MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Just got home from Westminster Mac game, Westminster a winner in ot - 95-85.   
The game had similarities to the Webster Mac game from last week - Mac plays a flat first half, down double digits at half, then steps it up in the 2nd half, fueled by their frantic and effective full court press.  Westminster did everything they could to lose the game in the last minute - turning the ball over, missing key free throws, and even putting Mac on the line stopping the clock when Westmin was playing with the lead.  YIKES  .. 10 seconds left, Westmin with a 4 point lead, Westmin fouls a guard at half court!!!  Whalum makes the first, misses the 2nd, the rebound gets swatted outside, Mac recovers and two quick passes later Coleman sticks a three for what was likely Mac's first tie of the game.

In OT in the first minute, Mac had every chance to move ahead, but missed several close in chippies, and eventually, Westmin pulled ahead by a bunch as Mac fouled.

Good to see Mac go inside more to Green, the offense was getting too perimeter oriented, and neither Whalum or Coleman was hitting in the first half  -  green had a terrific game and carried the team in the 2nd half, but fouled out very early in OT - that hurt Mac big time -  Robertson, just as in the Webster game, was a little lost - he doesn't see the ball enough.

Mac;'s Bench did next to nothing  to help the team - the starters were whipped by the end of regulation - on the other hand, Westmin goes 10 deep with a pretty nice flow.

Davis had a great game -  like I said, he could be a first team all conference - he's outsanding with the ball inside (tho no passer), and shoots with great touh from the perimeter making him a dual threat - Whereas Mac did a pretty nice job bottling up Hoggat, last week, Mac had no answer for Davis - he finished with 30+ points. 

A bizarre play towards the end of the game - one I've never seen before and I've seen alot - Westminster guard dribbling down the sideline, around a Mac defender, and regardless of what you might hear from anyone else, in full control, totally in bounds.  Just about at the time he beats the defender before mid court on the sideline, he makes contact with Mac Coach Hettinga, who is animatedly imploring the defender to beat the dribbler to the sideline.  Fortunately the defender fouls the dribbler at that time, and the contact was a brush, so if the ref noticed it, he said nothing and made no call (would it or could it have been a technical if the dribbler had been knocked off balance???)  As the Westmin player went down the court to shoot fouls, he was clearly unhappy, and looking back over his shoulder to let Coach Hettinga know it.

Unarguable points
1) it was an accident
2) Coach Hettinga was 100% at fault  -  yes he was in the coach's box, but he obviously has to back off if the play squeezes the sideline. A player should not have to concern himself about anybody off the court - fans, refs, opposing players or opposing coaches

To Coach Hettinga's credit, in the hand shake after the game, it appeared that he was apologizing to the Westmin guard - it did not appear that the guard was having any part of it  -  hopefully, perhaps with the help of the Westmin coach, it was rectified downstairs in the lockerrooms after the game.

[hopefan]

our conference does not do a very good job of reporting scores to D3hoops - Here is is 9:00 and only the Maryville-Eureaka and Westmin-Mac scores are in - why has no one reported the home games of Fontbonne, Webster, and Prin?   

Pat how does it work  -  is the conference supposed to report them, or home schools   - I'm not beyond making calls to the responsible parties to demand better service  -  fortunately we have a little phone system going with myself and fans of Webster, Mac, Greenville, Eureka, and fontbonne, which covers most games - though it's costing me big with cell phone minutes!

[pantherpride06]

hopefan, I'm just back from IWU and can shed some light on the D3Hoops scoreboard...

Each school's athletic administration has a password to input the scores of the games.  THey also can post releases, box scores, and other information.  This is all done through the school.  I do it for Greenville.  Sorry for the delay, been on the road all day.  However, Prin has the ability to update this score.

Pat can probably put it into clear words, but that's how I explain it.  I'll post the GC/Prin scores right now!!!

[Pat Coleman]

Yep -- either school can report. It's not limited to the home team.

If the SLIAC had a conference SID who expressed any interest in D3hoops.com, they could receive a password, too. I think Terry Logue was the last SLIAC SID we got information from, and he hasn't been in that position in ... gosh, forever.

Also, if the SLIAC chose D3Scoreboard.com to manage their conference standings, it would save work on all ends. The SIDs could log in and post scores on the SLIAC site and D3hoops.com and D3football.com simultaneously.

[Ralph Turner]

hopefan, I'm just back from IWU and can shed some light on the D3Hoops scoreboard...

Each school's athletic administration has a password to input the scores of the games.  THey also can post releases, box scores, and other information.  This is all done through the school.  I do it for Greenville.  Sorry for the delay, been on the road all day.  However, Prin has the ability to update this score.

Pat can probably put it into clear words, but that's how I explain it.  I'll post the GC/Prin scores right now!!!

+1, and thanks for all that you do!  We fans appreciate it!

[sliaccommish]

Time to clear up a few things that have accumulated over the past few weeks. In reverse chronological order:

1) Scores are up and standings revised on the SLIAC website, www.sliac.org, each weekday by 10:30 pm CST, and by 6:00 pm CST on Saturday. Perhaps we should have them sent to D3hoops but we don't have a conference SID, we have a webmaster who takes care of getting our information out via our website.

2) As usual, Hopefan is right. The conference alternates the start times of the Men's and Women's game from year to year. This year the Men play first on weekdays and the Women play first on weekends, including the two Friday games. It was reversed last year and will be reversed next year. There are valid points on both sides of this issue but Title IX and Gender Equity tip the scales toward spiltting up the "prime time".

3) Pat Coleman correctly pointed out that you can't trust the school enrollment figures you see unless they are broken down. Most schools list total enrollment which includes anyone who has signed up for a class. The larger figure makes them look better. The figure that counts is fulltime undergradutae enrollment. Those are the only ones who are eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics. My guess is that the fulltime undergraduate enrollments of Fontbonne, Maryville, and Webster are closer to 1,000 than they are to 2,000.   

[fcnews]

Coach - Your up way to late !!!! Nice post.

[Pat Coleman]

Time to clear up a few things that have accumulated over the past few weeks. In reverse chronological order:

1) Scores are up and standings revised on the SLIAC website, www.sliac.org, each weekday by 10:30 pm CST, and by 6:00 pm CST on Saturday. Perhaps we should have them sent to D3hoops but we don't have a conference SID, we have a webmaster who takes care of getting our information out via our website.

It's a good idea to make sure they get here. D3hoops.com gets far more traffic than the conference Web site, and in fact, more than many school Web sites.

[fcnews]

As they stand:

Team                  Record              Remaining Games
Eureka                 10-3               @MC, WU, WC, @GC, PC
Webster               10-3               @GC, @EC, @BC, FU, PC
MacMurray              9-4               EC, GC, FU, @BC, MU
Fontbonne              8-4               @WC, PC, @MC, @WU, LCC, @MU
Greenville                8-5               WU, @MC, @LCC, EC, WC
Westminister           7-5               FU, @LCC, @EC, @MU, BC, @GC

The top three play each other this coming week. Tuesday EC @ MC, Friday WU @ EC.

The next three. Tueday FU @ WC, WU @ GC, Friday GC @ MC and Saturday WC @ EC, FU @ MC

Everybody but Mac has a game remaing w/ PC or LCC. FU is the only team that still has both ( @ home ).

It's not over yet !!!

[y_jack_lok]

The SLIAC site and d3hoops show the score of the Webster-Lincoln Christian game as 83-76 Webster. The scoreboard at the end of the game showed it as 83-72 Webster as does this morning's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Why the discrepancy?

[hopefan]

yjak  - you forgot to stay for the overtime  -- LCC won 4 - 0, but couldn't pull out the win.     

[Mac Attack]

MacMurray played another flat first half and that cost them. As has been the case most of the year, the Highlanders played much better in second half at both ends of the floor. The comeback in the last two minutes of regulation was terrific. The Jays came unglued, repeatedly throwing the ball away and Mac made the most of it. A missed free throw, followed by a rebound, a nice pass, and a dead-on three by Coleman tied the game with four seconds left. Mac had two chances to take the lead early in the OT but couldn't get close in shots to fall. LOTS of contact underneath the basket and the zebras let them play - which really hurt the Highlanders. We're quick and explosive, but not that strong or physical. The Jays really pounded our guys in the lane and not much of it was called. Had Mac grabbed the lead in OT, I think we would have won. But it wasn't meant to be. Davis played a solid game at both ends, but he sure doesn't share the ball much. Strictly catch and shoot, and he had a ton of point blank bunnies. Mac made it very, very easy for him to get his points. Unless we double down or get tough weakside help, he'll get 30 everytime. As well as Davis played, Warncke was the difference. He's a pure shooter that left unguarded will drain it - and that he did several times. Dygert was sporadic and in foul trouble most of the game, and their coach finally pulled him down the stretch and in the overtime because of his turnovers. I thought Westminster played hard and played well, and they are much deeper than MacMurray. They will contend for one of the four post season spots for sure - but remember, this team was picked by the coaches in pre-season to finish second. Mac's Greene had a career high 24 points and eight steals, but fouled out early in the OT, and that made a big difference. Whalum had a terrific second half for the Highlanders. Didn't get much from the bench.

This was a game that Mac could have won, but just came up short against a very good team on the road. Now comes three straight at home against some of the league's top teams - Eureka, Greenville, and Fontbonne. I think Mac has to win two of these to slip into the post season. The fact that MacMurray is losing to teams it beat earlier in the season is not a good sign. Robertson will have to regain his early season scoring form, and our defense will have to really tighten up for MacMurray to make it.

Always nice to see HopeFan. The seats we had at Westminster would have cost a pretty penny at most D1 or pro games, but almost courtside at D3 is terrific and it doesn't cost a dime. What a deal!

[pantherpride06]

I would volunteer to post all SLIAC games to the site, however I am gone out of town and would have to search for internet.  I can't guarntee any times for them to be up.  Thanks Pat for all you do with the site!  Thanks also to you SLIAC_Commish!  You do a great job!

[Pat Coleman]

The SLIAC site and d3hoops show the score of the Webster-Lincoln Christian game as 83-76 Webster. The scoreboard at the end of the game showed it as 83-72 Webster as does this morning's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Why the discrepancy?

I can't say why it was reported incorrectly to the SLIAC site. I know since nobody reported it to our site, we went to the SLIAC site, which we consider a reliable source for information. However, since whomever reported it to the SLIAC got it wrong, we were basing our report on the incorrect information.

There really isn't much we can do if the schools report it wrong. We are not everywhere at every time and we cannot tell what the score is without someone telling us.

[fcnews]

Pat - I apologize for Fontbonne. I am no longer the SID. You also know how much I appreciate the work you do. I will pass this on to the coach.