have been one of the more compelling games played today.

The Blue Jays, playing at home for just the second time in eight games, trailed 40-38 at the half and for much of the second half before going ahead with 3:26 left in the game.  Westminster pushed the lead to 6 point going in to the final minute and went 8-8 from the line, but the Gorlocks still managed to even the game with four three pointers, including one with 0.1 seconds. 

Westminster would take over from there and held on to win, 98-94.

[hopefan]

WUH stole my thunder... the Webster-Westminster game finish in regulation was as unreal as the incredible Eureka finish at Spalding last week... the difference here was that Westminster didn't give it away like Spalding did with missed freethrows and turnovers... Webster grabbed on to a shred of hope and didn't quit and managed to get to overtime, which ended up being anticlimatic with Westmin grabbing the win in almost hohum style...

The Webster hero of regulation was 5 foot 10 guard Xavier Dortch, one of the 4 or 5 man guard rotation that Coach Chris Bunch employs... Dortch is clearly an instance offense kind of guy.. he has the green light just about any time he has the ball.. steaky shooter, some good plays some bad plays... fun to watch... WELL...

Webster had been up 70-63 with 5 minutes left when their game went totally sour... 3 turnovers in a row, a missed shot and Westmin is on a 9-0 run and up 72-70 at 3 minutes left... they build it to 80-72 and Webster fouling..Wesmin already made 4 FTs in a row to get to 80-72
at 0:42  Webster's Xavier Dortch makes a 3 pointer to make it 80-75
at 0:28  after a Webster steal and missed layuop, they foul and Westmin makes both (now 6-6 in crunch)  making it 82-75
at 0:19  Webster's Evan Milligan hits a layup, making it 82-77
at 0:19  Webster fouls immediately, Westmin makes 2 (8-8 in crunch time) now 84-77
at 0:14   Webster's Xavier Dortch makes his 2nd 3 pointer in the clutch  making it 84-80
at 0:11   Webster again fouls immediately, Westmin again makes 2 (10-10 in crunch time) making it 86-80
at 0:05 Webster's Xavier Dortch makes his 3rd 3 pointer in the clutch  making it 86-83
then the real 'miracle'.. Westmin takes the ball out, gets it to the guy they wanted to have it, guard Carter Wands, who made 6 of those free throws earlier, bodies fly, Dortch comes out of the pile clapping, yes, offensive foul, Webster ball...
0:02... the ball underneath the basket, Webster breaks Evan Milligan to the corner, catches, fades away, NOTHIN BUT NET!!!   Hopefan and the Etters went nuts!!!!

[hopefan]

The key to Westminster's win besides the fantastic shooting of Guard Jimmy Villalobos (8-17 from the field, 5-10 from 3 point range, 23 points, was the dominant inside work of big man Sean O'brien... O'brian just had too much bulk inside for Webster's Evan Milligan to handle, as he was able to maneuver for many shovel/hooks right at the basket... and when double or triple teamed, he was adept at finding the open man... Webster seemed to have more success defensively using wide-body Jamad Wilburn against O'brien, but Wilburn is not yet an offensive threat, and Milligan had to play....  O'brien finished with 19 points, 6 boards and 3 assists.... Of course Romo Tabb had his usual exciting game... a little snake bit in the first half when his shots wouldn't go down, he still finished 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists... and the dunk of the day on  fast break lob.... He and Hunter Ward matched up much of the day.. Hunter had a terrific game finishing with 25 points and 10 boards, but I hate to say it, he disappeared in the last 5 minutes of regulation and then OT....
Another guy that had a great game off the bench for Westmin...Zach Nelson... he really makes things happen....

elsewhere... Greenville runs away from MacMurray 154-133....the box score tells us.. oh wait... the game was at MacMurray, there is no box score.... PITIFUL....

Blackburn beats Fontbonne 90-70, even without Deandre Manuel... here's hoping that what I heard was correct, things have gotten straightened out, and Manuel returns for BC's next game... BC four starters in double figures, led by Chris Davis 23 points... Davis is a heck of an athlete, in the vein of Hunter Ward, Romo Tabb.. good to see him score like this... he's capable of doing just that, and I think his leadership is necessary for BC to beat the good teams in the conference.  Jack Lake gets 18 off the bench for Fontbonne.. he seems to be about the lone bright spot for the Griffs thus far this season... I'm anxious to see Fontbonne on Monday night in nonconference game vs Illinois Tech.

Eureka handles Prin 94-86.. the final score was closer than how the game went .... Eureka with 4 in double figures, again led by Kendall Davis with 26 point, 10 boards, 5 assists, and Sea Feehan with 23 points... and look at Alex Wiegand  a 'quiet' 7 points (3 for 3 from field) 10 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks... What it takes to win without being the big scorer!!!!!
Prin.. well... it's no secret I have been implying I think new point guard Micah Paulson should be concentrating more on getting the ball into the hands of Anumu, Davidson, and Ball... But, he has a fantastic game in defeat, 6 of 8 from the field no turnovers, 19 points... but Prin loses, and he has 2 assists...Anumu, Davidson, Ball all have mediocre numbers... I didn't see the game, but do these numbers tell us anything?   My favorite frosh of the year, Trevaughn Goodman, scores 19 on 7 for 13 from the field, 5 of 7 free throws (numbers for a guy that goes to the basket).. but also 4 turnovers... I love to root for the underdog, I want to see Prin win, I am Frustrated when I perceive some adjustments in flow could get them there...  AND, I can't wait to see Eureka and the Davis/Feehan show play Webster on Saturday

Iowa Wesleyan beats Spalding 90 80... Iowa Wez puts 5 in double figures.. and look at the Soukup brothers... Steve goes 13 for 19, 32 points, Mike can't hit the broad side of a barn, 2 points, BUT gets 13 rebounds and 15 Assists!!!  What a combo...  Spalding goes down again, and I'm beginning to feel there may be no answer... play doesn't seem to be improving when James Turner plays, the overall 3 point shooting was better yesterday than it has been, but it appears that Nick Trisko is the only real consistent threat... In the past, I would say Spalding's tough defense would overcome down nights on offense, but that's not happening this year.. they didn't stop Eureka or Iowa Wesleyan...

[hopefan]

I originally thought that Fontbonne's main shot at a win this season would be in tonight's game vs Illinois Tech... I was proven wrong as the Griffs pulled out the overtime win vs MacMurray...  it's clear I also underestimated Illinois Tech... They come into the game tonight with a 3-3 record, and wins over D3 teams Kalamazoo, Oberlin, and Milwaukee Engineering... I get the feeling Fontbonne will need to be at their best to get a win tonight....looking forward to seeing the game....

[hopefan]

Illinois Tech at Fontbonne went pretty much as expected (after I noted that Tech was much improved over prior years).. Fontbonne was never really in it... Illinois Tech may soon be a program capable of making some noise in the Central Region... I won't put their potential at the WIAC or CCIW level, but they can certainly be expected to challenge any MWC, SLIAC, Nathcon team... Why?.. Four pretty darned good underclassmen... 2 guards, Malik Howze and Anthony Mosely, a smooth 6'3" 3 man, Jake Digregorio, and a slender, athletic 6'6" man in the middle, a frosh, Max Hisatake... all are solid D3 level players, 3 sophs and a freshman (How in the world did Digregorio make his way from Ironwood in the UP to Illinois Tech?)... add to that senior Sam Rarick... an awkward looking 6'6" 4 man, but a guy who knows how to get shots and has a nice touch... it's a nice group with worlds of potential if the underclassmen stay together the next several years....

A good story which makes it all worthwhile... at halftime, I took a minute to go down to the Tech bench, tap head coach Todd Kelly on the shoulder and quickly congratulate him on bringing his program to the level of being competitive with the D3 schools IIT is playing.. I got a thanks very much, and I returned to my seat in the top of the bleachers... after the game was over, I was putting on my coat and I see Coach Kelly coming up the steps towards me... he says, "I'm gonna go out on a limb... Are you 'hopefan' 
WOO HOO... Chicago knows me!!!!!
Just noticed Coach Kelly is from Millikin... did he play there?

Fontbonne... well... a long way to go... One notable was freshman Tyler Schwartz... a very short guard, he makes things happen with the ball... nice touch, though out of control at times.. just a frosh, he's learning...made a nifty behind the back pass in traffic for an assist... Main concern about Fontbonne, they're getting beat with seniors getting a majority of the minutes... 3 of 4 underclassmen that play are very small, Schwartz, McCann, Wiggins all in the 5'7" to 5'9" range...

[hopefan]

One other note... the Greenville-MacMurray stats did get posted yesterday.. guess there were some data problems that caused the delay... no monster individual lines but a very good sign for Greenville, they shoot 24 for 59, 40.7% from 3 point range, 2nd game in a row in that range vs the low 30% range in prior games (excluding the Lincoln Christian blowout).  They force 33 Mac turnovers...to Mac's credit, they were down only 9 with less than 9 minutes left, but ran out of steam and got beat badly from there on out....

the only game for the SLIAC until Saturday is tonight... Iowa Wesleyan plays at Knox....

[WUPHF]

A good story which makes it all worthwhile... at halftime, I took a minute to go down to the Tech bench, tap head coach Todd Kelly on the shoulder and quickly congratulate him on bringing his program to the level of being competitive with the D3 schools IIT is playing.. I got a thanks very much, and I returned to my seat in the top of the bleachers... after the game was over, I was putting on my coat and I see Coach Kelly coming up the steps towards me... he says, "I'm gonna go out on a limb... Are you 'hopefan' 

That is awesome...but did you ask him how he knew it was you?

Does he read the boards?

I sometimes feel as though I am talking to three or four people in the UAA thread, but then I'll look at the stats and the thread will be viewed a few hundred times.

I watched IIT play the University of Chicago a few weeks ago.  The game quickly out of reach for the Scarlet Hawks, but Anthony Mosely was something else.  I did a cursory review of the Sun Times coverage of him when he played at Whitney Young, a Chicago area powerhouse, and it seems to me that he would have been a known quantity by his junior year...

[Gregory Sager]

(How in the world did Digregorio make his way from Ironwood in the UP to Illinois Tech?)

Illinois Tech is a very good STEM school. It isn't Caltech or MIT, but it's probably on the top tier in the midwest with Rose-Hulman as far as small STEM-oriented schools go. IIT gets kids from all over the heartland -- and it gets a pretty fair amount of international students as well, as you can see from the Scarlet Hawks' roster that there's a Canadian, a Dane, and an (Asian) Indian on the team.

A good story which makes it all worthwhile... at halftime, I took a minute to go down to the Tech bench, tap head coach Todd Kelly on the shoulder and quickly congratulate him on bringing his program to the level of being competitive with the D3 schools IIT is playing.. I got a thanks very much, and I returned to my seat in the top of the bleachers... after the game was over, I was putting on my coat and I see Coach Kelly coming up the steps towards me... he says, "I'm gonna go out on a limb... Are you 'hopefan' 
WOO HOO... Chicago knows me!!!!!
Just noticed Coach Kelly is from Millikin... did he play there?

Yes, he did, back around Y2K. He was also the primary assistant coach at North Central under Todd Raridon before taking the IIT job. As his knowledge of you indicates, Todd's an avid reader of the boards; he even posted briefly during his student days at Millikin.

[WUPHF]

Illinois Tech is a very good STEM school. It isn't Caltech or MIT, but it's probably on the top tier in the midwest with Rose-Hulman as far as small STEM-oriented schools go. IIT gets kids from all over the heartland -- and it gets a pretty fair amount of international students as well, [...]

5,164 according to the latest Open Doors survey...more than every other Illinois school except for the University of Illinois.

Otherwise, recruiting a player from the Upper Peninsula is probably relatively easy for a Chicago school (other than having to snowmobile to watch a game).  People in the area know Chicago through the tourists.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park has had a number of good student-athletes from the U.P. over the years. The fact that NPU's parent denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church, has a number of churches and a camp in the U.P. has helped in that regard. The Vikings haven't had a Yooper men's basketball player since Matt Lindahl (Iron River, MI/West Iron County HS) a decade ago, though.

[hopefan]

A good story which makes it all worthwhile... at halftime, I took a minute to go down to the Tech bench, tap head coach Todd Kelly on the shoulder and quickly congratulate him on bringing his program to the level of being competitive with the D3 schools IIT is playing.. I got a thanks very much, and I returned to my seat in the top of the bleachers... after the game was over, I was putting on my coat and I see Coach Kelly coming up the steps towards me... he says, "I'm gonna go out on a limb... Are you 'hopefan' 

That is awesome...but did you ask him how he knew it was you?

Does he read the boards?

I sometimes feel as though I am talking to three or four people in the UAA thread, but then I'll look at the stats and the thread will be viewed a few hundred times.

I watched IIT play the University of Chicago a few weeks ago.  The game quickly out of reach for the Scarlet Hawks, but Anthony Mosely was something else.  I did a cursory review of the Sun Times coverage of him when he played at Whitney Young, a Chicago area powerhouse, and it seems to me that he would have been a known quantity by his junior year...

WUH per Greg, he reads the boards, so he likely read my favorable pregame comment about Illinois Tech having 3 D3 wins... then a total stranger walks up to him at half time and congrats him on his teams improvement and success...so he puts the two together... the fact that he specifically sought me out after the game was a real cool happening...

[hopefan]

For the diehard SLIAC/D3hoops fan, Saturday can't get here quickly enough...

Why???   

one of those rare tripleheader opportunities  WAIT... a quick check shows it's a QUADRUPLEHEADER..

1:00 Eureka Women at Webster Women... the two are tied for first in the SLIAC alone at 2-0

3:00 Eureka Men at Webster Men.... both are in the multi tied group with one league loss

THEN dash over to Wash U... literally a 10 minute drive

5:00  Millikin Women at Wash U women... undefeated Wash U can't take 5-3 Millikin too lightly

7:00  Illinois Wesleyan Men at Wash U Men... Always a super competitive game....Both nationally ranked

[WUPHF]

... the fact that he specifically sought me out after the game was a real cool happening...

Agreed, very cool.

I'll see you on Saturday.

[hopefan]

Iowa Wesleyan outscores Knox, 98-88... Steve Soukup approaches a triple double with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists.  Iowa Wesleyan was up over 20 for a large part of the game and saw Knox  cut it to 7 in the last several minutes... 4 others in double figures.... This team will clearly challenge for a top 4 spot, bringing the 5th place team into the conference tourney due to IWC's ineligibility.

[cheapseats]

I had the very fortunate opportunity to be at the Central College vs. Wash U. game this past weekend and what a game it was. Central wins in an exciting fashion 84-80. Wash U. is just an impressive athletic department all-around. But, my big takeaway, was how Iowa Wesleyan was handling Central for the majority of their game earlier this season before Central pulled out a 3pt win. If Iowa Wesleyan can figure out their defense (giving 88 ppg) they are something special.

Greenville and Westmin. look very tough, but is Eureka for real? Seems to be a ton of parity in the league again this year.